I wonder how much each of those 30kw microturbines cost.

I wonder how much each of those 30kw microturbines cost.

I'm surprised they are not just improving and working on their V4. For the 1 liter range that seems to be adequate.

48 volts will be inadequate - use at least 96 volts. Higher voltages allow for lower current and thinner wires. They also allow for higher RPM's in most motors.

I think it will be a mistake to criticize Boeing to harshly. The 787 makes many giant leaps in technology and it is reasonable that there will be problems to solve. Hopefully the problems that arise will be fixed without fatalities. Certainly many problems have already been addressed and solved. Remember the fatal problems and subsequent learning experienced by the DC-10, B737, B727, Airbus 300 (American flight 587).

If we compare 15,000 miles at 50 mpg (costs $900 in gasoline) with the electric results the electric version saves $400 per year. I wonder how much extra the batteries cost.

It would be more helpful and useful if the study had also taken into account the cost of the larger or smaller genset and the larger or smaller battery capability. Anyone would have guessed that a 110kW genset would require less fuel, and it is fairly obvious that adding a genset allows for smaller batteries.

Probably better than the Leaf, but not as workable as the Volt.

I'm quite surprised that this merits patent protection. There has been information on the web for about 5 years relating to GPS awareness and its ability to decrease the use of range-assist or other electrical energy. (www.milnermotors.com/phevbrochure.htm) What's next? Patenting the idea of extending range by driving slower?

Kudo's to someone willing to take the lead in this. Inductive charging and on-board range extenders are the two big pieces of the puzzle that will aid in customer acceptance. Of course, the price needs to come down, but that will happen with volume.

Or we could save a billion dollars of mostly taxpayer money by encouraging electric vehicles to have a small range-assist engine. It is always so easy to spend other people's money.

This is a great opportunity for them to also fix that most glaring problem with automobiles - the side mirror blind spot.

I forgot to mention that the last remaining piece of the "ease of use" puzzle is that GM needs to add a wireless inductive charging unit. This will be placed on your garage floor so you can park over it, and at your specified time in the night, the charger will turn on and recharge the batteries. This will get rid of the plugging and unplugging that we will all soon start complaining about.

I have not driven the Volt, but feel they have done the best job of answering all the questions & needs that owners have. The range assist is paramount to owners not having range anxiety. I am not surprised that GM priced the vehicle a bit higher than we all would like. Presumably when they have a longer track record and the risk of problems decreases, they will be able to price the car a bit more competitively. It is easy to criticize them, but I feel they have produced a winning combination.

Plus, it sounds like it would make an excellent range-assist engine for electric vehicles!

I think they can do better by incrasing the taper on the rear of the trailer - a very large amount of drag is caused by the still fairly blunt rear end.

This would also be an excellent time to fix the age-old problem of blind spots that occur in virtually all vehicles. Use a camera setup that shows 200 degrees from one side of the car to another. Include some software that notifies the driver if there is a vehicle on either side. I'm amazed that NHTSA has not required this.

Combine this with a range-assist engine and you will have a winning combination.

Oh, I almost forgot the other song I have been singing - that is to also have a range extender in each vehicle so people don't continually have to worry about running out of battery power. Once these two features are in place, again for a reasonable price, electric vehicles will become more popular. Neither inductive charging or a range extender are rocket science, and need not be expensive.

The eventual goal needs to be a wireless, inductive charging station that sits on one's garage floor, turns on automatically in the night when electricity rates are lower, and communicates with each car as needed. This is not a high hurdle, and the first company that comes out with this at a reasonable price will have a leg up on the competition.

Another issue regarding low electric car sales is that no one has yet provided a seamless solution. Drivers of gas-powered vehicles are used to having a very easy system of getting into their cars, driving whereever and however long they wish without hassle and without "battery anxiety." In addition to "battery anxiety", drivers with electric vehicles get tired of having to plug the car in (and unplug it) every evening. The solution requires a car with range extender (like the Volt) that also has an inductive charger that sits on the garage floor and automatically charges the vehicle in the night.

The reason NEV's are not allowed to go faster than 25 mph is that they are less crashworthy. Any company that spends the money to make their cars meet modern standards can drive them as fast as they wish.

Does anyone out there have any direct experience with the effectiveness of these government grants?

How can you have an average range of up to 100 miles? That is like saying the average person weighs up to 400 lbs. More specific information please.

I understand the idea behind quick-charge stations. I just think the idea is wrong. I'm guessing the average person drives 40 miles per day 28 days of the month, and 200 miles each of the other two days. on the 40 mile days, zero gasoline is used and zero quick charge stations are needed. on the other two days, drivers either need to stop two or three times to quick charge, or use 5 gallons of gasoline (each day). So having an on-board genset allows these average drivers to use 10 gallons of gas each month, with ZERO stops at a quick charge station.