Hybrid cars

[fallingoverdrunk]

Hi

Just a general query.....there is a lot of talk about hybrid cars at the moment....

Can anyone tell me why is wouldn't make more sense to mate the electric engine to a diesel.....surely fuel economy / emissions would be improved. Am sure there must be other considerations ?? Obviously, the diesel engine is heavier......

Am preparing for a flood of replies

Cheers

 

[Softus]

 

[Doc Lenny]

 

[Nige F]

diesel/electric.........been done by British Rail

 

[Steve]

diesel/electric.........been done by British Rail

Indeed, but Virgin were the ones who decided to start powering whole cities using the drive motors when their trains slow down

 

[tim west]

shouldn't this now be in the trains section?

 

[ssray]

EVO mag has just tested the prius against the new panda 100hp, the mpg from the prius was only a bit better than the panda and it would take 1,100,000 miles to make up the diffrence in price between the two for the prius driver.
Also the prius may have lower co2 emissions but it would take 7yrs to allow for the extra co2 produced during manufacture.

 

[techwondo]

Given that hybrids are designed to save the planet (although they dont) why would sticking a diesel in one help?

Have you seen the toxic rubbish that comes out of the tail pipe? Lets start with the biggies....

In 2005 there were 26,000 deaths caused by asthma. over 90% of those deaths were connected the diesel emmisions. That well over 20,000 deaths caused by deisels. And beleive me, a near fatal asthma attack isnt pleasant, so i can only imagine what a truely fatal one is like. To put it into context, in the same year there were 2,114 road deaths and 52 cases of fatal meningitis.

According to the WHO, following a diesel for 5 minutes raises your chances of lung cancer by the same amount as smoking a packet of 20 full tar cicarettes (spelling?).

There is more sulphor dioxide comming out of the end of a diesel than a petrol - Yes, even the "low" sulphur diesel fuels.

The particulate matter ejected from a diesel engine has been proven to cause global dimming which has already caused weather pattern change.

In 2002 the AA did an emmisions survey of 100 petrol and 100 disel cars. They found that the average diesel "... caused more pollution than a petrol car in both volume and variety...".

Finally, Why buy a hybrid? Why? WHY? WHY??????

If you want to save fuel buy a Smart. 65mpg from a petrol turbo isnt bad.

 

[ssray]

I use veg oil and as of the 30th of this month you can use 2500ltrs tax free.