Diesels better than hybrids, VW chief says

Diesels better than hybrids, VW chief says

http://www.detnews.com/2005/autosinsider/0501/06/C02-51826.htm

GM, Toyota, Honda and now Ford will be able to slow down to stop the production of diesel cars. In the middle of all that is the oil companys pushing the price of diesel up, up and up.

diesel-hybrids are better than diesels or gas-hybrids.

It rather bugs me that people seem to think hybrid and diesel are mutually exclusive technologies.

I'd like to see them mutually combined.

My ultimate dream car is a Diesel-Hybrid Passat wagon with 4motion and a 6 speed manual transmission.

It would be news if the head dubhead said hybrid was the way to go. I mean, what's he supposed to say when that's all VW does? "No, go hybrid. We were wrong about diesel."

When VW introduces there first diesel hybrid, and it won't be long, he'll change his tune to suit what's in the product pipeline. Until then, it's xsnay on the xieselsnay-hybrid.

diesel-hybrids are better than diesels or gas-hybrids.

It rather bugs me that people seem to think hybrid and diesel are mutually exclusive technologies.

Click to expand...

Actually you can see diesel hybrids everyday here. Unfortunately, they are known as diesel locomotives and only run on rail road tracks.

[/QUOTE]
Actually you can see diesel hybrids everyday here. Unfortunately, they are known as diesel locomotives and only run on rail road tracks.

[/QUOTE]


Almost, they lack the ability to store electrical energy. I have often wondered why railroads don't try this with a couple of carloads of batteries instead of just blowing all that heat up in the air when using dynamic braking.?

VW had developed a hybrid vehicle more than 30 years ago. It was designed as a taxi and used two banks of storage batteries and a small gasoline engine. At take-off, the batteries carried the complete load supplying electricity to the electric motor that drove the rear wheels. Then, as the throttle was opened, the gasoline engine began to deliver power. Speed could be maintained with the aid of the gasoline engine or with the electric motor alone. If the gasoline engine produced more power than needed, the excess was used to charge the batteries while the vehicle was being driven. With the proper ratio of acceleration to steady speed, the gasoline engine could keep the batteries charged. The vehicle was a microbus, the grandfather of all minivans. One battery-bank was located at the right front in place of the passenger seat (a "taxi" does not really need it) and the second was at the rear on top of the engine. Volkswagen was developing hybrids long before Toyota and Honda knew the definition of a hybrid vehicle.

I think a diesel-electric train is considered a series-only hybrid.

There is no (chemical) battery on the planet that could deliver the massive amounts of current to accelerate a train that wouldn't actually weigh it down (to the point of requiring much more acceleration.) Flywheels could possibly work, but that'd add a lot of complexity (they'd need to be gimbaled, super-high rotational rate wheels) and add a danger to the nearby equipment if one fragmented.

That is why they waste the braking energy.

4000 hp, that's a lot of "ump"


Developed in the early 1980s, the Dash 8-40C embodied General Electric’s desire to take the lead in modern locomotive design, with the first mass-produced, 4000-horsepower locomotive. The Dash 8-40C employed the day’s state-of-the-art computer and mechanical technology to earn its reputation for fast and reliable service on railroads throughout the United States. Incorporating today’s cutting-edge model railroading technology, Bachmann is pleased to offer this premium Spectrum® locomotive

http://www.mbusa.com/microsite/gst/index.jsp shows the up and coming Mercedes diesel hybrid which appears to be coming to our shores.

4000 hp, that's a lot of "ump"

Developed in the early 1980s, the Dash 8-40C embodied General Electric’s desire to take the lead in modern locomotive design, with the first mass-produced, 4000-horsepower locomotive. The Dash 8-40C employed the day’s state-of-the-art computer and mechanical technology to earn its reputation for fast and reliable service on railroads throughout the United States. Incorporating today’s cutting-edge model railroading technology, Bachmann is pleased to offer this premium Spectrum® locomotive

Click to expand...

Atlas just came out with better models in HO scale.

Stuart

Actually you can see diesel hybrids everyday here. Unfortunately, they are known as diesel locomotives and only run on rail road tracks.

[/QUOTE]


Almost, they lack the ability to store electrical energy. I have often wondered why railroads don't try this with a couple of carloads of batteries instead of just blowing all that heat up in the air when using dynamic braking.?

[/QUOTE]

Actually there is a company, RailPower Technologies Corp that is developing hybrid diesel-electric locmotives.



They have developed a 1000hp and 2000hp switcher, equipped with small diesel engines to recharge large banks of batteries. Their website is www.railpower.com.

I want a toyota or honda diesel

they can shove they hybrids

There is no (chemical) battery on the planet that could deliver the massive amounts of current to accelerate a train that wouldn't actually weigh it down (to the point of requiring much more acceleration.) Flywheels could possibly work, but that'd add a lot of complexity (they'd need to be gimbaled, super-high rotational rate wheels) and add a danger to the nearby equipment if one fragmented.

That is why they waste the braking energy.

Click to expand...

Not to mention that these batteries couldn't recharge or capture the braking energy fast enough. There is MASSIVE amounts of heat being dissipated by the braking grid on the average locomotive - if you tried to funnel that energy into a battery it couldn't take that much charge in that short of a time span.

I want a toyota or honda diesel

they can shove they hybrids

Click to expand...

Philip take no offense. Although VW's certainly have their quirks, I find it funny how many people are so anxious to jump ship on VW just as soon as someone else shows up with a similar product.

Any one catch the latest issue of Popular Mechanics? It features three similar pairs of vehicles. Head to head, diesel vs. hybrid.

Scott

Scott, do you know that Volkswagen received the "Engine of the Year Award" from the Popular Mechanics Magazine when the TDI engine was first developed?

My ultimate dream car is a Diesel-Hybrid Passat wagon with 4motion and a 6 speed manual transmission.

Click to expand...

Ditto, except I don't want or need 4motion (I'll take FWD, ESP, and good snow tires over AWD any day. AWD/4WD kills fuel efficiency too much for the traction benefit).

From the Christian Science Monitor:

Clean diesels are also around the corner. In 2006, when new government regulations lower the sulfur in diesel fuel, automakers expect to be able to meet emissions regulations across the country. (Now they don't in seven states.)

Diesel engines get hybrid mileage at half the extra cost, says Pratt. Diesels can also burn a wide variety of renewable fuels, even cooking oil. In unveiling the bank-vault-like Syn-US, Mr. Ford (Bill Ford, CEO of Ford Motor Co) said it could drive from New York to Los Angeles nine times and back before emitting as much smog-forming chemical as painting a bedroom.

If 2005 is the year of the hybrid, look for 2006 to be the year of the diesel.

Click to expand...

http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0111/p03s01-ussc.htm

Let me pose this question: which would you rather have? A current-generation TDI, or a diesel-hybrid powerplant that raised the vehicle price by $4,000-5,000?

If you can already get 45-50 mpg, how much would you pay to get 60-65 mpg? How could you ever recoup the additional cost?

Yes, 2005 may be the Year of the Hybrid. It could also be the apogee of hybrid popularity. And by 2010 diesel cars could be extremely common.

Im already getting more than that with my Smart CDI.... (75 mpg)

Diesel vehicles represent about 10 percent of VW's U.S. sales, Pischetsrieder said. That percentage will grow, he said. "We will promote and advertise diesel engines because we think they are the wave of the future," he said.

Click to expand...

If he sticks to his statement the next few years should show some sweet TDI's being offered here.

My ultimate dream car is a Diesel-Hybrid Passat wagon with 4motion and a 6 speed manual transmission.

Click to expand...

Don't forget to add:
ASR
ESP
Navigation system (voice activated; DVD-based with TV/Gameboy/Xbox/PS2 capability and screens in the front seat headrests for the rear passengers/kids)
80gb Phatnoise player
Heated, leather seating
Power, memory front seats
Dual zone Climatronic automatic heating/cooling
Hi-pixel cluster
Standheizung (engine warming system)
Heated windshield
HIDs
Climate controlled glove box

and probably the most wanted feature would be:

Center console that holds more than a couple of tissues.

I am sure there are lots of other "necessary" options that could be justified. Any recommendations?

I just want a Golf V with PD 150, 4-Motion and a 6-speed. Don't need the electric motor.