http://www.usatoday.com/money/autos/...n-hybrid_N.htm
Published in USA Today, this article pretty well puts the nail in the coffin of any remaining hybrid skeptics. Unlike hydrogen fool cells, this is real, practical and soon enough available even if we have to build it ourselves . . . as some have been doing for two years!

Bob Wilson

 

I don't think so. From the same article:

I also have reservations about the use of two-mode for longer trips (the inefficiency of converting combustion energy to battery to motor to road). Let's face it, people buy vehicles to do everything they want in one package, which is why SUVs, crossovers, and mini-vans continue to sell despite all the negative press, and why cars are bigger and stacked with features for long-drive comfort. And people want their own house on their own lot, so they will move farther from their workplace or city centre to achieve that. Driving distances are getting longer. In my opinion, plug-ins and two-modes are exercises in futility to a losing cultural war against the standard of living.

The best thing anyone can do is reduce or eliminate their private transportation, except for the self-propelled kind. The next best thing is to use private transportation that makes optimal use of both electric and fuel. At this time, the only solution doing that is parallel hybrid (eg. Honda Civic Hybrid).

 

Shouldn't you include the Toyota Prius in your statement? After all, it does save more gas than the Honda. To be fair and balanced in the reporting.

 

#1 you gotta start somewhere

#2 IF you can drive your entire commute on electric only, this should be cleaner for the environment.

All ICE's pollute the most when they are cold.
IF you can elliminate all the cold starts, all the time, this will be cleaner to buy your power from the power plant, than the gas station.
-John

 

These aren't pure electric vehicles. The engines have to come into play at some time. I contend that combo hybrids and series hybrids afford manufacturers to disregard the performance/efficiency of their engines. Bob will tell you that the best measure of a hybrid is the level of contribution of the electric motor to overall power. My disagreement comes from the fact that two of the three most fuel-efficient hybrids happen to be among those with the least contributions from the electric motor. You should ask yourself why the Prius' engine is 115% the size of the HCH's but produces only 81% of the power (current models).

 

Any ways, I wasn't trying to start an argument over whose hybrid is better. The bottom line is that there will continue to be reasons to criticize hybrids in the future. I for one would like to know how disconcerting it will be to drive a series hybrid with an engine that has a mind of its own, starting and revving in accordance with projected battery depletion and demand. It should be like those cherry picker public utilities trucks, only not as loud. How far can you go with air conditioning?

 

The Toyota/Ford hybrids start and stop their gas engines already on their own. We've managed to map many of the control laws but literally, the car has a 'mind of its own.' It turns out to be very easy to get used to.

As for air conditioning, it looks like a 5000 BTU air conditioner takes about 800 W. This is well within the energy range of the projected battery packs but obviously there will be an EV range hit. The same is true in the winter but hopefully instead of being just an air conditioner, it will also work as a heat-pump.

A sea change is coming and things will be different but we are adaptable.

Bob Wilson

 

Actually, I was referring to the "two-mode" that GM is developing. It's a true series hybrid, not what Toyota and Ford are offering, which are combos.

There is a communication problem with hybrid terminology, and surely I'm not the only one who struggles to keep the hybrid methods straight in my mind. So, I'm using the terms provided here by Honda for reference: Parallel hybrid doesn't remove the engine from the drivetrain. The engine is integral, even when it produces zero output or negligible friction; Combo hybrid splits the power variably between engine and motor, and the engine can be shut-off or be used as a generator. It's a marrying of characteristics from both parallel and series hybrids; And lastly, a series hybrid (referred to as "two-mode" by GM) removes the engine from the drivetrain, instead using it only as a generator for the batteries. Because of this, the series hybrid's engine will not be influenced by the driver.

 

Hi,
I'm pretty sure the "two-mode" is a combo like the Ford/Toyota systems. It is more complex but their sketches also show multiple clutches, two motor generators and a mechanical gear train from the crankshaft to the final gears. I believe this mechanical path from engine to wheel was critical to their tow capabilities.

I agree the Volt style series has tremendous potential. The traditional problem with a series hybrid is relatively low efficiency from the engine to the wheels. The Volt makes up for this by using the grid to provide battery energy. It also means that when generating power, the ICE-generator can be tuned for maximum efficiency. This means a gentle warm-up followed by a nearly full-throttle charge-drive operation.

It will be interesting to see what efficiency a Volt achieves running 'unplugged' from the grid. The traditional efficiency for a generator and motor are roughly 95% so the combined efficiency would be just above 90%. However, if the average ICE efficiency is improved by 5%, from say 28% to 33%, it would easily compensate for the transmission losses at highway speeds. Anything over 33% and we're talking mileage records for a production vehicle.

The only fly in the ointment is the rumors of 'leasing batteries.' If the battery specification is made an open spec so we can lease from more than GM, I'd be interested. If it is a GM only lease, NO SALE.

Bob Wilson

 

It lied. The true MPG is the (number of gallons used + the gallon-equivalent kilowatt-hours used) / miles driven.

71 mpg is not the truth.