Update: David Arthur's Hybrid Electric Car

Image Gallery Here's the latest news on the hottest fuel-efficient transportation idea around!

Six months ago, in our July/August 1979 issue, we published an article about a 75-mile-per-gallon hybrid electric automobile that a fellow out in Springdale, Arkansas built-in just a month's worth of spare time-for a scant $1,500 (see MOTHER NO. 58, page 160).

The car's designer, Dave Arthurs, not only developed the vehicle using standard off-the-shelf parts and reasonably priced military surplus, but also fabricated a motor controller (which, up to this point, had been the "joker in the deck" for many electric vehicle enthusiasts . . . because of the typically high cost and low efficiency of such units). Furthermore, Mr. Arthurs' controller was made from $25 worth of junkyard parts, was a cinch to build, and-better still-consumed a minimum of precious energy while in operation.

What's more, Dave was willing to share his automotive "discovery" . . . by first permitting MOTHER to report on what he'd done, then by working with this magazine to develop a set of plans to, help other folks build their own hybrid electric cars!

NOTHING SUCCEEDS LIKE SUCCESS

And build they did. To date, thousands of folks have ordered plans so that they, too, could take advantage of the econ omy that David Arthurs enjoys. (His hybrid electric auto uses a fuel-sipping 5horsepower generator drive engine, and can attain speeds of up to 90 MPH!)

But Dave certainly didn't stop with his first prototype. Even before roughing out our initial plan schematics, the Arkansas electrical engineer had incorporated a few additional features into his car (including a home charging circuit, a more powerful-but still economical-gasoline engine, and increased generator output) which made the hybrid even more practical . . . especially for extended use. He also figured out a way to utilize the heat given off from the small generator drive engine to supply his car's defroster and wintertime climate control system, and give his engine self-starting capability by temporarily routing current backward through the generator during initial start-up!