Quote:
Originally Posted by bob_in_europe
What I don't get is why no CVT was employed; it's a totally boss technology.
No perceptible gear changes (Audi actually modified theirs to give pseudo-shifting-feel because people were used to the sensation), engine operates at optimum range (instead of from the low to the high rpm range of a fixed gear and then on to the low to high rpm range of the next gear...)
Maximimized fuel economy...
The engine L, kW, Nm ratings are well within the limits of today's cvt technology...
My only guess is that Daimler was more worried about cost control than selling the little beauty at a premium... so they went with stop-start technology and tried to pass it off as a hybrid...
Pity. (I hope the FTC prevents Daimler from marketing the car as a hybrid under the §'s of USC dealing with "truth in advertising".)
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A PHEV in which the front wheel hubs are electric drive and a battery bank of low profile batteries (type
TBD) under the floor pan that are charged by the existing rear engine and regenerative braking of the front wheels.
Electric hub drive technology exists today (Siemens, GM) and it will only be a matter of time when someone makes a conversion kit for the IC smart or MB comes out with that themselves. The existing engine/trans could remain intact as the range extender.
MHD technology could be an option in a PHEV and a good one, but in and of itself only reaps 8-10% gain if the car is used mostly city driving cycle with many stops and goes.
Another thing that would benefit all in the US would be for some smart traffic control whizkid to fine tune the way some traffic lights, etc work. There are traffic lights in and around Albany that are ridiculously long...cars sitting still in all directions not moving due to the obsolete way in which the light functions relative to time of day and resultant traffic patterns. I am sure larger cities are plagued with this same problem and someone should address it and make a change. Barrels of fuel are lost everyday to improper traffic controls and other controls that could be different to allow better flow. Too much traffic control IMHO.
Fuggedabout diesel in the US....too damned much dirty politics and it's a shame.
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