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A comment on Carmakers Have a New Idea to Boost EV Range: Add a Gas Engine. Parent comment

Re:Carmakers Have a New Idea to Boost EV Range: Add a Gas En... by wccrawford on Wednesday September 09, 2026 @06:36AM (#49624245)
It's new in that it's not really a hybrid. It isn't meant to take over when you run out of battery. It's meant as an emergency recharge for the battery to get you to the next charging station.

Hybrids can just run on gas and not have to worry about the distance to the next charging station.

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Re:Carmakers Have a New Idea to Boost EV Range: Add a Gas En... by sgerenser on Wednesday September 09, 2026 @07:07AM (#49624505)
That’s a bit of a stretch… most of the announced EREVs are using pretty conventional 4 or even 6-cylinder engines (like the 3.6L Pentastar V6 in the upcoming Jeep Wagoneer REEV). Even though it isn’t connected to the wheels, the engine is capable of keeping the car charged and running normally once the battery runs out. AFAIK, the intention is to be able to drive for hundreds of miles on the engine, not just limp along a dozen or so miles to get to a charger.
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Re:Carmakers Have a New Idea to Boost EV Range: Add a Gas En... by abcd_f on Wednesday September 09, 2026 @07:07AM (#49624503)
> It's new in that it's not really a hybrid. It isn't meant to take over when you run out of battery.

Because the latter was used in the trolleybuses since forever. I remember riding one on this mighty emergency power during some local blackout only to realize that it would be faster to walk :)

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