Roland Perry gurgled happily, sounding much like they
were saying:

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/7f2f081e-2...077b07658.html

A very small step (for man or mankind....)

"The S-Class car, a 'mild' hybrid that will still draw most of
its power from petrol..."

Indeed.

But do Lithium Ion batteries provide the step forward that's being
alleged?

Not really. One litre of petrol provides 35MJ of energy, about 10kWh.
Even a small car will have a c.50 litre fuel tank, something the size of
an S-class nearer double that.

So that's 0.5-1MWh of energy on board. Wonder how big the battery pack
would have to be to replace that...? Wonder how long it'll take to
recharge...?

Unless and until that's addressed, pure-electric cars can only replace
internal combustion for short-to-medium journey use.