Quote:
Originally Posted by lightfoot
I agree that "mild hybrid" is a term devised to muddy the water and that vehicles of this type should simply be called "autostop" instead. It certainly misled me.
But the above definition of hybrid seemingly excludes Honda Insight, HCH, and maybe HAH because AFAIK none of them will move on electrical power alone. Perhaps a gas/electric hybrid would be "a vehicle that develops significant portions of its motive power from both gas and electricity"?
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My understanding is the HCH can sustain a steady speed on electric power alone by setting the valves for low internal drag. This is something the belt assisted units don't claim. As for the Insight and HAH, I don't know enough about them but there is a distinguishing characteristic between the IMA and auto-stop systems.
The IMA systems enhance the low-end torque of the ICE allowing a smaller, more efficient ICE. The auto-stop systems do not appear to augment the low-end torque and a more efficient, smaller ICE. Now if the auto-stop systems increased their power by a factor of five or more, they
could cross over into the IMA area. But no one has made that claim.
Bob Wilson