Originally posted by Jason@May 27th 2004 @ 10:05 PM And what about diesel gas-electric hybrids?
I think I can answer the question on diesel hybrinds.
The technical issue there is that diesel engines become efficent one they have been running, a cold diesel is not very fuel effiecent.
So starting and stopping a diesel, as you would in a hybrid, might be a technical hurdle that would be difficult to get around unless you were running somthing large like a semi or a train or maybe even a bus wher the demand is mostly there all the time. I know diesel electric on trains has been around for a long time, so that is nothing new.
If youre gonna keep the diesel running all the time, which would keep the diesel at its most efficent state, then you get into a situation where you will get more mechanical loss by converting diesel to electric and then back to mechanical energy then just running without conversion to electric. The only upside would be the use of regenerative breaking.
anyway, thats my 2 cents, so take it for what it is worth.
Yeah. I think there's a hybrid diesel coming out. I just heard of it yesterday, but don't recall the details. I think they said the rear wheels were powered by the motor, so perhaps the engine acts like the IMA system or maybe just like a normal car.
Things are starting to clear up now... Seems like the reason to the non-exixting diesel-electric hybrids are the high-sulphur quality of the US diesel. Which could change in 2006 when new regulations come into effect.
The biodiesel-electric hybrid seems even to be a better option than hydrogen fuel-cell cars! I'd say that this is what we will se coming the next twenty years at least.
johanerlandsson,
Another cool thing about diesel-electric hybrids is the posibilities of bio-diesles...they could run completely off plant products! I dont remember if it was in the article...or somewere else. But a moddified version of block heaters sold in some northern areas (keeps engine warm...more efficient at startup) could run off the pack to heat up the bio-diesle so the engine wouldnt get gummed up.
Cheers,
Steven
DaimlerChrysler AG's Chrysler Group said it will ship its first diesel-electric Dodge Ram pickup by the end of this year.
Fewer than 100 of the hybrid Dodge trucks will go to an undisclosed customer for testing, Frank Klegon, director of Chrysler's advance vehicle development, told reporters. Chrysler hasn't decided whether to sell the pickups to the public, he said.
I found out some more about the Toyota D-CAT diesel technology, the worlds cleanest diesel. It is an option that you can get to the D-4D diesel Avensis, and is only available in UK and Germany due to the ultra-low sulphur level in those countries. Emissions for the D-CAT equipped diesel engine are:
CO2 161 g/km (Prius 104 g/km)
Particulate matters 0.002 g/km (Prius less than 0.006 g/km, which is the SULEV limit. Couldn't find the exact numbers.)
NOx 0.12 g/km (Prius 0.01 g/km).
So, disappointingly, the diesel still cannot compete with the gasoline engine on NOx emissions. NOx contributes to the over-fertilizations of land and water, creates ground-level ozone and acidification of the land.
I was wrong. The gas-electric hybrids will still be significantly cleaner than the diesel.
I should start wishing for a hybrid methane-electric hybrid instead...
After I wrote that last post, I've learnt that HC emissions from diesels are just a fraction of those from gasoline engines. HC causes cancer just as NOx does. What is worst?
I'm changing my mind again, I'm going for a diesel-electric D-CAT hybrid as soon as it gets available. I fear the CO2 emissions the most.
___You may be waiting a long time for a D-CAT-Hybrid to become available. The Cost premium of the D-CAT over and above a std. ICE based Avensis appears to be in the neighborhood of ~ $500 - $1,000 USD. The cost premium of a Hybrid drivetrain over and above a std. ICE is ~ $3,000 - $4,500. Combined, that is a huge premium to swallow on all but the most expensive of automobiles imho.
___To go with that, Autostop and electric drive technologies do not mix well with the diesels of today. They (diesel’s) were simply meant to be started and ran. This mix appears to me to be too expensive and too complicated for an average automobile but we shall see.
(Prius 0.01 g/km). 
