LoL Delta flyer you will never learn will you, How many times must you look foolish before you learn that your anger is getting the best of you? Maybe your time would be better spent watching Dr. Phill learning how to control that rage then following me around the internet, Making up fake Ebay accounts, and trying your darndest to discredit me?

I may not be an Enthusiast, but I am an owner, And like anyone else am entitled to my opinion on such things. If you dont like it, may I suggest you start your own forum, call it the www.deltaflyerhybridregime.com and then you can control and minipulate the minds of whoever is foolish enough to join!

Look at Sledge, Although I disagree with some of his POV, I still respect the fact that he has an oposing opinion that seems researched, and that we can have a healthy discussion on these topics. Delta Flyer you gotta learn tp Attack Idea's, NOT people.

"Censorship reflects society's lack of confidence in itself. It is a hallmark of an authoritarian regime. ~Potter Stewart"

i think its pretty exciting, remember we all didn't buy a hybrid because it saved money.

hells no we did it for other reasons! and this battery add-on encourages more compeitition and will drive market prices down! imagine being able to choose not one but many different battery types. This is very exciting news although the price is a bit steep but what's interesting about this design is that you get to keep the original battery pack as opposed to Edrive... they have to replace it. And distance, range and price is pretty much the same.

Now if they only offer financing options, but **** this technology is hot. Even if you consider the cost of everything (hybrid car, aftermarket addons, battery addons) I don't think its nowhere near ridculous as what other people spend on their cars.

And yes you can get it now, if you got the $... i'm sure some of you do Instead of waiting in 2008 when lion hybrids are common place.

i got around 20 km a liter when i drove a civic 5 spd using advanced hypermiler techniques
and now I drive a salvage nwh20 prius that gets almost to 25 km/l with 195,000 km to date.

Valence Technologies has a plug-in Prius that completely removes the NiMH pack and puts a large lithium-sulfur pack in its place. It costs a lot only because production targets are very low compared to the number of Priuses that Toyota sells a year. I think the plug-in tech is exciting and we have to let automakers know that otherwise they won't take the risk of providing it in a production vehicle.

There was an article today about a South African scientist who has created a metal-based solar panel (as opposed to silicon-based) which has a much higher efficiency, is much cheaper and should be in production in a year. Imagine how much clean power you could make lining your roof with these panels. Imagine plugging in your PHEV into your house and driving on free electricity. And the rest of the electricity you make can be sold to the power company, mitigating or completely eliminating the costs of the solar array and the PHEV conversion.

As far as green tech is concerned, we are living in interesting times

Hmmm... It's too bad that an IMA cannot be modified for EV use. I totally dig my 2003 HCH, and the EV-mode is the only thing I would add.

I wonder if there might be a way to create a sort of "portable" EV pack that could be used with a HSD-type hybrid. I would think it would be more convenient to bring in a briefcase-sized pack and plug *that* into a wall outlet instead of having to drag an extension cord out to the car.

Or... would such a unit be too small to push a car?

A couple of years ago, some explored the possibility of an Insight with two battery packs - sort of like a plug-in hybrid. I'd benefit with only a more robust Assist getting up to highway speed. I would not mind having a very limited EV mode for gridlock traffic.

Just think about airplanes:

• 1903 - 1st flight
• 1919 - crossed the Atlantic
• circa 1933 - flew around the world (multiple stops)
• 1943 - fly at over 400mph - 1st jets
• 1953 - mach 2
• 1963 - mach 3
• 1969 - lunar landing

That's relatively fast, but maybe I should have done PCs for the more impatient.

Just think what might be out in 20 or so years...

61.5mpg lifetime - 82mpg in recent months

Best Run >
www.cleanmpg.com

"fanatic" is what the lazy call the dedicated

Hey, that's not such a bad idea - you've got me thinking!

Assuming the maximum weight of the "suitcase" you would be willing to lug about was 25 kilograms (55 lbs), then assume 5 kg of that for packaging, electronics and cable etc, that leaves you 20 kg free for batteries.

Then using the best energy density 18650 lithium cells available off-the-shelf (Sanyo 211 Wh/kg), that 20 kg of batteries amounts to 20 * 0.211 kWh, or about 4.2 kWh of energy storage. Enough for up to 20 miles EV mode, not bad for a suitcase!

You could even take it into work and charge it while hiding it under your desk! If disguised as an ordinary briefcase, nobody would be any the wiser and your boss would be paying all your commuting costs!

Doesn't really matter if it can or not. So long as the energy from the pack contributes to the "mix" at all (by helping assist the gas-engine for most of the time), then less gasoline will be used.

http://mysite.wanadoo-members.co.uk/ecotech/ecot.htm