Awww,. pretty. I like this concept more then the others.

Without using the evil 'copy/paste' routine I'll just ask the question again as per previous post. Why not move the in-wheel motor inside the wheel arch to protect it from dust and the like, then connect it to the wheel with a beefy CV. Beefy so you can also put the regenerative and standard breaking elements in the wheel arch. In so doing, the unsprung weight of the wheel is heavily reduced, and issues with dust and vibrations chewing the motor out will be almost eliminated. At the same time, there would be no central motors so the cabin can be free.
Though I must admit there would be a necessity for a slightly differnt kind of CV that had no play in it, otherwise breaking may provide a jolt.

I like the in-wheel concept. I am not sure what the wheels with the spinning section are called but could the spinning motion be used to generate electricity? Would this be practical? It would be an interesting way to charge batteries.

In-wheel motors are as vulnerable to road dirt and dust as drum brakes. Their biggest disadvantage is the need for expensive alloys for the permanent magnet rotor. 3-phase induction motors would be cheaper. CV joints are unneccsary in EVs because the motors can be mounted to change angle with the wheel.

The in-wheel concept allows for more usable space in the car... however I dislike it because it means the drivetrain's weight is unsprung -> worse handeling.

Personally I'd rather have the better handeling and move my feet over a bit ;) I like the CV idea; as for CVs having "play" to them; the Insight and Prius's regen braking are passed thru CV axles already; so that's a non-issue. It would increase cost though.

Years ago, I penned an electric car design with 1 motor per wheel fed through cv joints for exactly the reasons already stated. I agree with everyone that the choice is between simplicity (no additional moving parts beyond an axle) and conventional (cv joints with reduced unsprung wt.). This idea is about innovation. Motors will get lighter what with being built into a joint hub/brake/motor assembly AND brusless motors with ironless magnets.

I'd go with the motors within wheels this time around. This would also be a great concept for an ecar part supplier company.

The idea of the in-wheel motor requires that the stator be fixed to the stationary center and the very light (plastic) magnets be driven around them. The driven magnets are attached to the inside of the tire rim. Properly executed, you could burn rubber if you pushed it.

This idea will eventually be picked up by a number of car makers. It's being done in India also.

I have heard that the reason GM EV1 didnt go through was the fact that the cars never needed any repair which is where these Big Co's and Dealers make alot of money in replacement parts or even new cars. They are also heavily invested in gas companies. Its no wonder that Toyota and Honda are taking over the market. Alot of people "babyboomers" are hippies from the 60's. There was even a waiting list of 5000 plus the existing leased fleet of 1500 EV1's. Greed will eventully ruin the american automakers. We will see EV's again but from Asia.

This is a GREAT concept. Yes, I would buy one if it is priced where I could afford it. But will we really see it? I'm losing hope of ever replacing oil. Why? Because greedy corporations will spend whatever is nessisary to kill any competition. After we fight WWIII over the last drop of oil, there won't be any infrastructure left to build electric cars. Since there will only be limited electricity, (made by homeproducers), what would be the point anyway?

We would all buy one, if they were affordably priced!
Will we see it?
Not unless we amass our own talents and capital in a cooperative effort to bring these types of vehicles into reality.
We cannot wait for big corporations to save us from themselves. Corporations are not greedy, they are just profit-generating machines. They cannot stop us from providing ourselves with our own alternatives.
Only our own laziness and irresponsibility can stop us.
Those same "homeproducers" can produce anything they want, if they only work together, like our forefathers did.

I am re-posting the following from another wheelmotor discussion to increase exposure to interested parties:

Hey, all this idle chatter about PML's Hybrid Electric Mini reminds me of Mark Twain saying, "Everybody complains about the weather, but nobody ever does anything about it."

Let's all start doing something positive about this,now.

We all know we need this technology, now!
We all know we will never see it come from GM or Ford.
We have long known it can be done, now.
(PML has physical proof, right now, but Ferdinand Porsche showed a working front wheel drive hybrid electric with wheel motors in Paris in 1900. See Wheel Motors on Wikipedia)
We have all had good ideas to improve our transport.
And we all know more minds are better than one.
We all know we cannot build a car company by ourselves.
But, together, we could build an economy commuter vehicle manufacturing business in our country, or in every country, if we organized enough interest.
I invite anyone who is interested in participating (whether with capital or 'sweat equity') in an open cooperative (LLC) global commuter vehicle company based upon the cottage-industry model of the Swiss watch industry to contact me at lmaden@frontiernet.net, or 712-636-4490.
I am a highly-experienced Manufacturing Engineer with my own small machine shop and a spectacular two-passenger three-wheeled commuter vehicle designed to use off-the-shelf power transmission components, but I cannot buy suitable wheel motors off the shelf (nobody makes what a single commuter needs to run atleast minimum Interstate highway speeds), so I need an Electrical Engineer with a motor winding shop to help complete this exciting development.
Then we will need marketing expertise, a sales force, a service network, and on, and on, we will build an effective organization, one person at a time.
If you want change, work for change, send me your interests and capabilities, now! Larry M. Aden