Forget getting Zapped by EEStor, etc. This one is more shocking in a number of ways -
http://engineeringtv.com/blogs/etv/archive/2009/07/07/lightning-hybrids-hydr aulic-drivetrain-part-1.aspx yes - it is a hybrid BUT it does NOT use advanced batteries. Instead it uses hydraulics for energy storage. And it is a double hybrid since the small diesel is to be fueled by biodiesel. Carbon neutral. And especially notable, it excels in energy-recovery from braking - where even the Prius and every other hybrid is weak- like 30% or so. This gets back almost triple that. Also the mileage is double the Prius, and the carbon footprint is lower than any PHEV (without the shenanigans of battery packs that require lots of carbon to recharge, on average due to battery and line losses). Shocking indeed - they don't call it 'lightning' for nutin' ;-) Also, here is the aesthetic flash - its beauty, low drag, light weight and drivetrain logic almost strike one down, so to speak, once you get over the novelty of the different approach they are taking. How could Detroit have missed this? That was rhetorical. Detroit misses everything, almost. But how could California have missed it? Forget the Tesla with its sticker shock - this one has both beauty and brains without the big-bucks. . saving $30,000 on the lack of a battery pack alone. . nearly 100 mpg is available without batteries - making one wonder if all the emphasis by DoE on battery hybrids is not totally misplaced.
