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Weight and poor design result in a disproportionate amount of fuel consumption in vehicles. (http://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/think-tanks-plug-in-car-aerodynamics-are-key-5561.html)

http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/501/plug.jpgMichael Kanellos - greentechmedia (http://www.greentechmedia.com) - January 21, 2009

There is plenty of talk about this sort of thing recently... where are the vehicles? --Ed.

How can you quickly improve the performance of the battery in an electric car? Lose weight.

Bright Automotive, which spun out of the Rocky Mountain Institute in January, is building a plug-in hybrid vehicle that will get 100 miles a gallon (see Green Light post). Just as important, Bright is going to try to keep the car economically priced, in part by reducing the size of the battery.

The battery pack in Bright's car, conceivably, could be made 40 percent smaller than the batteries in similar plug-ins, according to CEO John Waters. To date, the relatively high cost of batteries has kept electric and plug-in vehicles at the fringes of the auto industry.

The slimming of the battery essentially comes because of a focus on weight, aerodynamics, rolling resistance, new construction materials and other design factors, he said in an interview. By reducing wind resistance and weight, the company's engineers effectively... http://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/think-tanks-plug-in-car-aerodynamics-are-key-5561.html

Convoluted thinking, at least in the title. If they are focusing on aero, how will this help with delivery vehicles?? [Or will we be getting our mail delivered a lot faster than it is now?? I can just see the postman careening around this condo complex, scattering people and dogs!].

The focus on weight reduction makes sense, though.

Another thought is that reducing highway speeds could pay off by enabling vehicles to be lighter (and cheaper) in several ways:
- less need for aero treatments (which are often light but still add some weight)
- structural needs and therefore weights could be reduced if crash speeds were lower

Chrysler needs to read this. Their talk of just throwing more batteries in there is a "less than optimal" solution.

Chrysler needs to read this. Their talk of just throwing more batteries in there is a "less than optimal" solution.

M1A1 BEV?

http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/501/Hybrid_FSP_310.jpg

(Psst! Andrew! You could sell your hybrid through the Hummer dealers!)

http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/501/Hybrid_FSP_310.jpg

http://www.greencarcongress.com/2007/08/bae-systems-dem.html

http://bioage.typepad.com/./photos/uncategorized/2007/08/15/nlosc.png

Image of the proposed mobile 155 mm artillery, diesel-electric hybrid.

Harry

Now THAT is awesome!

Nobody's going to tailgate that baby!

Another good option for America! I truly believe the PHEV is the platform that will deliver us from our addiction and the the clutches of the dealer, OPEC.

But these fledgling companies must realize that they have very large, powerful and unscrupulous companies and cartels that see them as a threat to their bottom line profitability. They will do "what ever it takes" to slow or stop their progress!