Poulsen Hybrid car conversion kit takes aim at X-Prize, your wallet

While most of the Automotive X-Prize entrants are vehicles built from the ground up for maximum gas mileage, Poulsen Hybrid's entry takes a considerably different tact, with it consisting simply of a kit that can be attached to any old car. That kit consists of two hybrid electric motors with rare earth permanent magnets that (as you can see above) are mounted on the outside of the vehicle, which are tied to a 72V 120Ah Deep Cycle Lead Acid battery pack on the inside. According to Poulsen, once installed, the system effectively turns a front-wheel drive car into an all-wheel drive car, and results in a driving "effect" that is " equivalent to freewheeling down a 3% grade," with the accelerator needing to be depressed less or not at all to keep the car moving. Also unlike most other X-Prize competitors, Poulsen intends to make its kit available to the general public in the not to distant future, and for the relatively bargain price of $3,300, no less (add an extra $600 to that if you don't think you're up to installing it yourself).

[Via Autoblog Green]

[EricR @ May 8th 2008 2:51PM]

This looks like a solution I could afford...

[tom @ May 8th 2008 2:53PM]

Expect that thing to be stolen soon after installation

[Dan @ May 8th 2008 4:07PM]

@tom

Just paint it orange, everyone will think it's a boot

[skulldriveshaft @ May 8th 2008 3:10PM]

@tom:

Who the hell is going to steal hub motors? (nature loving criminals?)

What the hell are they going to do with them anyways?

Will it hit 88 mph?

Now, we're just one step closer, anyone making a MR.FUSION?

[tom @ May 8th 2008 3:19PM]

Criminals are not dumb, they simply take them out and sell it for profits. Zero cost, 100% profits, very lucrative.

With the expensive gas price, some dude actually modify his truck and suck out all the diesel from gas stations in Quebec. Eventually that guy is caught. Isn't that smart?

[Benson @ May 8th 2008 7:41PM]

Zero cost? You mean you walk by a car with one of these and it just kinda falls in your backpack?

[Unknown @ May 8th 2008 8:01PM]

he said zero cost not zero effort

[skulldriveshaft @ May 9th 2008 12:23AM]

@tom I doubt this would be worth much at all without the complete package.

How many Prius's get stolen?

[Benson @ May 9th 2008 2:38AM]

If work costs nothing, I guess I get something for nothing every day. Wonder why they don't catch on and stop paying me, but I'm not gonna complain.

[Jeebus @ May 9th 2008 1:50PM]

effort is a subset of cost.

[spacegravity4me @ May 8th 2008 2:55PM]

Well.... it's no hover conversion kit, but I guess it's a start. Kinda adds that b2tf2 feel doesn't it?

[alex @ May 8th 2008 4:57PM]

...for only $39,999.95! So come on down!

[Charlie Taylor @ May 8th 2008 2:55PM]

So what if your car is rear-wheel drive and/or already AWD?

Because we all know front wheel drive is the work of the devil!

[dreamscape86 @ May 8th 2008 3:06PM]

The website says it works equally well with RWD and AWD vehicles.

[John Johnson @ May 8th 2008 2:57PM]

It solves the problem of someone in a Prius hitting a kid on a bike in the middle of the road because "their car was silent". Put it on a Jetta TDI :).

[apoc3 @ May 8th 2008 3:01PM]

Is that a widespread problem?

[John Johnson @ May 8th 2008 3:07PM]

http://www.autoblog.com/2008/05/08/its-happened-boy-hit-by-hybrid-mom-blames-quiet-running/

E, hope you won't mind me linking, it's your sister site after all :)

[Captain Obvious @ May 8th 2008 3:09PM]

(The car depicted in the photo IS a Jetta TDI)

[ericdano @ May 8th 2008 2:58PM]

Sweet. I'm pimpin out my Mustang with that..........NOT

[bethel03 @ May 8th 2008 4:34PM]

Finally something to actually make a Mustang look good!

[Duodenum @ May 8th 2008 3:05PM]

Do want, but for my F150.

[dreamscape86 @ May 8th 2008 3:07PM]

Seems like a good idea, but my concern is whether or not it will actually increase your gas mileage, since you're also adding 200-300 lbs. to the weight of the car.

Theft seems like it would be a major problem too.

[skulldriveshaft @ May 8th 2008 3:24PM]

Adding 10% more weight to your vehicle should be out paced with the fuel economy gained, otherwise it's of no benefit to you.

Most of todays smaller vehicles are 3000 lbs or more due to safety regulations.

If this lets me into the HOV lane as the only driver, I think it would save me tons of time idling in certain areas throughout my commute.

Being stolen would require either the complete vehicle stolen, or just the hub motors, I would imagine chrome rims being stolen before these.

[Fred @ May 8th 2008 3:09PM]

Here is the kind of thinking we need! Do more with what you have. We have cars, how can we make them better? This may not be the better mousetrap yet, but it's a great start in a new direction.

[Ryan @ May 8th 2008 3:11PM]

I'm sure they thought of this.....but if you dont need to press the gas pedal to go, how do you get it to stop?

[John Johnson @ May 8th 2008 3:15PM]

I would assume it knows when you're braking, and will then turn from a motor to a generator to recharge itself using the inductive force of the magnets on your wheel :)

[marc @ May 8th 2008 3:16PM]

I think the intent is that the motor is always on and you press the brakes to stop the vehilce (expect a little more wear and tear on the brakes). A very interesting stop-gap concept...though i would prefer seeing hard numbers on how much benefit you actually get

[Abarajame @ May 8th 2008 3:21PM]

Pressing the brake pedal may be? lol

[skulldriveshaft @ May 8th 2008 3:26PM]

When you press your brakes, I would imagine it switches to a regeneration mode, just uses your existing brake light wiring as a sensor.

This doesn't have to be very complicated at all, almost like a tow trailer with a battery and hub motors for wheels :]

[Kris @ May 8th 2008 3:39PM]

Remember, your automatic doesn't stop either when it's in drive. Drive in automatic is always trying to go so this won't increase wear anymore than your automatic transmission does.

[Chris @ May 8th 2008 3:11PM]

Hey look it's my car! Minus the obnoxious boot-looking thing on it... Kudos for creativity tho.

[mulder_fbi @ May 8th 2008 3:13PM]

I don't know how well this particular product performs but the mere idea of an add-on is worth an award to me. If someone can make a "cheap" add on that works well, that would rock.

Maybe the IRS could give us a deduction for buying this thing or for using it every year.

[sully @ May 8th 2008 3:15PM]

It's name was Hybrid Poulsen.

[CraigJ @ May 8th 2008 4:08PM]

I am Jack's complete lack of surprise.

[mark @ May 8th 2008 10:10PM]

how's that working out for you?

;)

[Donedadonedone @ May 8th 2008 3:18PM]

s/tact/tack/g

[nh @ May 8th 2008 4:07PM]

s/g//

[David @ May 8th 2008 3:19PM]

Won't this introduce stresses and thus excessive wear and tear on components that were not intended to be part of a drivetrain or to support extra weight (the rear wheel bearings and the rear suspension, for instance)?

[blomster @ May 8th 2008 3:20PM]

I'm putting that on my Civic Hybrid to make it cost as much as (and get the mileage of) a Prius.

[Dan Davis @ May 8th 2008 4:20PM]

Your Honda gets the same mileage on the highway as a Prius.

The hwy mileage differs by 8 mpg... does the Prius have a better electric motor than the Honda Civic or is it all regenerative braking?

BTW -- I'm in the market for ONE of these, but I will probably wait for the next Prius (Spring 2009)... supposed to start at $21K and get better mpg.

[Dan Davis @ May 8th 2008 4:34PM]

Sorry... CITY mileage is lower in the Civic, not highway

[Leo @ May 8th 2008 3:30PM]

Exactly how strong are these magnets? I'd hate to have to get out of the car every time a bicycle got stuck to my back tire. I guess the cyclist wouldn't be too pleased either.

[Iridium @ May 8th 2008 3:31PM]

$3,300 seems a bit steep for these motors. It's a pretty simple setup that you can build yourself if you buy the right parts.

The first thing I thought of was "how do I put air in the tire with that on it" but they put a valve extension in the drawing that doesn't look like it made it on the prototype.

Each motor gives 7hp which would be great for adding power on the highway but I really worry about throttle control and what these things will do to the safety of the car. They would have to increase braking distances and are probably not the most responsive things. I also worry aboout hurting your car's transmission and engine with the extra push that doesn't come from the inside. Something is going to burn out.

The best application would be a FWD car on the highway. You would just thrown the car into neutral and let these wheel motors propel you once you get to speed. 120Ah isn't going to get you very far though.

[John Johnson @ May 8th 2008 3:40PM]

7HP=5220W. So let's say these are 100% efficient. 72Vx120Ah=8640Wh. Divide it by two (since we're running two motors). 4320Wh/motor. Divide it by 5220, it's 0.82 hours (49 minutes) per motor on one battery.

[Taylor @ May 8th 2008 3:50PM]

Two large 7HP DC motors probably cost at least a grand (for the pair) if not more by themselves... Once you add in the custom parts that needed to be designed and machined, the batteries, motor drivers and other electronics, and allow the company to recoup R&D costs while still making a profit, $3300 is cutting it close. No offense, but you must not run a business.
-Taylor

[Backwards People @ May 8th 2008 3:55PM]

That's some good calculating there Lou!

[Iridium @ May 8th 2008 5:09PM]

Taylor,

A company in India put together a whole car and is selling it for $2500 and still making a profit. You'd get more for your money with that than spending $3300 on these hub motors.

All of the R&D on these motors has been done for a long time. All they did was modify the motor so it can be attached to a wheel hub with an adapter plate and add a torque arm. Not exactly a lot of money there.

You'll probably end up with more than $3000 in repair bills for your car due to the car not being designed for use with this system.

[Benson @ May 8th 2008 7:54PM]

You haven't made an especially coherent argument as to _why_ this will cause your car to need repair bills.

14 hp / (3000 lbf * 55 mph) = 0.0318181818

That's a 3% grade (as they said).
So do you destroy your car by driving down 3% grades? by stopping on them? by reversing up them?

The most likely way of damaging the car is pulling the bumper off, if they're not attached to the frame/unibody properly...

[Jeff @ May 8th 2008 3:50PM]

My first thought was, "Do you really think people will drive something ugly just to have green cred?"

Then I remembered what a Prius looked like.

In all seriousness, though, this actually seems like a cool idea. I wonder what the actual MPG savings are.

[Taylor @ May 8th 2008 3:52PM]

At $4 a gallon and rising, i think the next ten years will see people going a GREAT lengths to save gas (and money), not just look green. I am kind of worried about this stuff actually, as my car isn't very efficient and it uses premium... :(
-Taylor