Mother's Own Hybrid Car!

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(Although David Arthurs' original 5-horsepower gasoline engine certainly did add to the range of his battery pack—and thus effectively "hybridize" his vehicle—over the comparatively flat Arkansas roads . . . such an engine would not have extended our hybrid's range enough beyond that of the batteries alone to justify its use.)

Further testing enabled us to decide upon another "best choice" . . . this in the area of motor controls. Our experience with the "chopper" used by Dave on his prototype Opel hybrid indicated that the system might have a limited lifetime as a result of the sometimes extreme currents that passed through its brushes while in operation. So we read through the alternatives presented in the plans and—rather than fall back on a cost-prohibitive Silicon Controlled Rectifier (SCR) control—chose to utilize a voltage tap system to the field, rather than to the armature, to regulate the main motor's starting torque while still keeping the current passing through the control down to a comfortable 10 amps or so.

By doing this, not only have we in stalled an inexpensive, so-far-effective regulating device (our system provides a progressive "stepping down" of field voltage from 30 to 18 to 6, governed by microswitches and operated by depressing the accelerator pedal), but we've also eliminated the need for all the car's high-amperage, high-cost relays . . . except the 400-amp main motor relay! (Our research now indicates that a two-step setup—30/24-volt—may be more practical and would provide more economy.)

As another point of interest—especially for the convenience-minded—we found that, although it's quite possible to operate the hybrid without a clutch (as we did over the course of many hours of testing), the car's drivability is increased by installing one of the mechanical uncoupling devices. A clutch probably extends the life of the transmission gears and synchronizers, and also allows the removal of a reactor from the wiring circuit . . . a component which is nothing more than an electrical "shock absorber" used to control high voltage surges when no clutch is employed.

Here's an unexpected bonus that resulted from our hybrid car research!

Mother's 129-MPG Car!

Between testing and improving the various hybrid electric car models, MOTHER's researchers have—as you can imagine—had plenty to keep them occupied over the past months. But they weren't too busy to devote time to another project that's something of a "horse of a different color": the design and construction—from the ground up—of a two-passenger, ultra-high-mileage diesel automobile.

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