so i know i cant be the only one asking this, but WHY arent we doing more in the field of diesel run hybrid vehicles? ill admit it the thought crossed my mind while running next to a locomotive. why does it all have to be about gasoline? you could run a setup similar to a train, and could even do away with transmission and axle problems altogether. im not sure about the exact figures of what a truck outfitted with something like this could pull, but it would have to be substantially more than what they can do today.

i WOULD rock a locomotive style diesel truck!

im sure there are points and details i might be missing, but discuss away.

 

isn't the smart car diesel?

 

hybrids are expensive enough without a diesel upgrade...

 

Not a hybrid, just a teeny car with a teeny Diesel.

I don't thing the ones soon to be sold in the US are Diesel either, just the ones in Europe.

Could be wrong of course.


phox

 

I think it was said best a few years ago by a Chrysler executive in a letter to the public I read.

He basically stated that diesel engines aren't in use in the US because the supply is not there. It never has been. This country has never run on anything but gasoline for the general public. In order for the country to start switching over it would require new factories to build enough engines for the demand. I also believe that with the EPA requiring all the new emmission laws be enforced on diesels that it is going to push some companies away from diesels due to higher manufacturing costs. Right now Cummins is building their new factory just to produce the new V6 and V8 engines for Chrysler.

Just a slightly similar example happened to me and my wife this weekend. We have a 2005 Passat with the 1.8 turbo engine. It requires premium. In half of the small towns we visited and drove through this weekend I could not purchase the premium 91 octane fuel my vehicle required.

If it were up to me I would love to drive a nice light duty diesel and I would love to see diesels and diesel hybrids come about. However, as usual we are a large country and even though it may seem feasible for our country to just change on a dime, I believe it will take awhile for people to become accepting of diesels. Really, the majority of people I know can't understand why I own one.

Well, even though I think it would be great, Im not the one making decisions right now.

Have a good one!

 

I think the main reason behind not having a diesel hybrid is the fuel economy. Right now you are pushing 45-50 mpg on Volkswagens diesel. Make the motor a little smaller and add an electric motor and will be pushing 70mpg or more. I don't think the oil companys will like it if you only filled up once a month and got 1,000 miles to the tank. They would go broke.

 

While I think using a diesel would be a great idea, weight and size are still an issue. You would think that they would have already done it with a semi-truck.

 

http://www.transport2000.org.uk/good...dPracticeID=38


Hope the above link works............We have 10 of these running round here.......Been here a couple of years now.......Suppose these arn't 'technically' hybrids.......They are electric.....with a diesel turbine ( made in the USA. ) charging the batterys.....Turbine runs approx 90,000RPM......As previously said....weight is an issue.....Batterys weigh a couple of tons.......And the price is high........Approx $500,000 each.......

 

In diesel power earlier thid year in the front news section they showed a Diesel hybrid smart car that Benz was testing in Europe. It is reported to get 70+mph. Also Eaton and UPS have been working on a Diesel Hydraulic hybrid for their trucks. They are in some markets now and are reported to save UPS $1000 per truck per year in fuel cost. Its like a big hydrostaic drive.

 

If our car companies aren't smart enough to produce a 4 cyl. diesel in a car big enough to stretch out in or a 1/2 ton truck, what makes you think they are smart enough to produce a diesel hybrid?

 

I've been wondering why no diesel hybrids too. My buddy has a Prius and we have gone over this a lot.

Several things. 1st, diesels are not very popular in the US. Combine that with the hybrid technology and you have a new idea and an unpopular idea combined. 2nd, it would not be as seamless as the Prius. You can barely tell if the engine is running or not in those cars and that is part of the charm. 3rd, the cost would be a bit more, but I don't think that's a big deal for the payoff diesel offers. And finally, the emissions stuff is getting so complicated and bulky on diesels that it's a problem. Again, more cost, weight and size.

Of course, I think a hybrid diesel would be really cool, but Americans, in general, think diesels are dirty, stinky and hard to find fuel for.

The Prius is almost a very cool design. The one thing it really lacks is the ability to know the length of your current trip. Such as down to the corner store or off to the mountains for the weekend. If it could know that the batteries would be adequate for the trip it could leave the engine off and be totally electric. Then plug in back at home. Then the gas use goes to zero for around town commuting and the diesel vs gas debate goes away.

The prius is not really an electric car, it's a car that minimizes it's engine use with some electric assist. With a smarter system, and a little more battery, it could reduce that use a lot more, and for some, eliminate it completely.

The mileage is better in the city than on the highway with a hybrid. So if a hybrid is used on the highway all the time, it would be better as a diesel. Or, like the VWs, just make it a diesel without the hybrid stuff and keep it simple. That's why I chose the TDI. Simple, powerful, great highway mileage.



John

 

there was an article telling that desil is so popular in europe that the big 3 are going to push them here in small cars
Claude

 

i guess alot of those hold true. i forget im speaking from a consumer frame of mind. i know the oil companies would flip, and the initial cost to build something like it would be way up there.

oh well, a man can dream cant he?

 

And thats the sad thing, they could get 42-45 MPG out of a BIG CAR .......


CHRYSLER, ARE YOU LISTENING???????????


Give us the Charger with the MB Bluetec TDI 4 cyl!

 

Something like that is SO overdue! People just seem content to keep getting lousy gas engines tuned to run at 5000RPM. Happy to get 15 MPG at 3.50/ gal in a passenger car. Makes me wonder. Meanwhile the price of oil just passed $75.


John