2003 Car Review: Honda Civic 4-Door Hybrid  PHOTO (select to
view enlarged photo)  SEE ALSO: Honda Buyer's Guide      At this
point in the evolution of the automobile, gasoline-electric
hybrids are the cutting edge of mass-production high-mileage,
low-  emissions technology. Power from both an internal-
combustion   engine and an electric motor is combined to give
better fuel   efficiency and lower emissions levels than would
be available from   an equivalently-powerful internal combustion
engine, and greater   range than with a purely electric vehicle.
There are many ways to combine internal combustion and electric
power, with varying degrees of complexity. Some hybrids are more
electric than internal combustion, with the engine primarily
existing   to charge a battery pack, which powers the electric
motor. The   engine assists the motor when more power is needed.
Honda chose a   simpler method when it introduced its first
hybrid, the Insight, in   1999. The Insight was and is an ultra-
lightweight