Integrated Motor Assist (commonly abbreviated as IMA) is Honda's hybrid car technology, introduced in 1999 on the Insight. It uses an electric motor mounted between the engine and transmission to act as a starter motor, engine balancer, and assist traction motor. In its first generation, IMA could not power the car on electricity alone, and could only use the motor to assist or start the engine. The 2006 Civic Hybrid, however, can activate the electric motor while the vehicle is coasting without turning the ICE on, though in contrast to Toyota's Hybrid Synergy Drive (HSD) or General Motors and DaimlerChrysler's Advanced Hybrid System 2 (AHS2), the IMA has a less powerful motor/generator which allows the car to slow or stop its rate of deceleration to a lesser extent; it cannot operate without turning over the ICE which is directly coupled to its electric motor. For other uses, see Honda (disambiguation). ... Honda Insight, a hybrid gas-electric vehicle 2004 Toyota Prius, a hybrid gas-electric vehicle A hybrid vehicle uses multiple energy sources or propulsion systems to provide motive power. ... The Honda Insight is a 2-seater hatchback hybrid automobile manufactured by Honda. ... Rotating magnetic field as a sum of magnetic vectors from 3 phase coils. ... In mechanics, a transmission or gearbox is the gear and/or hydraulic system that transmits mechanical power from a prime mover (which can be an engine or electric motor), to some form of useful output device. ... In 1903, the first U.S. patent for an automobile electric self-starter was issued to Clyde J. Coleman of New York City (No. ... In piston engine engineering, a balance shaft is an eccentric weighted shaft which offsets the vibrations of unbalanced engines. ... Traction motor typically refers to those motors that are used to power the driving wheels of a railroad locomotive, electrical multi-unit train (such as a subway or light rail vehicle train), or a tram. ... The Honda Civic Hybrid is a hybrid version of the Honda Civic sedan. ... A colorized automobile engine The internal combustion engine is a heat engine in which the burning of a fuel occurs in a confined space called a combustion chamber. ... Toyota redirects here. ... Hybrid Synergy Drive (HSD) is a set of hybrid car technologies developed by Toyota and used in that companys Prius, Highlander Hybrid, Camry Hybrid, and Lexus RX 400h automobiles. ... General Motors Corporation, also known as GM, is an American automobile maker with worldwide operations and brands including Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC, Holden, Hummer, Opel, Pontiac, Saturn, Saab and Vauxhall. ... DaimlerChrysler AG headquartered in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg and Auburn Hills, Michigan, is a prominent automobile and truck manufacturer and financial services provider (through DaimlerChrysler Financial Services). ... Advanced Hybrid System 2 (AHS2) is a set of hybrid vehicle technologies jointly developed by General Motors and DaimlerChrysler. ...

The theory behind IMA is to use regenerative braking to recapture some of the energy lost through deceleration, and reuse that energy later on to help accelerate the vehicle. This has two effects: it increases the rate of acceleration, and it reduces the work required of the gasoline engine. The acceleration boost is important as it allows the engine to be scaled down to a smaller but more fuel-efficient variant without rendering the vehicle overly slow or weak. This smaller engine is the primary reason cars equipped with IMA get better highway mileage than their more conventional counterparts. A regenerative brake is an apparatus, a device or system which allows a vehicle to recapture and store part of the kinetic energy that would otherwise be lost to heat when braking. ...

Additionally, vehicles equipped with IMA can shut off their engine when the vehicle stops and use the electric motor to rapidly spin it back up when the driver releases the brake pedal. They also have a conventional starter as a backup, making it the only production hybrid system which can operate with its high voltage electric system disabled, using only its ICE like a traditional vehicle. However, since the IMA also acts as the vehicle's alternator, eventually the 12 V accessory battery would require an external charge. Early 20th century Alternator made in Budapest, Hungary, in the power generating hall of a hydroelectric station. ...

List of vehicles using IMA

• Honda Insight (1999-2006)
• Honda Civic Hybrid (2003-)
• Honda Accord Hybrid (2005-)