Google and ye shall find; there's a ton of stuff on this. Several years ago
I was reading a 'Popular Mechanics', I think it was, while I was waiting at
an import shop in town and they had an article about a GM concept based on a
fuel cell electric platform with AWD (motors in the hub) on which you could
interchange the body. That is, the body could be lifted off the 'chassis'
and changed out for another, so if you had this thing in a sedan you could
also buy a small pickup shell or minivan shell and swap it onto the chassis
and thus have three vehicles for a good bit less than the cost and upkeep of
three separate cars. Of course they kind of glossed over the cost of the
lift and the insanely high garage, but it was an interesting idea.

In following this thread I actually thought the Vanagon, or at least the
Syncro, might be an ideal platform for an electric hub motor conversion once
the technology is really here, assuming the converter is willing to pony up
the cash.

Cya,
Robert

----- Original Message -----
From: "Jonathan Poole" <jfpoolio@GMAIL.COM>
To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Sent: Wednesday, July 02, 2008 6:23 PM
Subject: Hybrid technologies

> "The drive motors would be independent electric motors on each wheel...."
>
> Porsche would be proud since one of his first cars was something very
> similar..  It had a gas motor powering electric motors in the hubs.  That
> was only 108 years ago.
>
> http://www.autohistory.org/feature_6.html
>
>
> Jonathan Poole