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@forresttanaka

I think people often buy a car based on their most extreme use case and not their typical use case.

So they get a plugin hybrid because they're worried about the range and rechargers for a full EV and they want to occasionally do a long road trip.

But the majority of their daily driving is in the 20-40 mile range which can fit in the small battery.

AC propulsion (the predecessor to Tesla) tested a range extender gas engine trailer you could attach to an EV to make it a long range hybrid when you need it.

I thought that might've been a better solution. Especially if we made those long range trailers rentable.

I found a Toyota version of the idea still online with photos
http://www.evnut.com/rav_longranger.htm

And honestly an EV with a smaller regular battery but some way to add more batteries when needed might be more affordable and still adaptable to the occasional longer trip.

@alienghic I hadn’t heard of the gas-engine trailer before. Interesting. Agreed about people buying for the extreme use case. That affects me as well. I just wonder if a regular hybrid where you’re nearly always using the engine and nearly always using the electric motor for generation or regeneration makes more sense than a PHEV, for people who can’t or won’t commit to a BEV.

I might have a skewed sense of efficiency though — something that can go unused but that costs you is a waste. If you use everything all the time, it’s efficient.

@forresttanaka

The trailers were a rare prototype, I think they should've been explored more though.