Dr Paul Moller  in California has been working for decades on a dream of a VTOL flying car. Along the way he has designed and built improved rotary engines based on the Wankel design. He has already achieved over 2HP per pound of engine weight, Ultra Low Level emmissions and multi-fuel capability. Because rotary engine get their best efficiency at a higher rpm than a 4-stroke motor they can be combine with a lighter generator for even higher overall efficiency. Check out moller.com and rotapwoer.info

I can build an electric car that does not need a battery pack. My car can go from florida to Cali and back without recharging.  No solar,no nothing. That lincVolt would be real nice if it had it's trunkspace back, huh?  Johnathan Goodwin, I sure would like to talk to you. My E-mail is martincole58@yahoo.com.

 We mainly manufacture our patent product, Vacuum Brake Kits in Taiwan, which is the Vacuum-assisted Braking System for the electric vehicles. The original vehicle was equipped with a power brake booster which was vacuum powered. This vacuum came from the intake manifold of the combustion engine.   For similar driving characteristics and safety this vacuum must be supplied by another source. Vacuum pump replaces the vacuum provided by the internal cr mbustion engine. Vacuum switch will turn on the pump when vacuum falls below the sDet value.   The kit comes with all the components needed for a complete vacuum assist solution. This includes an ultra-quiet pump, automatic shutoff switch, relay, fuse, and tubing. Most pumps used for vacuum assist produce a noisy drone that diminishes the elegance of quiet electric vehicle operation. No reservoir required.

Hey my name is Bart and I do a lot of thinking and reading : )
I'm no engineer of some kind but I've been thinking about a generator that produces no emissions.  Ever heard of a helium turbine engine? => http://www.halfbakery.com/idea/HTE_3a_20Helium_20Turbine_20Engine
This is a closed circuit (so no intake, no outlet!) turbine engine that uses the explosive expansion of helium when it is heated to make it run. 
The idea is derived from the Stirling engine (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stirling_engine) but the problem with them is that it takes a while for them to run efficiantly everytime you start them up. Maybe that problem can be solved by using a turbine set up.
I think you can make a more efficiant  set up by using a small batterypack (batteries are heavy!!) that is to be used to heat up the helium when you want to start the turbine which is then taken over by a heat exchanger, heating up and cooling down the helium for the rest of the ride.
I just want to eliminate batteries in cars because they are so damn heavy and acid!!  If you have a powerfull, constant generator on board, you can produce your electricity when you need it.
An other possible set up is a constantly running turbine generator (so you NEVER turn it off) with a small battery pack that does the job as you start to drive,  awaiting for the generator to take over as it starts to rev up and produce enough energy to run the car and charge the battery pack.
Or maybe the small battery pack might not even be necessary.  Maybe a helium turbine can rev up quickly enough (that was a problem with the Stirling engine)...
Well that's my idea.  I don't know if any research is being done in this direction but I'd just like to know what you think about it and if you ever heard about an attempt to create a set up like I was thinking about. If you like, you can contact me at bartpyls@gmail.com. I would be much obliged.

PS: thank you for the LincVolt!! I always felt a little guilty or at least confused for being a big American car enthusiast (Lincoln Continental '64 is my dream car, currently I cruise a '67 Chevy Impala 4dr hardtop) but still be concearned with the environment and my carbon footprint...

Neil,
As I read your website, and listen to you talk about your passion for conserving energy, I am immediately inspired to be a part of the solution. I feel that we as human-beings are living in the past, as we continue to burn coal and oil from the ground. We are smart, and there have been thousands of things that we have created and invented to make life easier and safer. The invention of the automobile was ignorant to nature. It was created so man could get from point A to B with ease and speed. To fuel this locomotion, we burn oil, which does the job very well as far as a combustible agent, but in terms of the environment, it fails. We live in a society, in a world that doesn't understand the consequences of polluting the environment. There are many people who are becoming more and more aware each day, so I say, keep on with this achievement. Inspire people, as you have done with your music, to test themselves with a greater technology. We need a leader, and we need someone who will give us voice and hope for a better solution.
I am a recent college graduate, who is living outside the Philadelphia area. I want to extend my knowledge and ability to you as someone who feels as passionately about the subject as you do. If you are seeking someone who would go to any length to build this dream, then please get in contact with me at the following email: stf5021@gmx.com
I hope to get in contact with you soon!
To a much greener future!

I have a 98 chevy, that will likely be on the road for a long time (they don't break). It's a front-wheel-drive, and the existing 2.2L gas motor is pretty good on gas, and utterly reliable. I'll leave this drive-train alone.

Mission 1 : Maximize fuel economy via electric drive assist. Cheap (I'm cheap!).

Now the rear wheels just free-roll, getting dragged along by the front. So the plan is to add in 2 separate 20kW electric assist drive motors, one to each rear wheel. I'm an industrial electrician, and an electronics tech, so the electronics & DC motor drive control don't phase me. There is lots of room in the trunk for batteries & electronics. I'll focus on plug-in charging at the start, and phase in regen as I get the bigger problems out of the way.

So now I'm looking for a good 20kW rear-wheel drive set-up.

Some day I know I'll hit a deer & that'l be the end of the Chevy. So, I'll just salvage the electric drive-stuff out of the trunk, & get myself another chevy... if they're still in business.

M

I haven't looked into your specifics of final drive and transmission logistics but Robert V. Albertson (holds patents imparitive to implementation of CVT in snomobiles circa 1970 http://www.google.com/patents/about?id=QeQzAAAAEBAJ&dq=robert+albertson+transmission not to mention he invented the weed eater and trolling motor while in his teens) has been working to develop a magnetic transmission that reduces stress on electric motors and keeps them operating within their optimum efficiency.  Check his website at www.magtransauto.com. 

I teach high school physics across the river from where he lives in WI and he is a creat resourse to my classroom and has numerous great ideas (250+ patents)

Chrysler during the 1960's demonstrated a car that would run on almost any liquid that contained some hydrocarbons.........motor oil, hair tonic, perfume, cooking oil, terpintine, etc........it had a turbine for an engine........but it quietly died........i guess because of big oil............

it would be fantastic if the on-board computer could analize the fuel in the tank and adjust the engine controls to operate efficently on that fuel...........naturally there would be only certain fuels that thevehicle could use.......but it would make refuling a lot easier if one could have choices while driving to be able to fill up witrh what's available.

Get a diesel engine then put a heat exchanger in the exhaust pipe. Take out the radiator and block it off for better aeordynamics. Also insulate engine so no heat can get out without doing work. Also it will make cold starts a thing of the past which are bad for emissions.

Cyclone Steam Engines has a Waste Heat Engine, separtate burn chamber and generator on a pallet that would fit in the back of a pickup bed.  There is a letter of intent to build these over in China so they'll be cheap. You could use it at your house too. You could burn dry biomass in the hopper and run the steam our diesel engine partially or fully. You could use the extra Syngas in a DPF to lessen the temperature of regeneration or put it in the intake. You could get a hydrogen reformer too for more hydrogen.

Diesel output 30% effiecient the rest waste noise, heat. Capture the heat with steam engine which uses 1 pint of closed cycled fluid. You could shut diesel off an just use small engine for AC etc.

According to Cyclone they are able to scavenge 7 hp from a diesel engine's exhaust heat. Use this power for accesories or a hydrogen fuel cell generator. I've heard from HHO guys that the'd be able to produce a lot of hydrogen with 7 hp.

Also add shocks that generate electricity. And only a few advanced lead acid batteries made by Caterpillar's company.

Also run engine on hydrogen and oxygen alone in a closed cycle more like that of Carnot's design. Take water out.

Don't have to add water since you could get water from the diesel's exhaust.

Add hydraulic hybrid like that from lightninghybrids and a KERS CVT transmission. 

And put a windmill on it for parking lots.

And put thermoelectrics on it to get DOE funding.

 In a serial hybrid configuration, all that is required of the generator's power source (say Wankel engine) is two states.  Off and On at MAXIMUM efficiency. Depending on electricity storage capacity (say Li-Ion) even spool times can be accommodated (turbine, maybe Wankel).  If a single rotational velocity with a single load is necessary to achieve the max, so be it. That is what low cost intelligent and power electronics are for.

The knock on serial hybrid is the inefficiency of two conversions at high speed - liquid fuel to electricity plus electricity to wheel torque. Toyota Hybrid Synergy Drive addresses this with the power split device.