Date:         Mon, 28 Apr 2003 20:16:43 -0500
Reply-To:     Joel Walker <jwalker17@EARTHLINK.NET>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Joel Walker <jwalker17@EARTHLINK.NET>
Subject:      Re: [vanagon] Re: electric or hybrid conversion?
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"

> I don't think you are missing anything.  There is
> debate as to whether hybrids make any economic
> sence.  A diesel on veggie oil or biodiesel seem
> the better choice.

see, to me, the better choice would be a hybrid .... but not the
way they are doing it. back to the original porsche car ... first
car he ever designed:  gasoline (or diesel) generator to power
four electric motors, one at each wheel. all-time 4wd.

see, i figure we have good enough motors to do this. the
generators nowadays are small enough to fit into a normal trunk
space and have a little cargo room left over. in our buses, there
would be plenty of room. in the old breadloaf buses, there would
be a perfect space where the engine is (to put the generator).

the generator is a smaller engine, and runs at a predetermined
rpm almost all the time, so it should pollute a LOT less than
even a small 4-cylinder honda. and since it does not have to
speed up and slow down at red lights and stop signs, it should be
even easier to design much more effective pollution control
measures for it. and you can run those things at full load for,
say, 6 hours. but you'd never need to run it at full load on the
highway ...once you are up to 60mph, it only takes about 15-20
horsepower to stay at that speed ... the more aerodynamic the
vehicle, the less hp needed.

so figure the generator gets 6 hours per tank. a ONE-gallon tank.
and you get out on the highway and get up to speed and run for
five hours at 60mph. that's 5x60=300 miles on one gallon of gas.
even if you got only TWO hours, that's still 2x60=120mpg!!  and
if the generator ran on diesel, it would get even more range per
gallon.

only problem i can see is the transmission. how to have one. or
do you need one?

anyway, all the infrastructure needed is already in place ... all
the gas stations and tanks-in-the-ground and delivery trucks and
refineries and all that stuff already exists. some of it will
disappear because demand for the product would go way down
(instead of filling up with 12-14 gallons every two weeks, you'd
probably fill up with 1-2 gallons a week).

there's a fellow in los angeles who converts honda crx's in sort
of this way. he makes them all electric, but you only get like a
70mile range. if you need/want to go further, you buy this little
pull-behind trailer which has a generator in it and a cable that
plugs into your car. now you've got a 300-mile range on the gas
tank of the generator, and it's charging the batteries as you
drive along on the highway.

that seems to me to be a better idea than this toyota prius and
honda insight hybrid stuff. those designs, to me, seem way too
complicated ... i mean, you've taken the already complicate
internal combustion engine and its emission problems and made it
worse (by adding the electric side of things).

joel