channelnewsasia.com :
Malaysia's state-owned carmaker Proton is developing a new, fuel-efficient hybrid car to beat rising costs and address environmental concerns. Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi told the state Bernama news agency he had already test-driven the car and urged the company to continue researching energy-saving technologies
From www.hybrids-tech.com
"A car with Hybrid technology has two engines, side by side, under the bonnet. This means an electric engine here and a petrol engine there. Seeing today’s cars we come to know that majority cars driven by one or the other engine. This means not that cost effective. Thus, for better mileage and maximum performance, you get them both chiming in together, so you get more power. This can only be found in hybrid cars. That’s why people prefer them over others.
In hybrid car the electric engine also charges the batteries, and that neatly gets you around the old problem of electric cars of having to plug it into the mains overnight. This means no need to worry about recharging too. But one of the biggest disadvantages attached with hybrid cars is that they needed big, heavy battery packs which took up all of the back seat. But this is also now rectified as now you get a full four-seater capacity and enough room in the luggage space for two or three small dogs or maybe even one really big one.
Thus, we can now say that hybrid car is the best and safe option to go for. "
BUT THEN
FROM : http://www.post1.net/lowem/entry/malaysia_proton_to_develop_hybrid_car
An admirable effort, but one has to wonder whether they are up to the technical challenge, given how Toyota has had over a 10-year headstart, with the 2009 Toyota Prius looming, and the Honda Civic Hybrid is into the second generation as well. Techniques such as regenerative braking, hybrid drivetrains and battery management software are not developed overnight. One prototype test car does not a production-ready model make. They would need to do some heavy-duty partnering