I guess it depends on how often you need the additional large vehicle abilities ... such as towing heavy loads or lots of passengers... What is the cost of yearly ownership?... insurance , maintenance , etc... compared to what would it cost you to just rent a large vehicle for those few times you need one? ... It ends up depending on how often you need it... I know I only rent U-Hual type truck when I move because it isn't cost effective to own them for the few times I would use them... but there is a breaking point where it does become more cost effective to own the vehicle if you use it often enough.... but it has to be fairly often... it only cost ~$60 a day to rent a large vehicle like a F150 truck , or Large SUV , etc... how much does is the yearly cost of owner ship? ... if you use it once a month .. or ~12 times per year than it is only cost effective if owning the large vehicle costs you less than ~$800 a year.... if you use it once a week , I expect it is cheaper to own then rent... renting would cost you ~$3,200 a year if you used it once a week...
So it just boils down to your individual needs and how often you need that larger vehicle.... people have different needs... nothing wrong with that.
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You actually can keep the mechanicals and add a EV ... but it is questionable if it is the best option.
A basic ~35 mile range already converted EV you could buy now is
~$5,000
Now I see some options for the HEV conversion of the truck( I am sure there are others ):
#1> change 2 or 4 of the wheels to Electric motor wheels... there are companies that will sell these to you today along with motor controllers, batteries, battery chargers... etc... off hand I would expect this option to cost the most but be the most elegant /easiest to install.
#2> add a electric motor and a second clutch ... it spins with the ICE when you drive normal and acts like the IMA of the Insight does acting as a alternator / starter / regen braking / electric turbo... then the clutch dis-connects the ICE and the Electric motor alone drives into the transmission to move the car.... still need batteries , controllers , chargers , etc... this will be harder to design into the existing place and limits of the engine bay ... but if engineering time and skill is free... it might be cheaper.
#3> replace the transmission with a power split device like the Prius Synergy drive... this can split the power as you wish between the Electric motor and the ICE.... I doubt if the unit from a Prius could handle the torque you would be asking from it... so you would require a custom made unit.
#4> add a 5th wheel like Mike has that lowers for EV mode and Raises for non EV mode... you will need something allot bigger and more powerful thus more expensive than what mike has on his much smaller Insight.
#5> skip the requirement to keep the mechanicals... use a Electric motor to give all the torque you want... and use a motor generator as a range extension in order to do the longer ranges... for about ~$20,000 you can get the EV conversion for a
Heavy Vehicle... you'll have about ~35 mile EV range and then you need a range extending generator to be added to go further... or jump up into the extreme cost for advance Lithium batteries to get longer EV ranges.
Can anyone turn my F250 into a hybrid?
