Can someone explain hybrid cars to me, please?

[mousme]

I am Posty McPostalot today!

Here's the deal. I don't understand the concept of hybrid cars, except in the most minimal of ways (they use both electricity and fuel to run: yay!).

So... can someone explain this to me? Or point me to a good web page/resource for them?

Sometime in the not-so-near future, when I move far away from my job, I will likely look into getting one, but only if it makes sense to do so. If I end up spending just as much on gas as I would with a normal car, then it would defeat the purpose of getting a hybrid. Also, maintenance and overall reliabilty/functionality will be a major consideration. If my car spends half the year in the shop, that too will defeat the purpose.

Help?

Comments

[curtana.livejournal.com]

I believe the battery issue depends whether they're nickel cadmium (bad) or nickel metal hydride (not so bad). My understanding is that most hybrids today use NMH batteries. which can be recycled. The manufacturers claim they'll last for 150,000 to 200,000 km, but a bit of web searching reveals stories of people who've had to have them replaced earlier - most of those, I think, are slightly older-model hybrids, however, so possibly some of the problems are being worked out. The first story I came up with of someone having his hybrid car battery die was this one, from 2006, driving a 2000 Insight, still under warranty - several people in his comments relate similar stories, and one mentions a $5000 battery replacement cost, because the car in question was no longer under warranty.

So, basically, like almost any other car matter, it depends on the particular car and the type of warranty you get on it ;)