GM hybrid pickup bites the dust

[GasSavers_Brock]

And there are stock trucks that get better mileage without the "hybrid" parts and for a lot less $

[GasSavers_Randy]

It was a belt-alternator-starter. Would be nice as a standard add-on, but it's hardly 'hybrid'.

The inverter was kind of cool, but contractors didn't exactly scramble for them. Nice Honda 3kw generators are a lot less than $3000, they don't use gas like a V8, they aren't attached to a truck, and they probably already own a couple of them. The other big generator use is service trucks, but those are welder/generators. So basically it was a solution in search of a problem.

[caprice]

Yeah I don't even think the prius should be called a hybrid, unless it is plugged to recharge every night.

Since I engine off coast my ZX2, it is a hybrid, just like the silverado! I deserve an "alternative fuel" lisence plate! and tax credits!

I also don't think propane should be considered "alternative fuel" or any fuel that is relied on oil.

[basjoos]

Originally Posted by caprice

Since I engine off coast my ZX2, it is a hybrid, just like the silverado! I deserve an "alternative fuel" lisence plate! and tax credits!

Instead of driving gas-electric hybrids that store their energy temporarily in the form of battery chemistry, which is later retrieved to power the vehicle, we drive gas-gravity-kinetic energy hybrids that store their energy temporarily in the form of elevation and/or velocity which is later retrieved to power the vehicle while it is rolling with the engine off. I have had people ask me if my car was an electric car or a hybrid after they watched me drive down a street, turn into a parking lot, and pull into a parking slot with my engine shut down the whole time

[landspeed]

Basjoos - I was thinking about this today (gas/gravity/kinetic energy hybrid).

The advantage of using gravity + kinetic energy is that you 'store' 100% of the energy - the downside is that, the more (kinetic) energy you store, the faster it decays. I now try (if no-one is around, and I'm not in a rush), to switch off the engine while going uphill, so I go over the top of the hill at 15mph, giving me a lot more travel on the other side before the wind resistance starts really cutting in. My favourite hills are those where you can do 30mph down the other side without speeding up more than this