[RedDevil]

Originally Posted by EVmetro

Although I do not know enough about your insight to know for sure how yours runs, it sounds like the ICE and the electric motor work as a system. If you lost either the electric part or the ICE part, I would expect that your car would not perform as well as either a pure ICE, or a pure EV.

Having the ICE and the electric motor integrated as a system in a hybrid is what is making it hard for me to see if the technology really does add up. Apparently, the ICE is being used to charge the battery for the electric motor, but it is doing it at an an advantageous time. I don't know this for sure, but I do know that there is not enough regen energy available to supply enough energy to supplement the ICE enough to make up for what the ICE lacks in power. Using the ICE to supply energy for the electric motor does not make sense, but I am speculating that this is what is happening, and that it is happening at an advantageous time to minimize the penalty for doing it.

You are describing a series hybrid.

The Insight is a parallel hybrid; both the engine and the motor power the transmission.
As the motor is bolted to the crankshaft it has to turn over the engine in EV mode, using fuel cutoff and a special VTEC camshaft to keep friction to a minimum. It is simple and saves weight - no flywheel is needed (and no alternator).
The EV motor can also start the engine, help it rev up or just provide more torque for aceleration. Likewise it can harvest electricity isn situations where the engine is running on light load, making it open the throttle further, reducing pumping losses and increasing its efficiency.

When not able to use the IMA battery it uses its 12V powered starter motor. It is no different from an ordinary small engined car with a CVT tranny then.
It is not handicapped or such, just not nice to drive either.

The Prius is a different animal as the motors are integrated in separate parts of the planetary HSD gearbox.
Without the hybrid battery the gearbox will not work and the car is bricked.EDIT: this isn't so, thanks Planetaire for pointing it out.

A series hybrid (1st gen Volt, BMW i3) uses the ICE to generate electricity and lets the EV motor power the car. Series hybrids do usually have some pure EV capacity and have the ICE mainly to extend the range.

The Accord hybrid is a mix of both, the ICE can either drive a generator to power a motor driving the wheels or drive the wheels directly.
Directly as in not using a gearbox, it does not have one.
I bet it can drive without the battery but that would be interesting.