Car Craze

There is one trick in the hybrid trade that is responsible for energy savings. It is referred to as regenerative braking or recapturing some of the energy lost in friction thus generating electricity to charge the hybrid system’s battery pack. Regenerative braking is enough to slow down the vehicle during light braking. The anti-lock hydraulic brakes kick in to supplement the regenerative braking to bring the vehicle to a quick and safe stop when the pedal is depressed further.

Some hybrids include a feature known as idle-stop wherein the gasoline engine stops when the car halts at a light, thereby saving fuel and cutting pollution. The electric motor restarts the engine as soon as the foot is lifted off the brake in the automatic transmission version or when the driver engages another gear, in the case of the manual transmission version.