a question - in our cars, we have an alternator that keeps our battery charged - why can't they rig up something similar to continually charge the batteries of an elec vehicle.??
Perpetual motion machine! Better go file a patent for it, you'll be rich.
Why not just toss a small honda generator in the trunk? It could kick in when the battery gets down to something like 25% and charge some while driving either to just extend your range a little or fully charge when the grid can't keep up... some are very quiet, just rout the exhaust out the back somewhere, give it a fresh air duct for cooling and there you go. If the manufacturer wanted to incorporate one they could make it run at a fixed RPM and load so they can design it to be very efficient
Isn't that the original Chevy Volt concept?
This is correct ---- the Chevy Volt utilized a small ICE power plant to assist in charging the battery pack. This seemed to work quite well and helped with alleviating range anxiety in the early Volts. The costs associated with this approach are considerably higher than the more simplified standard EV.
I knew an early Volt owner who commuted about 45 miles round trip M-F. He showed me records of his gasoline usage for the ICE assist for a year. It was almost nothing spent on gasoline....
