Discussion on Electric Cars and ICE Assist

I would like to share this email thread that I started with Bob Flora.  I hope some of you will add to the discussion.

Dear Bob,

Now that full electric vehicles are a growing reality, I would like to return to our discussions from some years ago about the optimal hybrid.  The engineering approach of the current hybrids are to augment a ICE with electric.  I would like to investigate augmenting electric with an ICE.  Please post your thoughts on the club blog.

Dear Brian,

I don't know how to post, nor what you want posted, but here are my random thoughts, feel free to post as you wish;

First, we're not talking about the dozens of IC fossil fuel cars that happen to have a token electric stater motor on steroids used to simply increase the fossil efficiency by some percentage.  (Prius, Insight, Ford Fusion, the list goes on....   Don't get me wrong, these are nice fossil cars, but they're not electric cars!)

I've been accumulating data on electric cars as I learn about them.   The enclosed very informal spread sheet is neither exhaustive nor necessarily accurate, but comes simply from what I have read:

25 electric cars are listed and the first 6 have some form of on-road recharging capability from fossil fuel.   I will give my take on each one in order as listed:

BYD is very serious about the F6 DM and has the money, government and private backing, battery technology, and capability to produce it cheaply, but we really don't have any specs yet.

The Volvo Recharge is very unique (except for the Lightning) in that it uses 4 very high tech (Hi-Pa) in wheel motors from PML.

The Aptera 2h uses only a 9 KW fossil fuel engine...   fantastic body...  0.05 drag!!

The Volt really looks good, but is a little heavy on the fossil fuel with 53 KW and a little weak on performance.   (But I wouldn't dare to actually get inside a Volt...  GM might crush it at any moment!)

The Karma (I sat in one in Geneva...   it's nice but cramped.) really isn't a full electric.   Yes, it's driven solely by 2x150 KW electric motors, but the battery can't deliver the full power without assistance from the 194 KW fossil engine.

The (Swiss) MindSet is the ultimate extreme of a totally electric car with a token fossil engine for on-road recharge.   The one cylinder engine is very small and can be lifted out of the car and left in the garage for typical local use.   You only need to put it in the car for long trips.

BUT, I plan to take this ultimate concept on step further with my Tesla S.   I will also leave the fossil engine in the garage like the MindSet, but I will actually mount it in a second car (the STI) and allow the second car to take the fossil engine on long trips for me.   A sort of hybrid-garage, if you will!

Shalom, Bob

PS Yes, I know all the main stream companies (Chrysler, Mercedes, BMW, Volkswagen) are planning something "in the future" like the Volt, but we really don't have any hard facts yet and their track record has been so poor in the past (though not as bad as GM).