Posted on 08/13/2025 7:11:07 AM PDT by Red Badger
“Toyota seems to have found a good solution with the Prius.”
All new Camry’s and RAV4’s are hybrids.
The next question is how many kW will these gas engines produce to power the EV car (charge the battery)? Let's say we're getting 2 miles / kWh while driving 80mph down the highway. That means we're consuming 40 kWh in an hour. Will the gas generator in the car provide at least 40kW of power to keep us going indefinitely? Maybe a 4-cyl engine can do that. If not, then the car will still be very dependent on the battery for long trips, and the article says they're looking at 60 miles on battery alone.
If the engine can produce at least 40kW of power to power the motors and charge the batteries, then it'd be a practical car for most people. For local driving, the 60 mile range on battery alone would save a lot on gas (use up practically no gas for local driving while adding only a little to your power bill), while on long trip driving you don't have to stop to recharge every 200 or so miles like in a BEV.
“AKA in auto-talk: Hybrid.”
Locomotives don’t use batteries for propulsion.
These are EV’s.
“allows the engine to run at optimal speeds for maximum efficiency”
I think diesel electric locomotives, which have no batteries, have the ability to configure the windings in the generator so that at low speeds, lower voltage, higher amperage current is delivered to the traction motors.
At high speeds, where the traction motors produce a higher back-voltage, the generators need to feed them a higher voltage.
And keeping the diesel motors running in a decent efficiency range.
Basically, it’s electrical gear shifting.
“Will the gas generator in the car provide at least 40kW of power to keep us going indefinitely? Maybe a 4-cyl engine can do that.”
40 kw is 54 hp.
Two things:
41 percent thermal efficiency? That’s Something
Gazoo Racing? What wacko came up with that name??
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Great_Gazoo
Hhmmm...we just bought a toyota hybrid ...awaiting delivery...is this similar?
Sorta, but EVs suck.
However, electric drivetrains are far superior to mechanical ones, especially atomic transmissions (guaranteed to blow up on you).
Coupled with a minimal battery size and a lightweight high output powerplant, a sexy AWD coupe or sports sedan would be a blast to drive, long lived and very trouble free.
A similar configuration would also make a decent AWD or 4X4 truck, either gas or diesel.
I think batteries have revolutionized the bicycle industry.
Walking is about 3mph, even a slow EV bike ride is 10-12mph.
Bike paths for suburban transportation are now a realistic option in/when warm climes.
And hybrids shouldn't need much battery power either, just enough to get rolling smoothly from a dead stop.
Well, “we are waiting”.
So, by adding a gasoline engine, how many more things to go wrong?
It sort-of makes sense for a vehicle that has a lot of local short trips and some longer trips. But I question the value, versus cost and weight, of electric operation for even short trips, which by definition for non-commercial use don’t normally rack up many miles.
> long lived and very trouble free.
The E part, sure. The fuel-burning part, not necessarily.
Toyota should bring back the 5.7 V8. That engine is bulletproof. Enough of the small v6 with twin turbos. Using high rpm to get torque and hp is a fool’s error.
The Ford 10 speed auto tranny is the path. Others should follow that lead.
Depends on who builds the engine. Toyota has a good reputation for longevity.
Depends on model....................
Depends on model....................
256k miles on my Subaru Legacy 2.5GT. Toyota does has a small share with Subaru/Fuji Heavy Industries.
The flat 4 turbo and AWD are legendary. Had issues in the early years with head gaskets, but reliable as the years go on. Most of the bugs have been worked out since its been in production for so long in one form or another.
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