Depending on who you talk to, a "quiet revolution" is slowly seeping through the car industry.

It could be a false dawn--but most observers believe that the hybrid is here to stay.

Although the concept of a hybrid is not brand new, eyebrows were raised when Toyota's gasoline-electric hybrid Prius was voted 2005 car of the year in Europe on top of a similar award in the U.S. earlier in 2004.

That prompted some industry experts to suggest modestly that the hybrid breakthrough is poised to forever change the way the world's automotive sector operates.

And the concept is relatively simple. A hybrid car draws power from two energy sources using a combination of a regular internal combustion engine and an electric motor.

The motor's battery is recharged by an electric generator powered by a gasoline engine. As the gasoline engine runs at optimal speed it devours fuel in a more efficient way than normal gasoline engines. Extra power to the battery comes from kinetic energy from the wheels when the vehicles slow and the gasoline engine provides extra power for the car when required.

The Prius success helped Toyota to be recognized as one of the front-runners in hybrid technology and, in many cases, left rival makers struggling to match their pace. Naturally ,the environmental benefits of such a power unit arrangement found favor among drivers keen to minimize the impact on the planet caused by cars and their emissions.

Toyota says the Prius has 89 percent less smog-free emissions than an average new car and already meets European Union guidelines for the year 2012. The maker adds the car could save more than a ton of C[O.sub.2] emissions entering the environment each year, again compared to the standard new car.

Not surprising then that hybrid car drivers began reporting a curious sense of "guilt-free" motoring and the endorsement of Hollywood actors keen to be linked to such a relatively planet-friendly technology fueled the attraction of both the Prius in particular and hybrid technology in general.

But as the global automotive giants scramble to top the hybdrid technology tree, a relatively small British company is at the forefront in this sector.

Zytek, founded a little over 20 years ago and based in brand new headquarters in Fradley, Staffordshire, England, has developed a strong reputation within the industry for electronic control systems, high-performance engines, concept electric vehicles and has worked alongside Jaguar, including the car's victory at the Le Mans 24-hour race in France, and has supplied Aston Martin, Rolls-Royce and Bentley.

But its most recent claim to fame is helping General Motors to deliver what is thought to be the world's first commercial hybrid-electric truck.

It's quite a coup for the 200-plus employees of Zytek which, three years ago, became almost one4ifth owned by global communications group Motorola.

Zytek's involvement with the GM Hybrid Pickup began at the project's inception, with the company asked to conduct a control systems architecture study to identify the best way to manage GM's advanced hardware design.

The challenge to Zytek was to deliver the environmental benefits of a hybrid configuration while retaining all of the existing vehicle performance and driveabiliry characteristics, including towing capability demanded by U.S. consumers.

After successfully completing the study, GM's hybrid engineering team elected to continue working with Zytek on the complete control systems development and integration process that would ultimately deliver a vehicle to the marketplace.

Zytek's engineering team worked with GM to help its engineers implement the necessary changes to the base engine and transmission control system (PCM), including the definition and application of hybrid control algorithms to maximize the effective use of the electric machine and energy storage capability.

The GM Hybrid Pickup, available in the extended cab versions of the 2004 Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra, is a "mild" hybrid design using a comparatively small electric machine--a 14kW ISAD (Integrated Starter-Alternator-Damper) from Continental and GM's Vortec 5300 5.3L V-8 engine.

The hybrid's energy storage pack and battery management electronics are stored beneath the vehicle's rear bench seat. The GM Hybrid Pickup achieves furl savings of 12 percent In normal use with emissions performance equivalent to the high standards set by the original vehicle.

Fuel savings come from three principal areas. The highly developed stop/start capability of the hybrid configuration permits the engine to be shut off entirely when the vehicle is at slow speeds or stationary; the furl supply is also shut off in a wider operating envelope of vehicle deceleration with closed throttle, while EM-applied torque during engine braking recharges the batteries.

Further furl economy is gained by sophisticated control of the conventional automatic transmission including maximizing the efficiency gains of a locked-up torque converter.