Brief History of Hybrid Vehicle Development
First built in the early 1900s by inventors tinkering with combinations of the electric motor and the gasoline engine, hybrid vehicles were dropped when gasoline-fueled vehicles became more reliable and easier to start, and gasoline fuel more readily available. Research and development of hybrid vehicles was revived by concern about oil dependency in the1970s and about air pollution in the late 1980s.
A number of hybrid vehicles have been built and tested since 1980. Some of these vehicles have impressed analysts with their performance and low levels of exhaust and petroleum consumption. Interest in hybrid vehicles jumped in late 1993 with the announcement of funding for two major collaborations. The US Department of Energy signed a five-year, $138 million development agreement with General Motors and a $122 million agreement with Ford to design and build preproduction hybrid prototypes that could be marketed in......
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