Dr Andy Frank - Father of the Hybrid Car

Well it might not be the best thing to be proud of on fathers day, but the fact remains Andy Frank was thinking about hybrid cars when the rest of us were still looking at the big muscle cars and SUVs, and not really giving a care about the future.

He started in 1993 when he built a total hybrid designed auto called the "AfterShock." This car was a ground breaking event to marry the gasoline engine with high torque at high RPM to the electric motor with high torque at low RPM. What this does is cover the whole power curve not just the top end. The cars achievements are incredible for almost 15 years ago.

With a group of undergraduates in Mechanical Engineering Andy Frank designed and manufactured "Aftershock," a car that combines the low emissions of an electric vehicle and the range and power of a gasoline engine. "Aftershock" placed first in the International Hybrid Electric Vehicle Challenge in 1994 and 1995, as well as earning prizes in other categories. "Aftershock" can run for nearly a thousand miles before refueling or recharging, and has achieved the enviable fuel economy of 80 miles to the gallon at highway speeds of sixty miles per hour.

He went on to build 6 hybrid vehicles and win multiple awards for his efforts. This list of vehicles are:

• 2005 - Trinity - 2006 Chevy Equinox, participating in the Challenge X competition.
• 2002 - Yosemite - 2002 Ford Explorer converted to a battery dominant hybrid electric vehicle.
• 2000 - Sequoia - 2000 Chevrolet Suburban with a Parallel Hybrid Powertrain.
• 1998 - Coulomb - hybrid-electric Mercury Sable AIV.
• 1997 - Joule - 1996 Ford Taurus converted to a hybrid electric vehicle.
• 1993 - AfterShock - "Ground-up" hybrid electric vehicle.

He has converted every thing from family cars to giant SUVs to hybrids showing in most cases that the fuel economy doubles with a fleet wide average of around 62 mpg.

The latest is the Trinity project that takes a 2006 Chevy Equinox and converts it to a hybrid vehicle that gets could get up to 200 miles per gallon using the all electric range of of 40 miles in daily use. This is a monster vehicle that weighs 3700 lbs originally and stock gets 19 mpg city and 25 mpg on the highway EPA fuel economy ha ha. Now the vehicle weighs more but goes zero to 60 faster and achieves a possible 200 mpg . What an incredible achievement.

Well enough about his hybrid cars. Prof. Andy Frank is a true visionary with the staying power to prove his point that hybrid cars are good for our future and that they are not just pie in the sky concepts like hydrogen vehicles. Well designed hybrid vehicles can be created today that achieve head turning impressive speed and mind blowing high fuel economy. Prof Andy Frank recently commented that we can "kick the oil habit with no sacrifice in lifestyle."