Accord hybrid drivetrain explained
 

Just watched this the other night and thought it was worth posting. Its a kind of interesting design that differs from others I've seen. Not the most efficient at lower speed, but not bad overall. The Accord Hybrid is rated for 49 city and 47 highway. Not bad at all considering how large the car is. I've seen one of these in person and its a very nice looking vehicle for those of you looking for something larger than a Civic or Prius.

As a side note, this guy has some really great youtube videos explaining car operation in general (I don't bother with his car reviews). I've watched a bunch of his stuff and can definitely recommend it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fmMb45PPrmg

That's the way to do it, IMO.
(if you have a motor putting out enough torque for takeoff, anyway)

Interesting. I saw the video in my suggestions several times, but didn't watch it because I figured it just used an eCVT like the Prius and others.

I'm guessing it uses the generator to optimally load the ICE for whatever RPM it needs to be at for a given speed, regardless of the power needed to move the car. Then it kills the ICE to make room in the battery. It's constant speed P&G! Anyone know if the Volt drives similarly at high speeds? I've only driven one a few miles on the freeway.

Pretty slick system!

That seems like it would put more cycles on the battery, but I suppose if they are 10% DOD, maybe 100,000 cycles is fine.

Hybrid automotive engineering is amazing though.

Yeah, cycling the battery is definitely a concern IMO. But, the results seem to be very impressive.