[OT]Electronic Cams? EDN article Link

[mark koenig]

I seem to recall reading somewhere that the Honda Insight uses a starter-less
system for the IC engine.  The engine never idles; if you stop at a stop 
light, the engine shuts off, and is restarted when you press on the 
accelerator. There is some kind of logic in the controller that makes sure 
the engine never stops at TDC (or whatever crank position would make it 
hard to restart).
And I could see a 'cold-weather option package' that would include a much
smaller starter motor, and a much less robust drive system, since it would
only need to position the crank, not start the engine.  Something on the
order of 1 to 5 RPM??  And the drive system could be disengaged before the
spark is fired, eliminating any fancy starter drive stuff.  It seems it
would work; even if it had to rotate and fire 10 or 20 times before it got
going.  And of course you would have to have electric oil pumps, so 
everything should be well-lubricated on startup.
Heck, this might even make engines last longer!!

But I'm recalling all this from memory, which doesn't serve me as well
as it used to.  ;-)   So please feel free to correct me if I'm wrong.

mark k.
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