This paper investigates the use of moving coil linear machines (MCLM) in the internal combustion linear generator (ICLG), which is a novel solution for series hybrid electric vehicles, distributed generation, and emergency power supply. According to the analysis of the basic structure of MCLM, an improved tubular MCLM equipped with quasi-Halbach magnetized magnets is suggested and analyzed with a proposed equivalent magnetic circuit (EMC) model. Measurements on a 4-kN prototype show good agreement with the results from the EMC model. Compared with the reported moving magnet linear machines (MMLM) for the same application, the proposed machine has the merit of less moving mass, faster response, and better controllability.