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Why do gas/electric hybrids get better city mileage than highway?

cause i believe in the city, the electric motor gets them going, and the gas motor keeps the car moving, so on the highway, the electric motor never works.
 
I hypothesize that it's wind resistance at higher speeds becoming a more significant factor than the wastefulness of a conventional car's acceleration and braking in city traffic.

It's proof of just how effective the regenerative braking and electric battery/motor assistance is at recovering and conserving the energy used in acceleration and deceleration. At highway speeds, the engine must run full time, to keep the car moving through the air and keep the battery pack charged.

I don't know the exact formula for wind resistance as a function of speed, but I know it takes a lot more than twice the energy to move through the air at 70 MPH than 35 MPH.
 
Everytime you are breaking to a stop, and stopped, the engine is not running. Less gas is used.
 
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