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Originally Posted by roadracer311
They make it sound like it has to be one or the other. There's no reason they couldn't use a direct injection engine in a hybrid.
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Yes.
Electric motors are wonderful. They don't weigh much, are about 90% efficient, have a ruler flat torque curve, require no maintenance or repairs for up to 10 years or more. No oil changes, no tuneups, no IMS failures, no nuthin'. An electric powered car can be very very fast.
The problem is energy storage.
A gallon of gas weighs 6lbs. A battery bank with energy storage equal to a gallon of gas weighs about 160lbs. So a 10 gallon range battery weighs 1600lbs. Now fully half of the energy stored is used to drag around those heavy batteries.
Until we have lightweight high capacity batteries the hybrid makes the most sense. An efficient electric drive motor, a battery bank to store energy (a few gallons of gas), and a small efficient gas generator and small gas tank to keep the batteries charged and assist during heavy acceleration. On a long trip you can fill up and keep driving normally.
In the next 5 years I think we will see radical improvements in hybrid technology. More efficient and lighter batteries, better dynamic braking(to reuse energy during breaking that is normally lost to heat), and more efficient gas/diesel onboard generators for extended range. Energy storage is the key.