Air Based Hybrid?
I don't like electricity based hybrids for a variety of reasons and wonder if air could be used instead. You'd have a smaller engine (ideally one designed with supercharging in mind) that could be supercharged from a compressed air tank and a compressor to pump it up (and give you regenerative braking). When you need extra power for accelerating, you'd use air from the tank. It seems like with clever design the tank could be integrated into the frame to save space and/or weight. With a home compressor you could even have the equivalent of a plug-in hybrid (at least to an extent). A turbocharger for energy recovery may or may not make sense (same with an intercooler). Obviously there's more cost, more complexity, and probably more overall weight, but that's true of electric hybrids as well.
A more advanced approach would be to use an engine cycle that relies on external compression, but that's taking it to a whole other level.
Truthfully, I don't think this is the way to go either, but it makes for an interesting technical discussion.
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Main Entry: co de pen dence - see codependency
co de pen den cy
Pronunciation: \kō-di-ˈpen-dən(t)-sē\
Function: noun
Date: 1979
: a psychological condition or a relationship in which a person is controlled or manipulated by another who is affected with a pathological condition (as an addiction to alcohol or heroin) ; broadly : dependence on the needs of or control by another
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