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Dave's avatar

Internal combustion engines (ICEs) are most efficient when run at wide open throttle. The most efficient ICEs are turbocharged, so as to scavenge waste heat and use it to reduce pumping losses and increase effective displacement (improves power to weight. So an optimized ICE runs at constant speed to charge the battery when needed (the Chevy VOLT used this technique).

Whether or not this is more efficient than a hybrid like the Toyota Prius will have to be decided by real-world driving.

What's definitely not most efficient by any measure is battery-only vehicles, which are just a bad idea all around, from manufacture to power consumption.

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PersianCat's avatar

Sounds like those Intercity125 trains that used diesel fuel to generate electricity

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Lone Star's avatar

Stupider and stupider. Drive the new Nissan Beyond Stupid.

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