i was watching the history channel---highlighted on car history and showed hybrid technology---your thoughts on the dodge full size pick-up hybrid(diesel)??
me personally i think that they are banking on a major money maker- providing it has sufficient hp/torque

 

i kind of like the idea. If it comes out like the civic hybrid, where they sort of had to sacrifice power for efficiency, i would disagree. Ok, so treehuggers, if internal combustion is sooo bad for the environment, why doesnt the environment evolve to protect itself? As far as i am concerned, if the trees and whatnot have not learned how to protect themseles from us, it is their own damn fault, not ours.

 

Until they find a way to make the batteries and electric motor WEIGH LESS, a high-powered hybrid will not happen. Electric motors are 200 miles of copper wire and giant 60-lb magnets; the batteries in the Honda hybrids are almost 1/3 the car's weight. Any gain you would get from adding the electric motor and batteries to the car would be subtracted by the added weight, which is why the gasoline engine has to be shrunk down to a low-performance model.

 

true, my idea is very out there, very stupid. Shouldnt posted that crap.

 

No, it isn't crazy or crap -- it is a doable idea. We just need more of the pieces of the puzzle to fall into place. Pound for pound an electric motor produces MUCH more torque than a gasoline engine, and doesn't need a transmission at all (nearly infinite RPM); all we need is a good, lightweight power source that's superior to our current one (gasoline).

Diesel trains actually use diesel engines to power generators, which in turn power electric motors that turn the wheels -- so a combustion/electric hybrid with amazing performance (try towing 100,000 tons!) already exists. We just need to scale it down to passenger-car size.

 

"at no point in time in your whole presentation did you make anything remotely close to making any real sense. I think everyone in here is now more stupid for listening to you."

LOL i'm just kidding i always wanted to say that. but i must say that is pretty funny. from what i gather they will come out with it and the horsepower is there...