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Wednesday, September 09, 2026

The auto industry has a new solution to Americans' fear that electric vehicles will run out of juice: a gasoline engine.

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Lol. These are called hybrids. Mine is 9 years old. www.wsj.com/business/aut ...

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-- Honor your oath of office or resign. (@trialrun2024.bsky.social) 9:54 AM · Sep 7, 2026

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That was how the Volt was setup 16 years ago.

"The Volt operates as a pure battery electric vehicle until its battery capacity drops to a predetermined threshold from full charge. From there, its internal combustion engine powers an electric generator to extend the vehicle's range as needed. "

#1 | Posted by Nixon at 2026-09-09 09:55 AM | Reply

Yes, they did. Ferdinand Porsche, Nazi party and SS member, invented the first gas-electric hybrid of that type in 1900 when he was 25.

#2 | Posted by sitzkrieg at 2026-09-09 10:05 AM | Reply

So, what, 30 years before he became a Nazi? WTF is wrong with you idiots? Our so-called "president" is a rapist, a fraud, and a pedophile who cares more about putting his name on buildings than making sure America can trust its food sources and you're getting wet about a dead Nazi.

------- ridiculous

#3 | Posted by LegallyYourDead at 2026-09-09 06:55 PM | Reply

Welcome to the world of the Honda Prius Hybrid Synergy Drive, first introduces in the late 1990's.

#4 | Posted by LampLighter at 2026-09-09 07:47 PM | Reply

calmatters.org

Somebody call 988 for legally, they are off their anti-depressants, or drinking while on them.

#5 | Posted by sitzkrieg at 2026-09-10 07:36 AM | Reply

It's a lot of moving parts to get the energy from the traditional combustion engine, through the transmission, through the differential, and to the wheels.

It takes a lot less moving parts to use a combustion engine to generate electricity that goes to a battery that goes to motors that turn the wheels directly.

Diesel-electric is how most train engines run (they need the torque).

I can guarantee most truckers would appreciate going through cities with a diesel-electric setup.

Hybrids would be great, if they could make them right.

#6 | Posted by horstngraben at 2026-09-10 06:34 PM | Reply | Funny: 1 | Newsworthy 2

#6 An excellent, informative and accurate comment, Horstngraben.

Thank you for posting it.

#7 | Posted by A_Friend at 2026-09-10 06:49 PM | Reply | Funny: 1

What an incredibly stupid article.

Hybrids are the past. Battery electric is the future.

#8 | Posted by DarkVader at 2026-09-10 07:55 PM | Reply

#8 Rolls-Royce will produce their last ICE in the 2029 model year.

From the model years 2030 forward, electric only.

Eye on the prize.

#9 | Posted by A_Friend at 2026-09-10 08:02 PM | Reply

I can guarantee most truckers would appreciate going through cities with a diesel-electric setup.
Hybrids would be great, if they could make them right.

#6 | Posted by horstngraben at 2026-09-10 06:34 PM | Reply | Flag:

You can buy one now, have a Peterbilt converted by ReVolt. 1200 mile range. So far they've sold uh... 5.

These Trump diesel prices will drive some demand I'd imagine.

#10 | Posted by sitzkrieg at 2026-09-10 08:14 PM | Reply | Newsworthy 1

Diesel-electric trains aren't hybrids like a truck's context either. It's engine to alternator to wheel motor.

and what does "right" mean? Does that mean best fuel economy, lowest purchase price, greatest durability, easiest maintenance, or suitability for a particular trucking route?

"Everybody just gets it wrong" is quite the leap.

#11 | Posted by sitzkrieg at 2026-09-10 08:19 PM | Reply | Newsworthy 1

Let me simplify it for you.

Right means making a profit from producing machines that are more desirable for a given task than traditional combustion engines.

Capitalist stuff.

Which, as you point out, hasn't caught on outside of existing use cases.

But tech will improve. They certainly weren't doing long-haul trucking with the Model A.

#12 | Posted by horstngraben at 2026-09-11 12:51 PM | Reply

__________
#8 | Posted by DarkVader at 2026-09-10 07:55 PM
Hybrids are the past. Battery electric is the future.

#9 | Posted by A_Friend at 2026-09-10 08:02 PM
Rolls-Royce will produce their last ICE in the 2029 model year.
From the model years 2030 forward, electric only. Eye on the prize.

Not a good business case for "electric only" - many electric-only car companies have already died, slowly dying and/or pivoting to other "in vogue" technologies like "AI" services (XPeng EV) or robotics (Faraday Future):

www.latimes.com - From $300,000 EVs to dancing bots: The El Segundo firm sliding into Tesla's slipstream - LAT, 2026-09-03

BMW's subsidiary Rolls-Royce is producing around 6,000 vehicles per year, which are easily absorbed at premium prices in a luxury car segment of the market, so it doesn't matter if their future cars will be electric, ICE, hybrid, or powered by whale blubber - they will be bought and will make a good profit.

This won't move a needle in overall electric-only market, where only a couple of [subsidized] companies, like Tesla and BYD (which just bought 1 and ordered 10 more car carrier ships) are relatively successful, and China's "industrial policy" to subsidize "electric cars and solar panels" led to overproduction and plummeting prices that are tanking their competition and the market itself.

Check the dismal stock prices and financials (losses and debt) of "zombie" or BK BEV car makers like Lucid, Polestar, VinFast, Rivian, Nio, Li Auto, GreenPower, Lordstown, Workhorse, Phoenix, Canoo, Fisker, Cenntro, Lotus, Aptera, Gogoro, NWTN Motors, and so on...

www.caranddriver.com - All the EVs That Have Been Canceled or Discontinued (2026-04-20)

Problems with BEVs are the same as always and are only getting worse, including "range anxiety", batteries longevity and toxicity and expected higher electricity prices due to multi-decades underinvestment in total electricity generation and governments' "industrial policy" of focusing on, mandating and subsidizing "renewable" energy.

Only about 5% of worldwide vehicles are EVs - with China's market share of almost 40%.


drudge.com - Why Renewables Can't Save the Planet | Electricity rates by state

|------- Really bad news? While China was ramping up all energy buildouts, the US total annual electricity generation in absolute terms stalled (and in many years actually fell slightly) from 2008 through 2023 - nuclear and hydro stalled; coal use dropped significantly but is still only slightly below combined wind and solar; only a huge increase in NG (in part, for new renewables installations backup), that dwarfs combined use of wind and solar, was responsible for keeping the lights on in the US. -------|

IOW, for almost 2 decades while other countries were adding electricity generation, we were only making electricity more expensive by replacing coal with some "renewables" plus massive amounts of (thankfully, due to fracking) cheap natgas.

Some might say that trade-off was worth it... but keeping on topic, none of this bodes well for future of BEVs, unless we massively ramp up electricity generation.
__________

#13 | Posted by CutiePie at 2026-09-12 06:01 PM | Reply

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