"Priustoric": GM's xp883 PHEV - from 1969.

[AMERICA 123]

Interesting - with some great pics on perhaps the grand daddy of all phevs.

Of course, you have to get past the subtly derogatory tone - no surprise considering the source.

Still, worth a look.

http://blog.wired.com/cars/2008/09/priustoric----g.html

Priustoric: GM Builds a Plug-In Hybrid ... in 1969

By Chuck Squatriglia September 16, 2008

Gm_xp883_hybrid

Toyota and General Motors are neck-and-neck in the race to put a plug-in hybrid in your driveway, but they're recycling an idea GM explored almost 40 years ago and tossed aside like a depleted battery.

The concept car with the cumbersome designation XP-883 was nothing more than an experiment relegated to history, but it worked a lot like the Toyota Prius and Saturn Vue plug-in hybrids the two companies are working on today. It was sufficiently ahead of its time for Popular Science to call it "radical" and ask, "wouldn't it be great to have a car that changed from electric drive for use around town to gasoline power for highway driving?"

"It makes so much sense," the magazine wrote in July, 1969, "that we feel they're missing a bet if they don't put it in production." -

[GMusa]

1. there was no need for this kind of vehicle back then.

2. It was most likely not practical to put one into production because the technologly wasnt there yet.

But its pretty cool that GM was doing this 40 years ago!!

[AMcA]

Pretty little thing, wasn't it? "The Gremlin's prettier sister" sums it up nicely.

[MCGARRETT]

It was also full hardtop, look at the black a white photo in the bottom of the Wired article,(if you need to ask why GM absolutley ruled for so many years, it's things like this, a tiny hybrid concept car with a full hardtop, why, because were **** GM, thats why, today I cant even get a rear armrest in a Malibu when the Yaris sedan has one....sigh....)


It looks like it was taken at some sort of technology expo, there is a big display in the back for "General Motors Transportation Systems", which I had never heard of(complete with it's own division "mark" logo!)boasting about "people movers, trains, highway systems!" , also if you look far off to the left there is a display for the GM Rotary engine too!

[eb110americana]

...yet further proof that everything awesome came from the 1960s (mostly the latter half and the very early 1970s in some cases).

[Hurricane]

The heart of the car was a 35 cubic inch (573 cc) two-cylinder engine -- small enough to be exempt from the emissions rules of the day -- coupled with a DC motor powered by six lead-acid batteries just like the one under your hood. You could tool around in all-electric mode or in gas-electric mode, according to PopSci. In hybrid mode, the electric motor did all the work to about 10 mph, at which point the gasoline engine took over. If you needed to really get up and go, the engine and motor worked in tandem. Still, the car was as slow as it was advanced. Top speed was just 60 mph, and it needed 28 seconds to get there -- making it only slightly faster than a Citroen 2CV6.

Holy cow - tiny engine!

I think it looks like an Avanti in the front.



(Ah, I see the article noticed that too...)

[johnstarnes]

Originally Posted by eb110americana

...yet further proof that everything awesome came from the 1960s (mostly the latter half and the very early 1970s in some cases).

Yes that era was an amazing time of looking at the world and ourselves and each other in a new light, with countless innovations on so many levels, especially as regards social justice and awareness of the global environment. What a shame that GM did not persist with the line of thinking and development of this brilliantly creative car. By the way, love that pun....."Priustoric"!

[vcs2600]

Originally Posted by eb110americana

...yet further proof that everything awesome came from the 1960s (mostly the latter half and the very early 1970s in some cases).

Its true that american corporations used to do a ton of speculative R&D back in those days.

[zete]

With something like that in their back pocket it becomes really hard to sue GM for patent infringement.

But 0-60 in 28 seconds? No wonder they didn't build it.

Plus, gas was cheap back then -- or perceived as cheap (it's still cheap, but I'm not going to get into that). And most folks would rather have a Mustang or Camaro than this alphanumeric vehicle.

[Carver]

Bravo on the thread title.

[Slideways]

Avanti nose, AMX rear, and micro proportions. Almost cool. . . almost.

[Smaart Aas Saabr]

Originally Posted by vcs2600

Its true that american corporations used to do a ton of speculative R&D back in those days.

Particularly in regards to General Motors... from things like artificial hearts (!) to catalytic converters and the moon rover...

[Bravada]

The nose looks more like Vauxhall Chevette's to me:

[paul8488]

That Car Is Wicked!

[darndot]

1966 Electrovair.


http://www.corvaircorsa.com/monzapr7.html