[Quietcars] Some basic definitions

[Robert Wilson]

Hi Noel,

I'm post to provide technical posts, to make sure folks understand what the technology is all about. So I wrote this brief summary to hopefully clarify the different vehicle technologies:

Internal combustion engine - were about 97% of all vehicles sold in the USA in February. They can be powered by burning gasoline, diesel, compressed natural gas (the program you posted about earlier,) ethanol, or other hydrocarbon fuel. The Germans have an experimental car that burns compressed hydrogen. BTW, I've been looking into compressed natural gas vehicles and it looks like the EPA has made this very, very difficult. For example, to sell an after-market, compressed natural gas system, the vendor has to go through a certification test program that can easily cost $250-500,000. 

Parallel hybrids - sales are in the 2% range and consist of the Toyota and Ford models. They use engines whose power cycle, Atkinson, provides high efficiency. In contrast to the Integrated Motor Assist units, they have enough electric power to perform like an ordinary gas car.

Integrated Motor Assist - sales are in the 0.5% range, the Honda hybrids. They also have auto-stop. But the motor has enough torque to allow a smaller engine to perform like a larger displacement engine. They have worked best in compact cars like the Honda Civic and two Insight models that do not require as much power assist. So the Honda Civic Hybrid has a 1.3L engine that performs like the larger, 1.8L gas or compressed natural gas versions.

Auto-stop, belt-assisted, micro-hybrids - sales are in the 0.01% range because of the high cost and poor performance. They work by turning off the engine when the vehicle comes to a stop. They typically add $2-3,000 to the cost and provide barely 1-2 MPG mileage in the city. In Europe, the drivers just turn off the engine at a stop. Of course when the engine is turned off, the air conditioner and vacuum assisted brakes stop working. The electric motor has only enough power to start a warm engine. 

Electric and Extended Range Electric - there are only two models, the Volt and Leaf, and their sales are in the 0.005% range, the smallest group. They have only been on sale since December. Other electric vehicles have been promised . . . and promised . . . and promised. 

Compressed air - the compressed air vehicle is a French experiment that has very limited range and performance such as city speeds only. This is not a cross country or even a 100 mile per day vehicle and only seats two. 

Fuel-cells - terribly expensive not one fuel-cell vehicle is privately available on the market. There have been some leases but similar to the GM EV1 leases that led to the complete destruction of all EV1s.

Bob Wilson