[elhigh]

Mother Earth News magazine did this a long time ago. First they looked into a guy who had done it on his own time in an Opel GT(!?), then they rolled their own with a Subaru compact. They had good results with their own, using a compact diesel engine. Google "homemade hybrid car" and find the result that points to Mother Earth News and read up.

It isn't difficult if you set it up strictly as a series hybrid - the engine is there strictly to supply power for the batteries, never to drive the car. For everything beyond the short to modest trips, you've got the dinojuice, but for the short stuff, the ride is blissfully silent, and worry-free that you might not have the amp-hours to get home.

Add solar panels on the roof (yes, I know they're expensive) and hood to charge the batteries while parked, and use the engine even less. Don't go anywhere over the weekend, and the batteries gain a significant level of charge by Monday morning. That's remote charging - really remote! Like, 92 million miles remote. Love it.