As for ac, it would be nice if there were more electric AC systems in traditional vehicles. Near instant heat/cool
Electric A/C, maybe. But in anything with a gas engine, it really just doesn’t make sense to have electric heat, since the engine is already such a prolific source of free waste heat. And waiting a minute or two for it to warm up is a small price to pay for the massive efficiency of having all your heating energy being basically ‘free’.
and could be enabled with the engine off with a suitable battery for extended stops like when parked
Would only make sense in hybrid vehicles, IMO, since they already have a large battery that could be used for this.
Hybrid vehicles already make much better use of engine start/stop anyway.
But electric A/C and heat are already becoming fairly common on hybrid vehicles, I think – especially on plug-in hybrids or ones with an ‘EV mode’ that can drive on electric only for a limited range.
Electric A/C, maybe. But in anything with a gas engine, it really just doesn’t make sense to have electric heat, since the engine is already such a prolific source of free waste heat. And waiting a minute or two for it to warm up is a small price to pay for the massive efficiency of having all your heating energy being basically ‘free’.
Would only make sense in hybrid vehicles, IMO, since they already have a large battery that could be used for this.
Hybrid vehicles already make much better use of engine start/stop anyway.
But electric A/C and heat are already becoming fairly common on hybrid vehicles, I think – especially on plug-in hybrids or ones with an ‘EV mode’ that can drive on electric only for a limited range.