The idea of a car that runs on electric energy was, not too far ago, considered as being closer to science fiction than to reality. Although a car that runs strictly on electric energy is sill not considered a viable option (because it would be extremely hard keeping the electric motor constantly “full”), car manufacturers have combined science fiction with reality, developing the first hybrid automobiles in history.

Basically, hybrid automobiles are cars that can run both on an electricity driven engine and on a classical, gas or diesel one. They use an on-board RES (rechargeable energy storage) system that gets “filled up” when exposed to solar energy for a specific period of time (or when recharged from a power outlet) as well as an internal combustion engine (or ICE’s) that is similar to the one found in normal vehicles. The RES system is connected to the electric motor of the hybrid automobile, feeding it with power as long as its tank of energy is not depleted.

The advantage of owning a hybrid automobile is quite obvious: it’s cheaper, since you’ll be using a free (solar) or less costly power source approximately half the time and it’s less damaging to the environment since the electric motor doesn’t dish out the type of emissions that the fuel-based motor does.

The problems with hybrid automobiles only appear when weather, location and time of the day hinder the refreshing of the rechargeable energy storage system. An ingenious solution was found to avoid this problem and make the electric motor usable even after long periods of sun lacking. Whenever the combustion motor is used, it also spins a small generator that translates energy in the electric motor, recharging it. This way, you’ll be able to switch to your electric engine even during winter, where solar recharging of the batteries is not possible or even on long drives where you won’t be able to replenish the electric batteries from an outlet.

A lot of successful car manufacturers looked upon the prospect of a hybrid automobile with little interest, as they thought such a combination would be inefficient at best. To their credit, some manufacturers struggled to get this project complete and they are now mass producing hybrid automobiles (admittedly, they are still distributed with limited success, since people still regard them more as part of a science fiction movie than an actual alternative to costly gas cars). Some of the names worth mentioning include Ford (Ford Escape, Mercury Mariner), Honda (Honda Insight, Honda Civic, Honda Accord), Lexus (Lexus RX400h, Lexus GS450h), Nissan (Nissan Altima) or Toyota (Toyota Prius, Toyota Highlander).