Alternative engines for consumer cars...
 

I've started to really like hybrids like the Prius. They and the clean-burning diesels are fantastic machines. With that, I wondered what else is out there that isn't hydrogen, electric, or internally combustible.

A while ago, I saw a small jet that was used in a military helicopter. It weighed something like 150 lbs, and about a third of the size of a 911 engine. Wonder what that would be like on the city streets.

Then there's gas turbine. The only gas turbine car I've seen is that old Chrysler sedan at the Petersen Museum in L.A. Has there been any development with gas turbine?

What do you guys think? Crazy ideas, no?

You need to figure out a way to put in the deceleration factor of an engine as part of the drivetrain.

A small "jet" will coast when you get off the gas.

Scott

uhmm... a gas turbine is an IC engine.

Isn't any car driven on the street a "consumer car"?

Electric... a la the Tesla Roadster.

I could SO get by with one of those as a daily driver.

gas turbine cars don't idle so well. Stopped at a light, you would quickly become uncomfortable . . .unless you were in Nome AK.

Re: Alternative engines for consumer cars...
 

The Specific fuel consumption of turbine engines is significantly higher than recip engines, with turbojets being among the worst. They are very light for their horsepower output though.

Develop a propulsion system that does not rely on temperature differential to produce motive power. Currently (no pun intended) there is progress being made in capacitor storage systems. Fast to charge and much lighter than batteries.

Re: Alternative engines for consumer cars...
 

Hybrids are supposedly actually less economical in the long run than gas engine vehicles. I've seen the comparisons a couple times. When you include manufacturing, acquisition, maintenance, etc, a gas powered vehicle ends up being more fuel efficient over it's entire life.