Battery and Boost: The AVL Turbo Hybrid Concept

The reason we are having such a hard time getting more fuel efficient cars is that people demand unnecessary torque and horsepower when in reality one cannot even use that much before spinning out. Cars don't need to have a fast pickup speed. Sure it is nice, but I think that some of us can sacrifice some of that for a cleaner environment.

I'm curious if the writer has ever driven a Prius. My 2005 will out-accelerate most standard cars and plumber's vans from a stop, I've encountered. Doing 0 to 60 in about 10 seconds topping out at a little over 100 mph. Verified on Edmunds.com.

I'm no mechanic but as I understand it electric motors have instant torque. On / off. I don't think access to torque is a problem. I think drain on the batteries may play a part and computer governed acceleration may also play a role on electric vehicles and hybrids that use the electric motor to start.

Hybrid vehicles don’t use the electric motor for acceleration. They save fuel by switching to their electric motor while cruising.

Speaking only for the Prius, it can and does use both electric power and gas engine power at the same time thru the Power Split Device controlled by the car's computer. During hard acceleration it is using both to achieve respectable torque. The electric motor has a better torque at low speeds than a similar size gas engine. Crusing above 35 mph the gas engine does not shut down, the electric motor applies power to improve the gas mileage, once again controlled by the car computer. When stopped the car will shut down the engine and if you're easy on the gas pedal start off on the battery. The engine restarts again as dictated by charge and load.

electric motors by virtue of their inherent characteristics (highly cusomizable by changing winding pattern etc.) have a great combination of torque and horsepower - a combination most internal combustion engines are trying to achieve, successfully and not so successfully...

thereofore, i think electric cars and electric hybrids are the future. the reason production increases are not happening is due to the relative low battery technology available as on date. a breakthrough in this area would propel the electric/electric hybrid into the mainstream in a short span of time.

When are you crazy Americans going to get the message that if we are to pull the planet back from the brink we have to reduce our carbon footprints to 10% of what we currently expect? That's TO 10%, not BY 10%!!
That means forgetting about 0 to 100 in 10 secs in a 2 tonne truck, just be grateful that you can make the journey at all in your 250cc cardboard fantastic.
It also means living in the space of a single room, keeping your entire wardrobe in one suitcase and (this is where you'll really grit your teeth) reducing your food intake to about a tenth. Which, by the way, is what most of the rest of the world cheerfully get by on.
OK, OK, so I'm bloody crazy and there's no way you're gonna give up your Hummer. Just don't grizzle when the climate goes AWOL.

When are you going to put your head on straight? Crazy Americans!!! Last time I checked BMW is a German automaker, or could also be call a EUROPEAN automaker. I also remember the article speaking of racing down the autoban, not interstate 15. I just thought I would remind you since you don't really seem to know what you are talking about. I'd also like to remind you that GM is coming out with the VOLT (Two articles up), and Ford already has the Fusion Hybrid out on the market. This is much better than the crazy European idea of squeezing into a smart car and getting run off the road by every Kia. You Europeans like to blame Americans for every world problem, well maybe we should stop buying foreign autos all together and see where you sit after that. Enjoy your Euro hybrid, and we will enjoy our more efficient, smarter hybrid produce right her in the U.S. by my fellow crazy Americans.

Just move to electrical engines, instant torque and power!

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The basic principles for saving fuel ( energy ) haven't changed. Keeping weight down, reducing energy losses to the environment, and not driving in an abrupt, jerky manner. Hybrids acheive their best overall efficiency when driven at slower speeds in traffic,because the extra weight of the larger battery and electrical transmission is more than offset by the smaller internal combustion engine only running some of the time. If the vehicle is running much of it's mileage at speed on motorways,( autobahns )then that extra weight will reduce it's performance. Until someone comes up with an electrical energy store ( battery, supercapacitor, flywheel, fuel cell or whatever ) that matches the power and range of a diesel or petrol car, hybrids will be best for mostly urban use. Of course if a reliable and safe means of connecting vehicles to the power grid while they were on the move, all that would change. An in the road power source would have several advantages if it could be made fail safe and afordable.
One approach that might help with present technology could be to have the exhaust turbine downstream of the catalytic converter and that turbine drive the alternator rather than the blower.Typical turbines turn at very high revs, which is fine for electrical generation, but poor for running blowers The blower / compressor that supplies both the engine and the passengers with fresh air could be driven electrically and remote from the heat and vibration of the engine compartment. Already many automobile models use an electrically driven fan to draw air through the radiator ( which gives better efficiency and more choice in where to place it in the vehicle )
A large blower going slow is more efficient than a small one running fast, but does not need to weigh more as the parts are less stressed and can be made from a greater choice of lighter materials. The hollow sections of the vehicle body / chassis, can act as compressed air reservoirs with little or no added vehicle weight.If the pressures pumped and stored are sufficient, the compressed air can act as it's own refrigerant and do the job of the air conditioning without a separate compressor. Another weight saving idea could be to incorporate the starter motor into the flywheel. This would involve an extra clutch,but doing away with the ring gear and reducing the space required for the engine, smaller battery, and lighter wiring harness might offset this. In this arrangement the flywheel would be brought up to speed and then the first clutch engaged to start the engine.