Range extender for automobiles

Here's an idea for you--- a range extender for electric cars.  The range extender would be set up as a trailer hookup that would be only for a short time as you need it.

The logic behind this is the same as the Volt with the difference being that the range isn't built in.  The Volt builds the extended range as an internal combustion engine.  But the range extender could be anything off the shelf--- an ICE (internal combustion engine) , a battery, a gas turbine generator, or a fuel cell.

Of these options, you may want an all electric setup.  If you don't like the all electric, you can try something else.

The advantages are economic.  Why have all that extra capacity when you don't need it all the time?  Why buy a battery that can go 200 miles when you seldom drive that far?  Same thing for a fuel cell.  As for internal combustion engines, the disadvantage is that the price of gas is too high.  ICE's do have range, but it comes at an economic cost.

With a battery powered city car, you can get a vehicle that can go 50 miles or so on a charge.  That would be good enough most of the time.  When you need extra range, you would just attach the trailer to extend the range.  You could sell time shares to mitigate the cost of the trailer.  For example, if you share it two weeks per person, up to 26 people could share the cost of 1 of these trailers.  Now, if each trailer cost 52k each, each person would have to pony up 2 grand apiece.  Not too high a cost for not having to buy a second car with a longer range.

The cost benefits over time would pay for itself.   With gas at 4 bucks a gallon, and an average mileage of 25 mpg, the cost per mile would be 16 cents per mile.  A battery powered car could be 3 cents per mile or less.  Now, 50 miles a day gives about 18k per year of driving.  That's 540 bucks per year times 4 years of the initial cost would get back your 2k.  But then you would own the thing outright and it's gravy from there.  If the thing lasted for 10 years, you would get 6 years for free.  At trade in time, the trailer could still have residual value.  How can you lose?