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["Don Bowen" <don.bowen AT earthlink.net>]

> O.K., all you mechanically/electrical engineering type/inclined folks.  How
> come they can't use the wheels of a vehicle to generate electricity to
> replace the electricity used?  Kinda make the hubs the equivalent of he-man
> sized alternator/generator type thingys?  Why is it that they have to drive
> and then "fill up"?

Why would it not work to put a fan at the back of a sail boat and blow 
toward the sails?

Heat losses in the tires, in the gears and bearings, friction losses in the 
air flow, etc.  There is a set amount of power to maintain a steady state. 
There are ways to reduce the power requirements but not eliminate them. 
Adding a generator to the wheels would only increase the steady state power 
requirements.

Some hybrids use regenerative braking.  The braking system is turned around 
to a generator but at best that only gains about 15%.

Don Bowen      KI6DIU
http://www.braingarage.com/Dons/Travels/journal/Journal.html