Jones Beene writes: >> The newer & lighter quick recharge lithium ion batteries would >> be >> a better than lead-acid batteries, if new vehicles are being >> built >> anyway. > > Jed mentioned the same thing - and these are superior batteries > weightwise, but way too costly for now, and they will need > periodic replacment.
Note that the Prius now uses NiMH batteries, no lead-acid. When I said "advanced batteries are cheaper over the life of the car," I meant the NiMH ones they now use. Here is an interesting paper about hybrid batteries and architecture (parallel, dual-mode, etc.): http://www.ctts.nrel.gov/analysis/pdfs/31306.pdf - Jed
