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hmmm
(thelemmy.club)
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this post was submitted on 09 Mar 2026
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hmmm
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For things that are "hmmm".
Rule 1: All post titles except for meta posts should be just plain "hmmm" and nothing else, no emotes, no capitalisation, no extending it to "hmmmm" etc.
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This is a good idea, though.
Piston engines are way, way, way more efficient (and cheaper to make) when optimized for one RPM and a static load (like a generator). They can be tiny if running at 100% throttle all the time; a few horsepower is enough. Excluding the transmission saves weight/cost, and a generator for a few horsepower isn’t that big.
Yeah, you get electrical loss, but everything else more than makes up for it.
I heard of hybrid cars working like that. I wonder why it never really became a thing.
I suspect "tiny battery+generator" EVs aren't a thing in the US because:
It doesn't sound or drive like an ICE car. It still has a battery, so gets all that range/durability "anxiety" associated with being an EV.
It's associated with all the issues of ICE-based hybrids.
It's not "all-electric," not quiet, so it's not percieved as a luxury car like pure EVs generally are.
The cars that do implement this tend to be smaller, so not marketable here in the US, apparently.
Factories are still tooled to make ICE cars en masse, not EV drivetrains.
In other words, it's all perception and marketing. And I think, sadly, it's true: people wouldn't buy them here in the US.
You do see them outside the US though.
This is what diesel locomotives do.