Submitted by Roger Pham, Dec 2, 2007 03:14

Battery replacement for batteries weighing 500-1000 lbs to be done every 100 miles would be highly impractical. So would be the large number of battery-replacing stations required for these operations when the car's driving range is only ~100 miles before requiring battery change. If the battery is made detachable, it should be replaced with an electrical generator set (genset) powered by a small Wankel rotary engine (very compact and powerful) coupled with a small but high power battery module for buffering of power. That way, only a small number of locations where the replacement electrical generator (genset) will need to be stored, and the owner only have to fill up the genset with gasoline when extended driving range is needed.

Most people drive much less than 100 miles each day, more like 40-60 miles, so the BEV (Battery Electric Vehicle) can be charged at home at night. On the rare occasion that they need to exceed the 100-mi driving range, they can rent a gasoline car for the occasion, or rent a replacement genset in place of the detachable battery if the battery is made easily detachable. An ownership club for these gasoline cars and/or gensets, which provide rapid and automated acquisition of these gasoline cars or gensets using only a swipeable membership card can make it very convenient to quickly borrow these cars or gensets on an hourly basis, or daily basis for out-of-town trips. No new infrastructure needs be setup. A supermarket's parking lot is all that would be needed to park these "club cars", for rapid acquisition. You would park your BEV at designated spots with charging sockets, at these supermarkets, then plug in the BEV to juice it up while you acquire a gasoline "club car" with ranges of 350-600 miles between fueling, for extended-distance driving. When your mission is accomplished, you return the "club car" and pick up your charged BEV for the trip home.

Voila...practical BEV utilization without new, or major infrastructure

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