this post was submitted on 09 Mar 2026
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hmmm

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[–] ChickenLadyLovesLife@lemmy.world 4 points 5 hours ago (1 children)

Germany during WWII did something kind of like this. They modified some of their cars to run on wood gas and they would tow a wood stove on a trailer that generated the gas, with an attached hose that would feed it into the engine. A sensible plan when your only source of oil is Romania and all of your horses have been requisitioned by the army for its "blitzkrieg".

[–] KeenFlame@feddit.nu -3 points 5 hours ago

No it is not

[–] azureskypirate@lemmy.zip 3 points 7 hours ago (1 children)

Refraccionera = repair shop, mexican dialect

Sign with E in red cancel mark is No Estiocionar = No parking

Oxxo = Convience store common in Latin america

Street sign says Avenida Sur = South Avenue

It's probably not AI, güey. No mames

[–] LemmyKnowsBest@lemmy.world 1 points 4 hours ago

No mames?? 😢

[–] GenosseFlosse@feddit.org 9 points 10 hours ago (2 children)

Not buying it: How would you charge (generator) and discharge (motor) the car at the same time? The electronics and software is designed to only charge the battery when parked. My car won't even shift into gear if it's plugged in.

[–] DreamlandLividity@lemmy.world 4 points 8 hours ago* (last edited 8 hours ago) (2 children)

I mean, this one is fake, but there is a company creating haluers that do pretty much this. Have a small battery they recharge with a generator. According to them, a generator is a lot more efficient and enviromentaly friendly compared to normal engine, since it runs at constant rpm.

[–] Threeme2189@sh.itjust.works 4 points 8 hours ago (1 children)

Name and (the opposite of) shame!

You're talking about Edison Motors, right?

[–] DreamlandLividity@lemmy.world 3 points 8 hours ago* (last edited 7 hours ago)

Yes, but I couldn't recall the name. Thanks for mentioning it.

[–] LordKitsuna@lemmy.world 4 points 8 hours ago

Actually, the constant RPM ones are less efficient, the inverter generators that are able to vary with the load that are more efficient. But yes, they are better at turning the fuel into usable power. Traditional ice engines lose something like 40% of the power made just in Losses from gearing transmission axel etc. So while it may seem silly technically using a generator to charge an EV is more efficient

[–] Psythik@lemmy.world 2 points 7 hours ago

FWIW, people have made a real working version of this concept before.

[–] fubarx@lemmy.world 11 points 12 hours ago* (last edited 12 hours ago) (2 children)

Hate to be that guy, but... Refaccionaria. AI sloppity slop 😔

[–] bazzett@lemmy.world 9 points 11 hours ago* (last edited 10 hours ago)

I mean, I'm not going to say that it's or not an artificially made picture, but "refaccionaria" is a perfectly cromulent word in Spanish: Refaccionaria at the Diccionario de la Lengua Española.

[–] BurnedDonutHole@ani.social 6 points 12 hours ago (1 children)

Looking at the people on the sidewalk is enough to see it.

[–] zalgotext@sh.itjust.works 4 points 11 hours ago (1 children)

Looks like a ministry of funny walks convention

Sidewalk's for regular walkin. Not for fancy walkin.

[–] joostjakob@lemmy.world 3 points 9 hours ago
[–] Anarki_@lemmy.blahaj.zone 3 points 10 hours ago

Oh hell no. Can we have one comm without slop?

[–] RememberTheApollo_@lemmy.world 25 points 16 hours ago (6 children)

A couple manufacturers were showing off EREV at the big manufacturer auto show, basically EV with a small gas engine to extend the range. Less motor than a hybrid, but enough to get some pretty ridiculous range out of a single combined charge/tank. Basically what this image is implying.

Seems like a decent idea for people that use their vehicle for longer distances.

[–] reddig33@lemmy.world 2 points 10 hours ago* (last edited 10 hours ago) (1 children)

Sounds like a GM Volt (not Bolt) or a BMW i3. Good thing both models were discontinued. Just in time for gas prices to go up again, right on schedule.

[–] RememberTheApollo_@lemmy.world 1 points 4 hours ago

A quick look seems like the EREVs proposed to be available in the US are all trucks and large SUVs. Ford, Jeep, Hyundai, and Genesis among others. That sucks, why do they have to be big cars? Like to have a smaller sedan with great range.

[–] boonhet@sopuli.xyz 3 points 13 hours ago

BMW did it long ago in the i3 with the range extender. Not the best attempt though. They made it tiny, but it still had a heavy battery (though obviously not a very big one, just heavy for a car of this size), so to get the weight down, they used carbon fiber, but it was supposed to be an economy car and now with carbon fiber it was expensive.

Idea itself is not bad though.

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[–] TheDemonBuer@lemmy.world 116 points 22 hours ago (4 children)

This is basically what every EREV is. The generator is just integrated into the car, otherwise it's essentially the same thing.

[–] dejected_warp_core@lemmy.world 24 points 20 hours ago (5 children)

At the same time, I've wondered if it would be helpful for EVs on some long-distance road trips to tow/stow a generator for overnight and emergency charging. Charging stations are popping up more and more, but if you're saddled with an obsolete or under-served charging port type (e.g. Nissan Leaf), having a generator would be valuable insurance.

[–] azertyfun@sh.itjust.works 8 points 14 hours ago (1 children)

Every EV can just hook up with a (mostly) passive adapter to any outlet and get a charge. It won't be fast (especially if you are cursed with a 110V outlet), but even in the boonies an overnight trickle charge will get you to the nearest fast charger. Just get the relevant adapters for your car.

This is basically what your generator would do except you want to lug it around instead of leveraging the cables that we pulled within driving distance of everywhere but the most remote trails? The whole point of electricity is its versatility and ubiquity!

FYI using a wall plug to charge an EV is a perfectly normal thing to do. For a small(ish) commute, regular 220V@10A is way more than enough to get back to full overnight. It won't give you 500 km of range, but only freaks and truckers drive 500 km every day.

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[–] GalacticGrapefruit@lemmy.world 2 points 10 hours ago
[–] IphtashuFitz@lemmy.world 18 points 17 hours ago (2 children)

Except every EV I’ve been in will refuse to shift out of park if the charging cable is plugged in. Otherwise: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YtS4h2az9Jo&t=48

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[–] brap@lemmy.world 65 points 22 hours ago (10 children)

I’m not sure about this, surely an EV wouldn’t allow charging while in motion as a safety measure against driving off while plugged in?

But then, there’s this photo right here unless I’ve been suckered into believing AI edits again.

[–] troybot@piefed.social 38 points 19 hours ago
[–] MartianSands@sh.itjust.works 48 points 22 hours ago (7 children)

Yeah, that's supposed to be impossible. Either they're not moving and it's a staged shot (unlikely, since they're in the middle of traffic and there appears to be motion blur), or they've fiddled with the car to make it think the charging door is closed, or it's an edit.

I'm suspicious of the motion blur, personally, because the traffic looks too tight to be moving much, so I suspect an edit

[–] sundray@lemmus.org 39 points 21 hours ago (8 children)

Giving the photo the benefit of the doubt, it's also possible that this Tesla owner had to bring a generator somewhere for unrelated reasons, and thought it would be "funny" to hook it up to the charge port on his car as a joke.

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[–] CaptPretentious@lemmy.world 30 points 20 hours ago (4 children)

They're doing it wrong. They need a small wind turbine on the back. As they drive, the turbine spins, producing energy which charges the car, which is then used to drive, which further spins the turbines! There is no flaw to this logic! ~/s~

[–] HeyThisIsntTheYMCA@lemmy.world 15 points 18 hours ago* (last edited 18 hours ago) (4 children)

so out in the utah salt flats they're always trying new and ridiculous looking things. There was a vehicle i remember seeing similar to this one:

the turbine was in the back and the wind provided all the motive force for the vehicle. and it worked! And the blades were not contained so it could chop the fuck out of something that got too close, absolute deathtrap. but powered by wind alone so if you had the right geography, like you live in wyoming or something you got a free ride. pop class 2 electric hub motor on that for windless days, fix the deathtrap part and you have an ideal vehicle if you ask me.

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[–] Mwa@thelemmy.club 19 points 18 hours ago

Its basically a hybrid now

[–] ParlimentOfDoom@piefed.zip 16 points 19 hours ago (1 children)

Top Gear did this years ago when they solved EVs...

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