[dcb]

personally I always liked the idea of just having a couple small engines, i.e. an opposed two cylinder for each drive wheel, and you can shut one off when cruising. with separate paths to the ground you would have ultimate reliability and have a more optimal sized engine for cruising and have twice that much for accelerating. I don't think most current disabled cylinder schemes go far enough, the pistons are still moving, and moving air and causing friction.