This traditional means of power which was used to propel one of the earliest forms of engine is again being put into goo duse by Honda. According to Honda engineers, use of steam power in their hybrids has resulted in an efficiency increase of almost 4%.

The engine recycles wasted heat from the exhaust to generate steam that turns a turbine-generating electricity, which charges the batteries. The concept has proven more efficient than the regenerative breaking system employed by most current hybrid cars, including the Prius, especially when cruising at highway speeds.

And while on the matter of hybrids, I wanted to let readers know a strange fact. While traditional cars should not be used to accelerate quickly (gradually is the key for better effieciency) - in hybrid cars, its the other way around. You need to get to cruising speeds asap so a faster acceleration is actually better!

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