Les Jones

Tech > Prius Review

Another positive review of the Toyota Prius.

I often slag alternative energy because it often doesn't make sense. Hybrid engines make sense. They use existing infrastructure so there's no chicken-and-egg problem, as with hydrogen. And their full potential isn't even close to being realized.

One way to increase efficiency would be to drop the transmission entirely and transmit electricity to motors mounted on the wheel or axle. If you mount a motor on each wheel, you get all-wheel drive as a bonus.

A variation on the same idea is to use small motors on the non-drive wheels. They can provide just enough extra traction to get going in ice and snow. One carmaker (BMW, I think - this was from an article in Car and Driver a while back) is going to use just that system to provide an economical alternative to traditional four-wheel drive systems, which add significantly more weight to the car.