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The 1.4 liter engine is hardly the big weight hog in this thing. This car has 1 ICE, 1 full size generator 1 full size electric motor and a whole lot of batteries. The car is hauling around 3 motors but only 1 can power the wheels. A 100hp electric generator is a huge heavy beast but all it does is function as a transmission component. Hardly an efficient use of space and weight. The Prius drive train makes a lot more sense. I would be happy if in the volt they replaced the ICE and generator with more batteries and it had a 100 mile EV only range. Also i'm surprised that they chose to NOT use A123 cells.
The series hybrid is fundamentally flawed in a car. Parallel is the way to go.
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