But Lets Start At The Beginning:

By definition, a Hybrid Car is a mode of transportation using more than one energy source to power it.
There have been several different types of Hybrid Cars:

A Solar-Elecric Car Human-Electric Hybrid

A Human-Solar-Electric Car Solar-Gasoline Hybrid

However, the most "popular" car, and the type this website will focus on, is the Gas-Electric Hybrid Car. Below are the 3 current models of Hybrid Cars in the auto market today

The Honda Insight The Toyota Prius The Honda Civic Hybrid

As described above, many people have been making Hybrid cars for decades.
Here is a brief history of how the Hybrid car evolved through the years:

Year	Event
1839	Robert Anderson of Aberdeen Scotland builds the first electric vehicle. (Please note that this was a vehicle or a mode of transportation, not an automobile) Robert Anderson
1870	Sir David Salomon develops an early form of a car with a light electric motor and extremely heavy storage batteries. The speed this vehicle got was very poor which made it unsuitable for the road
1898	The Electric Carriage and Wagon Company (New York City) purchases 12 electric cabs.
1905	A brand of Hybrid car by the name of The Woods Interurban offered the first true Hybrid car. When travelling long distances, the driver could switch the power from the electric motor to a 2-cylinder engine. Unfortunately, this proccess took 15 MINUTES! The idea was rejected by customers The Woods Interurban
1910	A commercial truck is invented that has a 4 cylinder gas engine powering a generator. This idea eliminated the need for transmisson as well as a battery pack. This vehicle, unlike the Woods Interurban, was in production for nearly 8 years. When you combine this innovation and the Woods Interurban, you have the basic idea of today's modern Hybrid Car
1969	The GM 512, a very lightweight experimental hybrid car, ran entirely on electric power up to ten miles per hour. From ten to thirteen miles per hour, it ran on a combination of batteries and its two-cylinder gas engine. Above thirteen miles per hour, the GM 512 ran on gasoline. But it could only reach 40 miles per hour.
1977 - 1979	General Motors spends over $20 million in electric car development and research, reporting that electric vehicles could be in production by the mid-1980s. They do this only a year after US Congress passes an act to help improve batteries, motors, and other Hybrid components
1980-1997	Multiple automobile companies, as well as independent inventors and magazines (such as Mother Earth News) continue to improve upon the theory of Hybrids, creating many proto-types and plans. These are some of the most important years in Hybrid history because the computer started to be used in Hybrids to help increase their efficiency
1997	The first Hybrid car is introduced to the public. The Toyota Prius is introduced in Japan. About 18 000 were sold in the first year The Unveiling of the Toyota Prius
1999	Honda introduces the first Hybrid car to the US/Canadian market. The 2-door Honda Insight recieved several awards including one for it's best mileage: 70 miles per gallon (highway) The Premier of the Honda Insight
2000	Toyota introduces the Prius into the American market
2002	Honda develops the Civic Hybrid. To many people's suprise, the Civic Hybrid drives and handles almost identically to the original Civic
2004	More and more demand for Hybrid cars makes Honda and Toyota increase production rates by about 20-30%. Other companies see the potential for Hybrid cars and SUVs. Ford, Lexus and other companies set out plans for Hybrid cars and SUV's to be released in 2005 and 2006. The "First Look" of the 2005 Ford Escape Hybrid

Click here to See the Components of A Hybrid Car