How Making Some Sense of Car Terminology: Hybrids

As the automobile industry has changed so has the terminology. Making sense of what's what can be a challenge. Over the last few decades designers began building vehicles to provide all the conveniences of trucks with the comforts of sedans. They called them hybrids. Meanwhile, other designers were working on building more energy efficient vehicles. The new vehicles combined traditional fuel sources with new electrical sources of energy. They called their new energy efficient cars hybrids. So what's a hybrid? And what features do they offer?

For classification purposes, automobile manufacturers have historically divided their light vehicle products into two categories, automobiles and light trucks. Hybrids are new categories. Some hybrids cross the car-truck line. Other hybrids are new alternative-power or hybrid-powered cars. Let's take a look at each.

Hybrid-powered vehicles combine the benefits of an electric car with the convenience of a gasoline-powered model. An electric motor handles normal stop-and-go traffic and initial highway acceleration. A gasoline or even diesel powered internal combustion engine kicks in when a car reaches higher speed. A computer control system switches from one power system to the other as necessary. At high speeds the gasoline engine recharges the electric motor's batteries, so there's no need for external electric power.

Hybrid design vehicles are cars that blur the lines between car, truck or van. Sports utility vehicles (SUVs) are actually types of hybrids, but are now considered a separate class of vehicle. Specifically an SUV is a cross between a truck and a station wagon car. A hybrid is a vehicle that has the characteristics of at least two separately classified types of vehicles. A hybrid might have the towing capacity of a truck, a convertible top like a sports car and the carrying capacity of a van. Make sense?

Ok, so can a car be both? Sure. Hybrid power and hybrid design are not related. But that won't stop people from mixing up the terminology. Be prepared for others to simply say hybrid car when referring to either type of vehicle. Writers, other consumers and even car dealers sometimes use the simple hybrid to mean either or both type of vehicle.

Hybrids combine vehicle options to help consumers purchase one multi-use vehicle. Adding the comfort of a sedan to the towing capacity of a truck allows for easy long-distance travel and convenience for moving and yard work, without owning a separate truck or trailer.

And hybrid-powered cars, according to many, are the future of the automobile industry. Taking the best features of all designs and energy sources and combining them to make the most efficient multi-purpose vehicle possible makes the decision about what to buy simpler.