I think alot of people get confused about "Regenerative Braking". Instead of re-hashing it, I'm gonna quote wiki directly.
A regenerative brake is a mechanism that reduces vehicle speed by converting some of its kinetic energy into another useful form of energy. This captured energy is then stored for future use or fed back into a power system for use by other vehicles.
For example, electrical regenerative brakes in electric railway vehicles feed the generated electricity back into the supply system. In battery electric and hybrid electric vehicles, the energy is stored in a battery or bank of capacitors for later use. Other forms of energy storage which may be used include compressed air and flywheels.
Regenerative braking should not be confused with dynamic braking, which dissipates the electrical energy as heat.
Basically, a motor and a generator are nearly identical. One creates energy, while the other uses it. Toyota's hybrid Synergy Drive uses a dual mode motor. When you apply a charge, it turns the motor. When you let off the gas, the motor no longer has a charge applied, so it converts to a generator which in-turn charges the batteries. Of course, it takes significantly more energy to create energy, so perpetual motion is not acheived. (perpetual motion is impossible, thanks to physics).
So basically, Regenerative Braking has NOTHING to do with the brakes on the car.
Charles
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