The trick is getting those numbers in a vehicle that satisfies safety requirements, has creature comforts that people want (like climate controls) and making it large enough to fit 2 or 4 (or whatever) fullsize people plus cargo room.

plugin hybrids aren’t really “tech around the corner” R-and-D-then-wait-and-see obstructed, it’s one more thing to do with what we have, so… why not embrace this?

Electricity is cheaper than gas, so we might as well give oil producers some kind of competition to encourage them to drop rates again…. I like the idea of pitting energy against energy for the benefit of the public.

Right now there aren’t many things that make them compete with one another… just separate oligopolies….

But why is this one news? It’s primary advantage over other hybrids is that its really more of a full electric car that has an on-board generator! Do you see a “mechanical” link between motor and diff on their patent drawing? (follow the link and look around) Only the motor on the diff actually drives the car…. So really, it could be an infinite MPG car b/c it appears to be able to run full-electric, battery pack limited! Their 250MPG figure is just based on some target test feat of some given distance with a fully battery load and full tank load. I think they ought to be using the MPGEEG unit.

It takes a zillion dollars to bring anything useful to market – half to the lawyers. There’s no way a couple of guys in lab coats or dirty finger nails can do it.

j i m