953 nut 55,297 #1 Posted January 17 What car was the first hybrid automobile? If you asked this question to most knowledgeable automobile enthusiasts, they would tell you the 1997 Toyota Prius was the first. Granted the Prius was the first mass-produced modern hybrid but they were over a hundred years late to the party. William H. Patton filed a patent application for a gasoline-electric hybrid railcar propulsion system in early 1889, and a similar hybrid boat propulsion system in mid-1889. He tested and marketed the Patton Motor Car, a self-propelled rail car gas-electric hybrid. A gasoline engine drove a generator which charge a lead acid battery in parallel with electric motors that drove the wheels. A prototype was built in 1889, an experimental tram car was run in Pullman, Illinois, in 1891, and a production locomotive was sold to a street railway company in Cedar Falls, Iowa, in 1897. In 1896, the Armstrong Phaeton was developed by Harry E. Dey and built by the Armstrong Company of Bridgeport, CT for the Roger Mechanical Carriage Company. Though there were steam, electric, and internal combustion vehicles introduced in the early days, the Armstrong Phaeton was innovative with many firsts. The gasoline engine had an electric starter, most automotive historians credit Cadilac with being the first but they were sixteen years behind Armstrong. It had a 6.5-liter, two-cylinder engine, a dynamo flywheel connected to an onboard battery. The dynamo and regenerative braking were used to charge the battery. The dynamo also provided ignition spark and powered the electric lamps. The Phaeton also had the first semi-automatic clutch-less transmission The exhaust system was an integrated structural component of the vehicle. The greatest fault found was the Armstrong Phaeton's motor was too powerful; the torque damaged the wood spoked carriage wheels of that time. In 1900 Ferdinand Porsche developed the Mixte, a 4WD hybrid version of "System Lohner–Porsche" electric carriage that previously appeared in 1900 Paris World Fair. George Fischer sold hybrid buses to England in 1901; Knight Neftal produced a racing hybrid in 1902. In 1905, Henri Pieper of Belgium introduced a hybrid vehicle with an electric motor/generator, batteries, and a small gasoline engine. It used the electric motor to charge its batteries at normal speed and used both motors to accelerate or climb a hill. The 1915 Dual Power, made by the Woods Motor Vehicle, had a four-cylinder internal combustion engine and an electric motor. Below 15 mph the electric motor alone drove the vehicle, drawing power from a battery pack, and above this speed the gasoline engine drove the car up to top speed of 35 mph. About 600 were made ending in 1918.The Woods hybrid was a commercial failure, because it was too slow for its price range, and too difficult to service. Next time you hear a Prius owner bragging about how advanced their hybrid car is you can let them know that Toyota was a bit late to the party. 4 6 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
WHX?? 48,828 #2 Posted January 17 (edited) 34 minutes ago, 953 nut said: It had a 6.5-liter, two-cylinder engine, Must have had jugs the size of garbage cans! Interesting Richard Edited January 17 by WHX?? 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ed Kennell 38,209 #3 Posted January 17 It seems we have short memories Richard. Reminds me of my working days in the hydro turbine lab. We had a very active engineering student exchange program with Drexel and Penn State Universities. Every summer I would be assigned 2-4 students to work and learn in the lab. Many offered "new" suggestions and ideas to improve the manufacture and assembly of the model hydro turbine. Of course, I encouraged this but was able to show the problems encountered when many of these ideas were tried 20 or 30 years earlier. This latest auto parallel parking assist feature is not so new either. 5 5 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sailman 1,291 #4 Posted January 17 In the mad rush to produce fully electric cars I don't understand why the hybrid idea hasn't been fully utilized first. It seems to make sense with reduced emissions and not needing the massive batteries that are an issue with electric, not to mention mileage limits before recharging. Probably a more affordable option too. On another note the big diesel locomotives do not use the engines to drive the trains. Instead the engines drive huge generators which send hundreds of kW of electric power to the "traction motors" which actually power the train. An original hybrid design. 9 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
oliver2-44 9,759 #5 Posted January 17 30 minutes ago, Sailman said: In the mad rush to produce fully electric cars I don't understand why the hybrid idea hasn't been fully utilized first. It seems to make sense with reduced emissions and not needing the massive batteries that are an issue with electric, not to mention mileage limits before recharging. Probably a more affordable option too. On another note the big diesel locomotives do not use the engines to drive the trains. Instead the engines drive huge generators which send hundreds of kW of electric power to the "traction motors" which actually power the train. An original hybrid design. Also, almost all of the wheels on a locomotive have a traction motor. (some front bogeys don't I read) thus eliminating complex gear drive trains and making them all wheel drive. 6 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ed Kennell 38,209 #6 Posted January 17 1 hour ago, Ed Kennell said: parallel parking assist Another idea that Packard tried 90 years ago and GM 70 years ago. The ingenious “fifth wheel” parallel parking tool that never hit it big - Hagerty Media 6 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ebinmaine 67,589 #7 Posted January 17 Neat stuff richard. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Handy Don 12,235 #8 Posted January 17 1 hour ago, Sailman said: On another note the big diesel locomotives do not use the engines to drive the trains. Instead the engines drive huge generators which send hundreds of kW of electric power to the "traction motors" which actually power the train. An original hybrid design. It seems logical and was used with GM’s Volt which had a modest battery for electric-only short range driving. It was advertised as an electric car that carried its own generator. It was, however, quite a small car with a niche following but did not seem destined for widespread sales and they were all eventually called back from their leases and destroyed. I think now that hub motor design and implementation are maturing rapidly, this might come back. Hyundai has recently shown an extremely innovative approach that vastly simplifies the drive train, suspension, and steering equation. Solid state batteries, if their promise is realized, will be a game changer. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SylvanLakeWH 25,598 #9 Posted January 17 1 hour ago, Handy Don said: GM’s Volt I think you are referring to the EV-1. Many many Volts still running around... 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Handy Don 12,235 #10 Posted January 17 Just now, SylvanLakeWH said: I think you are referring to the EV-1. Many many Volts still running around... Right! Thanks for the correction! 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
8ntruck 7,016 #11 Posted January 17 One of our neighbors who was working for GM drove an EV-1 for a while. I'm thinking that he was assigned to the electric car program at the time. Along simmilar lines, another acquaintance picked my mom up for a ride to some sort of meeting one summer evening - in one of the Chrysler turbine powered cars. 5 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JoeM 7,874 #12 Posted January 21 On 1/17/2024 at 10:20 AM, Ed Kennell said: parallel parking assist I like this one the best. Fits any car https://www.youtube.com/shorts/xJdjRwgtoDY 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
