electric motor tech

News reports emphasized extensive work on aerodynamics, achieving the least air resistance ever in autos. Special attention to the bottom was supposed to be important. More wind tunnel hours than ever etc.
I get 45mpg at 80mph common on rural interstates, compared to denser areas. You'd only get the EPA 49 at 60 or the proverbial 55 -- or driving in Japan?.

 

They did a great job on the system dropping 66lbs that way. I felt confident buying this because of how the possibilities of the hybrid were thoroughly exploited, eliminating the transmission etc., compared to just tacking an electric motor onto conventional drivetrains. That's going beyond efficiency as such to improve the whole product.

It does not seem very amenable to being purely battery driven without making the electric motors much bigger, and changing the over-all design then quite a lot even if you had the required battery. The Volt doesn't seem to match the fuel efficiency running on gas, reported only 38mpg. I wonder why they didn't use a gas turbine, thought they were supposed to be the most efficient engine (but electric locomotives use diesel cylinder engines still, so must be misinformed).
[correction: the battery is only rated at 34hp, but I think the electric motor is rated 84hp, so not so much bigger for all electric use -- mainly needs a lithium battery, with some complications. The all-electric Tesla car is described as requiring a gear shifting transmission to use their electric motor, and the batteries have to be water cooled to operate at that level of power. The hybrid system keeps things simple with the optimum selection of proportions, and thus practical and affordable. The Tao of the hybrid.]

 

It seems the improvement supposedly made in EPA measurement protocol some years ago from widespread complaints about impractical figures, may not be all it was made out to be. Definitely need to check other sources when comparing hybrids.
I definitely get 49-50 mpg city on the Prius, remarkable.
Can't seem to get that impressive a gain in bigger vehicles though, when the gas engine expands to 2.4L from the 1.8 Prius. And the price premium for the hybrid engine isn't as attractive. But the Prius is bigger than the Corolla, and as big as an older American mid-size sedan it replaced.
In terms of supply at a competitive price, it seems quite a breakthrough, if I'm not just dreaming. It's got so many other nifty features after all. The body shape allows the rear door to be more square, so bulky cargo too high for the trunk can fit through the door onto the back seat 6" lower than the trunk platform. Yet it doesn't look boxy like a wagon.

 

I'd be curious what exactly the efficiency gains are of the Atkinson cycle engine compared to an Otto cycle of the same capacity. I suppose one must consider it with the requisite transmission differences, getting complicated. It would seem the main source of hybrid efficiency is this engine, as on highway the car is mainly propelled by it. But you don't see a lot of technical details, just how the torque is affected and so on. Ford is supposed to be doing the same thing so it should hardly be a trade secret anymore. Of course the method is also to lower the size of the engine to support only cruising speed, using electric assist for acceleration. The car does not at all feel like just a 100hp motor. Even in ECO mode it passes well on the highway.
I wonder if Ford has the same psd - dual-generator approach; it's described only as a similar "full hybrid", mainly referencing braking energy recovery, not the same thing.

 

The tires add a little bit according to the comparisons given by the tire makers advertising their low resistance models, but not a great deal. Those tires are also not highly rated for snow, and I'm not sure they are such a good idea outside of Florida, California, etc. in winter areas. I expect to give that bit up when the original tires wear out, likely between 30 and 50K mi (when the basic car warranty ends), and replace with rain tires, from Goodyear and the like. Those are also made for fifty per cent more lifetime, though costing proportionately more -- same price per mile.

 

Michelin interesting as not one of the three I saw used as OEM LRR tires -- and they claim more efficient than the Goodyear.
All these LRR tires seem to use a tire compound innovation using silica. It's funny they don't get more life from lower resistance, as the grippier tires usually wear faster from sticking to the road more. The rubber qualities are getting stretched in new directions.

 

New motor/generator designs coming: due to global limitations on the supply or rare earth neodymium for permanent magnet motors, regardless of Chinese source political issues, new designs of induction motors with cheaper materials are being sought by Toyota and electrical engineers in academia. Much of the very few sources are in China, and subject to export restrictions to meet domestic demand. The rare earths were practical only when hybrids and electrics were a small fraction of car production, but the source limitations will raise the price of neodymium very high when a much larger volume of car production makes use of it. Cars are major consumers of mineral resources, and these are not called "rare" for nothing.. The modern semiconductor control of currents may make possible advances in design of induction motors. This has to be done to keep the cost of hybrid power plants reasonable. Mass produced cars are not a suitable use for such a rare material.