A hybrid F-150??

[hybridbear]

Wow! This sounds like a great idea!!

http://blog.caranddriver.com/ford-is-definitely-working-on-a-hybrid-f-150-and-maybe-a-diesel-too/

http://green.autoblog.com/2014/12/04/ford-working-very-hard-on-f-150-hybrid/

[corncobs]

Hopefully that comes true and hopefully they won't stop there and make a plug in version/option for SUVs.

[lolder]

Machines that require ICE power intermittently and at widely varying levels are candidates for hybrid powertrains. Ones that require steady moderate or higher levels are not. Commercial trucks, boats airplanes and other like devices benefit little from hybrid technology. They can be made to run efficiently most of the time without being hybrids. If you're working your pickup hard and do a lot of towing there's not much advantage. Reducing the cost of the motor/generators and HVBs is a target but probably has only limited room for reduction. The more you operate a vehicle as a light to medium duty passenger vehicle and less as a truck, the more the advantage. These pickups have a lot of peak horsepower and the EV components are going to be more expensive.

[Texasota]

If you're working your pickup hard and do a lot of towing there's not much advantage.

I use my pickup a lot to tow a boat. But this pickup often performs double duty for runs to the lumber yard and errands when the FFH is being use by others. For many urban pickup owners (and there are lots of us) a hybrid pickup could make a lot of sense assuming it would have the ability to tow reasonably heavy loads.

 

I would also be very intrigued by the idea of a having a hybrid pickup that could also serve as an emergency generator to power essential functions in the house. GM built a hybrid pickup and if I remember correctly it had substantial 120 volt electrical outlets that were able to run typical power tools at a construction site. If that hybrid pickup could power the refrigerator, the sump pump and maybe a few lights that would be an added bonus.

[lolder]

I don't remember a GM hybrid pickup but Toyota sold a minivan from about 2002 outside of the US that had a HVB powered 100+ VAC 1.5 KW inverter. It might have been the Alphard.

[GrySql]

GM had Tahoe Hybrid.

[Waldo]

And a GMC Sierra Hybrid:

 

http://www.edmunds.com/gmc/sierra-1500-hybrid/

[Texasota]

Here is another interesting article about hybrid pickups:

 

http://news.pickuptrucks.com/2013/04/are-hybrid-pickups-the-way-to-go.html

 

I know very little about the efficiency considerations of using a hybrid pickup as an emergency generator as compared to a portable generator like a Honda or a Generac unit. But, for appliances like a sump pump or a refrigerator that periodically cycle on and off (with the "off" time being significantly longer than the "on" time), then maybe a hybrid pickup would be very efficient assuming the pickup's ICE remains off until the HVB needs to be recharged (like the FFH). I could be wrong, but I think the Honda or Generac portable generator's engine will run continuously even when there is no requirement for electrical power (sump pump and the refrigerator's compressor are not running).

 

Being able to power key household functions with a hybrid pickup would not be an overriding factor in a purchase decision for me, but it does seem like a very appealing bonus.

[darrelld]

I hope they build this, would trade my 2010 Subaru Outback 3.6 for a Hybrid F150.

[lolder]

The GM hybrid pickups did not have the kind of AC power that the Toyota Alphard had. I believe they were just add on 12 vdc inverters that ran off the augmented 12 vdc batteries. As i understand it, the Toyota had a high voltage inverter that ran off the HVB. This is a much more efficient method and can provide very high continuous power although the Alphard was only 1.5 KW. Theoretically you could build an inverter for about the capacity of the MG 1 motor/generator which i believe is about 60 KW. You could run your whole house for days. The ICE would turn on as the HVB got low and then shut off and cycle like that. Keeping the batteries of a 12 vdc inverter charged would not be as automatic as that.

The auto manufacturers are probably leery about offering a product that can be easily plugged into your house. Too bad.

Edited December 6, 2014 by lolder

[GrySql]

From the link in Post #8.

FTA:

• can be set up to offer 120-volt outlets to run just about any electric tool at a work site.

• By our count, by the end of 2012, the Chevy/GMC hybrid pickups sold fewer than 200 units per month nationally.