adric22
Well-known member
I've been thinking a lot about the design of the Chevy Volt. And I'm just curious if anyone has given any thought to something similar on a smaller scale.
Lets say, for example, that a vehicle like the Leaf could have some kind of small microturbine engine. Something small, quiet, and cheap. Okay, so it won't produce enough power to actually drive the car. But it could carry enough fuel to double the range. Just one gallon of liquid fuel could probably recharge the battery over a period of time.
So, lets examine how that would work. Lets say you need to drive further than the usual limit of the Leaf's battery. You could tell it to turn the range extender on at the beginning of the trip and it would be charging while you drive. Sure, you are still going to deplete the battery but it might add 15 or 20 miles of range. Then, when you park at your destination, it would keep running and recharging your batteries. After a few hours, you return to your car and you've gained 20 or 30 more miles of range. You could, in theory, add more fuel on the go if need be.
Now, I'm sure this idea sounds silly to a lot of people, because they want an EV, not a hybrid. And the people that want a hybrid want to be able to drive on gasoline for really, really long trips. But, if such an option could be added to the Leaf for, say, $2,000 or less.. that could be an attractive option to people who drive a bit further than the regular range of the car, and I dare say it would get very good fuel economy. Because it would be so small, it could fit into the hatchback area and probably add only a small amount of weight to the car.
if Nissan put some kind of CAN-BUS and high voltage port in the back of the car and some sort of exhaust hose, and the thing integrated in with the on-board electronics, I bet people would buy it. Instead of having 75 miles of driving before finding a charging station somewhere, you could conceivably have 150 miles, albiet maybe not all at once.
Lets say, for example, that a vehicle like the Leaf could have some kind of small microturbine engine. Something small, quiet, and cheap. Okay, so it won't produce enough power to actually drive the car. But it could carry enough fuel to double the range. Just one gallon of liquid fuel could probably recharge the battery over a period of time.
So, lets examine how that would work. Lets say you need to drive further than the usual limit of the Leaf's battery. You could tell it to turn the range extender on at the beginning of the trip and it would be charging while you drive. Sure, you are still going to deplete the battery but it might add 15 or 20 miles of range. Then, when you park at your destination, it would keep running and recharging your batteries. After a few hours, you return to your car and you've gained 20 or 30 more miles of range. You could, in theory, add more fuel on the go if need be.
Now, I'm sure this idea sounds silly to a lot of people, because they want an EV, not a hybrid. And the people that want a hybrid want to be able to drive on gasoline for really, really long trips. But, if such an option could be added to the Leaf for, say, $2,000 or less.. that could be an attractive option to people who drive a bit further than the regular range of the car, and I dare say it would get very good fuel economy. Because it would be so small, it could fit into the hatchback area and probably add only a small amount of weight to the car.
if Nissan put some kind of CAN-BUS and high voltage port in the back of the car and some sort of exhaust hose, and the thing integrated in with the on-board electronics, I bet people would buy it. Instead of having 75 miles of driving before finding a charging station somewhere, you could conceivably have 150 miles, albiet maybe not all at once.