A hybrid is not an electric car, so you wouldn’t have to plug it in to a socket.

Here’s a link that explains it pretty well:

http://auto.howstuffworks.com/hy...

Right now there are very few and expensive plug in hybrid cars available. The hybrids you see generate electricity from braking. This energy is stored in battery packs and used to drive electric motors that help out the smaller gasoline motor.

The issue is they cost more and are more complex than a simple car that gets good gas milage. The pay back for the increased cost and complexity of the hybrid system can take a long time to pay for in gas savings. Add the fact that hybrid systems, particularly battery systems are evolving quickly and 8 year old hybrid car like a honda civic could be worth far less than a regulat civic due to the fact that the gas milage is not that much different and the standard engine car can be worked on practically anywhere and has a much less complex drive system with out all the hybrid technology.

Most hybrid components are warranted for 100,000 miles and a up to 10 years depending on the state they are purchased in. But after that warranty you have a complex system that could be quite antiquated by current technological standards.

Most hybrid purchases at this time are emotional more than cost savings driven for the above reasons. The payback is long. The same is true for the new diesel technology…. higher cost on the front end and the payback via fuel savings takes many years.

One last thing on plug in hybrids….. no one is talked about how the government will colect highway tases on your electric usage to charge a car like a chevy volt in your garage. It could be conceivable that you would use little or no gas in some situations…. you would pay no taxes on gas. They will want tax $$$, How they will calculate them is the question.