Understand the reluctance regarding auto stop-start systems. The first time I drove a hybrid (Honda Insight) and it stopped at a light after I threw it in neutral and let out the clutch, I was surprised (state car - no instructions). It started up OK, though, when I put the clutch in to get going again, and it didn't take long to get used to. The more modern hybrids have electric a/c and other auxiliaries so in them (e.g. Prius) you sometimes don't notice whether the engine's running or not unless you look at the graphics, and don't really care. For more conventional cars, AESS is still (according to some car magazines) a work in progress, and isn't as smooth as it should be - and unless they go with electric a/c and much bigger batteries it'll be like that old Honda where the AESS system only worked when the a/c and the headlights were off. BTW, Prius still has a 12-volt battery, and if it's flat the hybrid system won't start; so a jump start may still be necessary, and it's a non-trivial operation. And the 12V battery is a special-order item and takes about an hour (real, not flat-rate book) to change...

Was interesting, when watching the 844 arrival in Sacramento with its several long pauses, to note the AESS system in operation on the diesels that led into Old Sac. Both shut down after about 5 minutes, and seemed to start up with almost no extra noise when starting to move again. Background noise level was substantial, of course, with that power car in the middle of the train wailing away like an original F40PH, so in freight service the shutdown/startup might be more noticeable.