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Concept-checking question: How is this system supposed to improve fuel economy?
Is this system more efficient at generating 12v than a traditional alternator?
I could also see recapturing a little energy with regenerative braking, but most drivers will probably capture 10% or less. It may or may not be worth the added weight.
Auto-stop can help, but it's not necessary to hybridize a car to get this feature.
Honda's mild hybrids downsize the engine while maintaining around the same power to improve economy. I could also see keeping the same engine-size but changing the gearing and using the hybrid motor to prevent downshifts in order to help economy, but simply adding a motor/generator to an existing engine/transmission should do very little for either city or highway driving.
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