Quote:
Originally Posted by Rokeby
Maybe, maybe not. 
As passenger car operators, we tend to associate the word hybrid with lightness.
But there are hybrid vehicles where lightness does not appear to be a major design
consideration...... |
In the case of those vehicles, the busses take advantage of the Regen capabilities of an AC motor during their start and stop travel.
The trucks mostly use the hybrid system to as "Idle-Prevention" - to keep the great big engine off while a hydraulic boom or other equipment is being used.
I believe the Mother Earth News Hybrid system was a serial hybrid, using a DC electric motor for propulsion, with a gas engine coupled to a DC motor/generator to create the energy.
I don't think that it was designed with regenerative braking. So start and stop is not a good thing for the car.
The comments we've seen so far for various types of station wagons may make the most sense. They are longer, and have more space for batteries, etc. than a standard car, but they aren't any taller or wider, so no aerodynamic penalty to pay. The S10 Crew Cab wouldn't be bad either.