Quote:
Originally Posted by jpnh
I could see where performance could be gained from a vehicle that relies primarily on electric motors for propulsion and a conventional fuel engine to provide all/part of the electricity.....this is essentially the same model used by diesel electric locomotives......massive power capabilities are possible and its not exactly immature/untested technology
Cost is pretty high and weight of batteries if that functionality is to be added is not insignificant
Personally I prefer the simplicity of existing internal combustion engines/vehicles
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Electric motors are even simpler than combustion engines, less moving parts. Not to mention instant torque. Just a flat solid torque curve that a big block V8 would be envious of.
The big sticking point is as you already point out battery density, and of course charge speed.
Until you can fit 500 miles worth of batteries into the space a fuel tank takes up, and charge that battery in less than 5 minutes the uptake simply won't be there.