NOVA | Car of the Future | A Plug-In Solution | PBS

The 'Car Talk' brothers, Tom and Ray Magliozzi, visit the UC Davis lab of Andy Frank, inventor of the plug-in hybrid, to learn more about one of the possible ways we can transition our transportation system of off oil. Watch NOVA every Tuesday night on PBS.

Or join us online at http://www.pbs.org/nova Funding for NOVA is provided by David H. Koch, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and public television viewers. To learn more, visit http://www.pbs.org/nova/car

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Science & Technology

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• pbs
• car
• future
• hybrid
• oil

[Icebiken]

Love the idea... can't wait for the reality

[Rickdeckard2020]

This segment was good, but they completely dropped the ball by not shedding light on the EV1 and Rav4EVs from the 90s which were better over 10 years ago than most of what is showcased "for the future".

The Rav4EV have been driving around on highways with good range and speed without replacing the battery with over 66 000 miles under the hood and counting. One NiMH battery pattent was bought by Texaco/Chevron who prevent any similar design w litigation. Near total mainstream media black out

[Seattlecarnut]

Although I never liked how a Toyota Prius looks, I do like how the car operates. How about someone make a diesel-electric hybrid car, or even a truck or SUV?

[granskare]

we are forgetting CEO bonuses here if we shift from gas to electric..it is socalism and depriving CEOs of oil companies of their right to freedom and happiness !

LOL :)

[firesoul453]

If you used the gas and/or diesel to charge the battery instead of the car directly then you would be wasting power and making the batteries wear out faster.

But ya so biodiesel is a good idea!

[firesoul453]

If cars used cables they would all get tangled VERY fast.

A wind turbine on a car would waste power. The power would come from the same place as before but you would get LESS of it.

[Sonyoooo3]

Who knows maybe the taxi driver can drive at night earning extra money by just driving around at night?

[Sonyoooo3]

The extra energy will be use for house street light etc.? Just think how many car people use today?

[Sonyoooo3]

Electric car without batery is nice just like city train i think it has no batery but a cable inted. So if car can also the same system and adding the car with wind turbined at the front this will also help to charge the main power to the system so the extra energy will be use for etc.

[bodkin77]

Can you run this car on electric power only if you only want to go, say 20km? I want to add a small battery pack and motor to my ICE (internal combustion engine) car. Maybe I need to hook the electric motor to the axle that the ICE isn't powering? How do I do this? thanx

[yinyangnature]

It's now been 30 years since the oil crisis of the 1970's, and yet the Western world is still addicted to oil. Why do we continue to crave a product that is all too often the hidden agenda for war; supports brutal and corrupt regimes; pollutes the planet that sustains us; and is refined by some of the most deceitful corporations in the world? Now that the technology is available, isn't obvious the electric car is the answer?

[benscott182]

look were already having gas and petrol problems and prices are only going to get more expensive. This solution of Hybrid is only way forward after diseal and petrol I think