Patent ID: 7641584

Claim:
An automotive vehicle having power train means comprising: a) a primary internal combustion engine having sufficient power to maintain said vehicle at cruising speed and equipped with a crankshaft having front and rear ends, b) an auxiliary internal combustion engine having an output shaft, and having a power sufficient, when combined with the power of said primary engine, to impart acceleration to said vehicle, c) coupling means releasibly interactive between said output shaft and the front end of said crankshaft, and d) speed change transmission means associated with the rear end of said crankshaft, whereby e) power from said auxiliary engine may be selectively conveyed to said crankshaft to supply additional power for accelerating said vehicle, and f) after the vehicle reaches cruising speed, the auxiliary engine may be disengaged from said crankshaft and throttled down or stopped altogether to conserve fuel, thereby g) enabling said vehicle to travel at cruising speed with reduced fuel consumption on power provided by said primary engine alone, and h) enabling said auxiliary engine to remain ready to be reactivated whenever increased power is needed, said vehicle being further equipped with a rechargeable storage battery interactive with said power train means, and separate gas pedals for the control of said primary and auxiliary engines.