150 mpg with Hybrid SUV??? NOW we're talking.

[Joe Blake]

http://www.gizmag.com.au/the-first-hybrid-technology-with-a-positive-roi/8652/

Not that I'm any sort of of fan of SUV's but the performance said to be obtained from what is normally a fuel inefficient vehicle looks good. New capacitor type storage.

Wow.

Joe

[Sean Skirvin]

To be fair you must consider how they calculate that 150MPG. They state that you get 150MPG if you drive 40 miles per day, Monday-Saturday, and 100 miles on Sunday. Those are numbers are quite convenient considering that their Bat/Cap pack has a range of 40 miles. I am also not sure if they calculate the KWH of electricity from the grid into the MPG either, they may though. If you DO consider the KWH from the grid(considering gas is used, burnt at 50% eff), then a car like the Aptera(All electric) would get somewhere around 300MPG Hwy, and if you don't consider grid power it would get ∞MPG.:D

I do, however like the idea of plug-in hybrids, you can charge many of the cars on the road for most of their driving right now, without expanding the grid, because you can charge at night when the grid is way below capacity. I also like the idea of using capacitors for reliving stress on the battery packs and for regen braking. If they succeed in bringing the price of the "power train" for electric vehicles and hybrids, I think this could be a very good thing.

p.s. I just returned from the Detroit Auto Show, and spoke with someone from that company. For some reason they are not releasing the size of the battery pack, or what kind of batteries are being used. Though he did say that there was nothing special about the batteries, and the vehicle weighed 4500lb. I would assume the bat/cap pack is somewhere between 20-40KWH given the 40 mile all electric distance and the weight of the vehicle.