Chrysler made a "rubber band" hybrid
I mentioned I was reading Common Sense Not Required: Idiots Designing Cars and Hybrid Vehicles: My Career with Chrysler by Evan Boberg. Here is another gem from the book. This project was abandoned before Evan arrived at the Liberty department at Chrysler. He says there is "ample evidence the stories I heard were true." The project is... "THE RUBBER BAND CAR." The picture is from the cover of the book.
In the book, Evan says "5 or 6 long tubes which would contain the huge rubber bands extended the length of the car. Then these would be connected to a transmission which would wind up the rubber bands when you stopped. When you wanted to go, the rubber bands were unleashed to assist the engine in powering the car." Evan says the bands never made it into the test car.
He says the rubber bands exploded in the lab and staff had to run for cover. The test car, Evan says, became a push car waiting for a "breakthrough in durable rubber bands." You might laugh but Evan has far more serious stories about green car concepts at Chrysler. He says "a technician gave his life when a flywheel in a test cell disintegrated." Flywheels are a way of storing energy without chemicals.
[Source: Common Sense Not Required]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
detroit9000 7:01PM (8/10/2007)
The Patriot!
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jg3 10:13PM (8/10/2007)
This may sound silly, but real innovation often come after a bunch of doofy ideas don't work. Look at Da Vinci's drawings and you'll see some duds, same for Bell, Edison and others. It's easy to look only at the failed ideas and assume people are nuts.
It's also easier to scoff than to innovate yourself.
(And no, I don't work at Chrysler,thank goodness.)
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rgseidl 7:16AM (8/11/2007)
Recuperating kinetic energy into a flywheel, hydraulic or pneumatic accumulator or, em, a rubber band is actually not an inherently stupid idea. It's just very hard to prevent or contain an uncontrolled release of energy from a mechanical store. You want to maximize bang for buck, not just bang.
The safety of electrical stores (battery, ultracaps) can be managed far more easily with fuses - provided they don't suffer thermal runaway. Unfortunately, these types of stores are also far more expensive.
The cheapest and - relatively - safest way to store large amounts of exergy on board a vehicle is still liquid hydrocarbon fuel. Scarce engineering resources should be focussed first and foremost on minimizing waste in converting it to motive power: turbocharging + downsizing, direct injection, variable valve train, HCCI combustion, roller bearing crank train, idle stop, efficient automated transmissions, synthetic engine oil, detachable/electric water pump, CO2 sensors for A/C etc. etc.
Another largely untapped source of future fuel economy gains is the man-machine interface. The accelerator pedal still indicates demand for torque rather than power and hence, fuel consumption. As a result, drivers don't like shifting into higher gear early because it forces them to maintain an uncomfortable foot position.
Except for high-end models with radar-guided adaptive cruise control ars also have no awareness of the traffic they are in. GPS receivers and short-range wireless networking are now cheap enough to contemplate local car-to-car communication of position, velocity, steering angle etc. This would allow each car to maintain its own highly dynamic map of its immediate traffic environment. Electronic helpers can then take evasive action to avoid accidents if warnings to the driver are ignored or there is no time to warn him.
The map can be extended by forwarding pre-processed information to following cars (accident, stalled car blocking a lane, cars stopping at intersection, fog bank, traffic jam etc.) This information would be presented to the driver so he can adapt his speed or acceleration for improved safety and fuel economy.
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Bob_Sheaves 2:53PM (8/11/2007)
To jg3
Obviously, you are drawing unwarranted conclusions from ignorance of the subject matter. In other, less kind words, you didn't read the book and have no friggin' idea of what you are talking about, making your comments worth less than zero. Evan Boberg WAS one of the real innovators of the Liberty Group.
How do I know? Read the chapter on Jeep Truck Engineering.
Bob Sheaves
CEO
http://www.catnetsolutions.com
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Lithous 6:34PM (8/13/2007)
RW,
Can CATIA v4.0 tell you when to update your Web page so it isn't out of date?
http://www.catnetsolutions.com/catnet/bio-rwsheaves.php
You may want to change "(now part of DaimlerChrysler)" to read "(now part of Cerberus Capital Management, L.P)"
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