CMAX does the same. Tracks age of gas.

This is really informative and interesting read. Thanks a bunch. I’m not in the market but still for some reason I think it’s good to know.

I would just use replace “console” with “cluster”, “dash” or “instrument cluster”. I’ve never heard it called a console…that’s the area in front of and between the seats.

The pacifica can go about 2 miles per kWh. I’d expect more relative the the Ramcharger.

The Volt was very heavily criticized for only having 40 miles range. Expectations of range have gone up quite a bit since then.

EVs still have 12V battery.

Crap engines and trannys. Here you have an engine that runs gently and rarely and no transmission. Greatest Chrysler product ever.

It’s an advantage to have a smaller battery, less cost, less weight, less expensive to replace. Best case scenario 15 years later you can replace the battery with something much more capable.

If you look at the controls in the Ramcharger there is a button to keep the battery fully charged with the engine.

Just because a truck CAN tow doesn’t mean it’ll be bought mainly to tow.

Many people want an EV but live in some place like Watertown, SD and spend the holidays in Omaha, NE. Factor in cold weather, detours and tight schedules and a pure EV doesn’t fit your use case. Getting most of the way to Thanksgiving is no good.

People focus on regen braking as the big gain for hybrids but it’s really keeping the load and rpm in the sweet spot to get over 40% thermal efficiency.

Regen is better for marketing, it’s easier to understand and lends itself to gamification. Everyone loves to see 100% energy recovery on their dash but it’s fiction as there are heat losses.

It should be trivially easy to make this an Atkinson cycle engine - just modify the cam.

The extra cost and weight of a diesel is wasted as the engine isn’t running most of the time. I don’t need efficiency on something I rarely use, I just need effectiveness.

R and D is expensive.

Also it’s a known engine, good from the companies perspective and good from the buyer’s perspective.

I imagine people driving this vehicle would like to arrive back home with an empty gas tank and a emptyish battery. Otherwise the gas would go bad because it could be months before a long trip again. I could see people getting a half a tank of gas so they end on E.