Click the new Mercedes diesel for a high res gallery
Sure, diesels are already widely available all over the world. One reason is that diesel engines are simply more efficient than gasoline engines. Consider the fact that a diesel engine is capable of running on biodiesel and green-minded drivers can make a strong argument in diesel's favor. Perhaps what is most important, though, is that diesel vehicles would require no major changes to the current energy infrastructure, meaning that diesel-powered vehicles could be one of the simplest possible ways to reduce the amount of oil that the world consumes. Holding them back, though, are costly exhaust after-treatment technologies that are needed to put the clean into clean diesel. Since these systems are less expensive than some of the rest of the items on our list, diesel engines fall right in the middle of the pack.
During a panel discussion at the Society of Automotive Engineers World Congress in Detroit today, a group of industry executives projected that diesel engines with grab 20 percent market share in the US by the end of the next decade. BorgWarner CEO Tim Manganello also projected that hybrid powertrains would grab about ten percent of total sales in that same time frame. Toyota Engineering VP Ed Mantey and Ford Product Development VP Derrick Kuzak were were in agreement with those numbers. At their current rate, Toyota alone might be selling a pretty large percentage of those hybrids. While diesel engines are less expensive to produce than hybrids diesel, fuel prices are currently quite a bit higher than gasoline in the U.S. Increased availability of biodiesel in the coming decade may alleviate that problem. It's not clear what percentage of vehicles will end up in both categories as the 35mpg US CAFE standard approaches.
Mercedes-Benz CEO Dieter Zetsche told Motor Trend this week that increased cost was not going to be an issue for his company to meet new fuel economy standards. Obviously getting improved efficiency out of powertrains would make them more expensive as they have to meet U.S. CAFE and European CO2 emissions limits. However, while U.S. executives like Bob Lutz are talking about adding $5,000 or more to the price to meet 35mpg standards, Zetsche looks at it differently. The use of clean diesels, HCCI DiesOtto engines, hybrids and fuel cells will raise prices. The higher initial purchase price will be offset for customers through reduced operating costs. According to Zetsche, if the cost premium can be recovered through fuel savings in the first 3-4 years of driving than customers will be satisfied. Mercedes also intends to protect their ten percent profit margins through increased efficiencies in other areas of the vehicle. That probably means that Mercedes owners will give up some features for improved efficiency. Of course for a premium brand like Mercedes, it's a lot easier to talk about protecting margins than it is for mainstream brands like GM and Ford. Being largely rid of the burden of Chrysler probably doesn't hurt either. Finally Zetsche says an S-Class diesel hybrid will debut in two years with DiesOtto engines about 3-5 years out.
We been hearing for several weeks now that Mahindra & Mahindra would probably be displaying their new diesel hybrid powertrain at the SAE World Congress next week and now we have official confirmation. Mahindra won't actually have a booth at the conference but will be on hand at the FEV booth. FEV is an engineering company that helps automakers develop their powertrains. FEV and Mahindra today announced that the two companies are working together to accelerate the development of a hybrid system for the Appalachian pickup and Scorpio SUV. The two trucks will hit the U.S. market in 2009 with a conventional 2.2L turbodiesel power-plant. The press release from FEV indicates the diesel hybrid will launch in Asia first. Global Vehicles USA, the American distributor for Mahindra has previously told ABG that the hybrid will be coming to the U.S. in 2010.
The hybrid system will be a full parallel hybrid utilizing a 30kW electric motor and 2.3kWh nickel metal hydride battery. FEV's release indicates that all the functionality expected of a hybrid will be on hand, including electric drive, electric boost, auto start-stop and regenerative braking. Mahindra CTO Dr. Arun Jaura will also be on hand and ABG will be sitting down to chat with him during the show to learn more.
Peugeot may well be the first team to run a hybrid vehicle at Le Mans and it looks like it will be a diesel, too. New Peugeot CEO recently told the French paper L'Equipe that a diesel-hybrid prototype is currently under development and that it may make some trial runs as soon as this June at Le Mans. Collin also said the car would begin racing in 2009. Peugeot Sport team manager Serge Saulnier, however, is being a little more cautious, acknowledging that a diesel hybrid is in the works. However, Saulnier would not confirm when the car would appear in public. Peugeot has already shown several diesel hybrid concepts based on production 307s and 308s and has acknowledged that they are planning to introduce such a powertrain in the next few years. Toyota may also be making a return to Le Mans as soon as 2010 possibly with a gas-electric hybrid. Let's just hope they bring some of these cars over to the American Le Mans Series and really spice things up.
We are extremely pleased that Volkswagen was able to achieve such phenomenal fuel mileage and emissions numbers from their Golf TDI Hybrid. As a refresher, the machine uses a 1.2 liter three-cylinder diesel engine paired with a 26 horsepower electric motor and returns 69 U.S. mpg and 89 g/km of CO2 emissions in the EU combined cycle. As we've reported, the car is slated for production in Europe, but what about the U.S.? Don't we need cars that deliver high mileage and low emissions here too? Of course we do, but the question that needs to be asked is whether American drivers are ready to pay for the technology required to make these numbers a reality.
The Toyota Prius has set the standard for what consumers expect from green cars, and it is priced rather well - less than $25 grand, well equipped. Diesel vehicles have never sold as well in the States as they do in Europe, despite their fuel mileage increases. This is due, partly, to the added cost that comes with a diesel vehicle in order to meet emissions requirements. Keith Price, a spokesman for VW USA says,"From a consumer standpoint, it comes down to 'What kind of compromise do I need to live with to enjoy all this wonderfulness?'" Price is one compromise that is hard to get around, as VW's diesels already cost about $2,000 more than gasoline models. Add in what the hybrid system will cost on top of that and the Golf... um, I mean Rabbit TDI Hybrid may price itself out of the market. We sincerely hope not.
Johnathan Goodwin is the patron saint of green cars (although as of yet, this honor has gone unrecognized by the Vatican). Last April, John was the guy behind the Chevy Impala conversion that smoked a Lamborghini in a quarter mile on the Earth Day special of MTV's Pimp My Ride. Arnold Schwarzenegger was so impressed that when he did a guest appearance on the Earth Day Pimp My Ride special, he hired SAE Energy (where John is co-partner) to make his Jeep run on biodiesel. Recently, John made the cover of Fast Company magazine for an article describing a green gearhead's wet dream.
Fast Company visited John's garage and found a 2005 Hummer H3 on jacks. John is going to put a 60,000 PRM, 1985, turbine, jet engine in the Hummer. The turbine engine will run on biodiesel or waste vegetable oil with a hydrogen-injector. John plans to make a series hybrid with this turbine engine. A beauty like that going to waste as a range extender? No, it charges a set of super capacitors in a matter of seconds, giving the car 600 horse power.
That's not all. Jon says "it'll get 60 miles to the gallon. With 2,000 foot-pounds of torque. You'll be able to smoke the tires. And it's going to be superefficient. ... Think about it: a 5,000-pound vehicle that gets 60 miles to the gallon and does zero to 60 in five seconds!" John is not just making drool worthy cars for stars like Neil Young (John is converting a 1960 Lincoln Continental to biodiesel, electric hybrid for him.) John said he wants to make a 100-mile-per-gallon car one day and he is working on a $5,000 conversion kit that make diesels run 50 percent more efficiently and emit 80 percent less pollution. John estimates his bolt-on kit will pay for itself in a year for bigger SUVs and two years for a normal car. He is getting patents hoping to license them to the big carmakers but he thinks automakers can do a lot more right now.
Go below the fold to see how John is using Ace Hardware better than you.
If you read our previous update regarding the Aptera, you already know that the company is now taking deposits on their futuristic three-wheeled machine. I was able to get in contact with Steve Fambro, the man behind the Aptera, and I'll share some design and technical details in this post. With production of the Aptera expected to start in October, there are still some details that must remain confidential. But, the good news is that you are likely to get more information here than you've gotten anywhere else up to this point. Steve believes that aerodynamics will start to shape our vehicles in the future much more than they do now. Many who see the Aptera believe it looks much like an airplane, and this is no coincidence -- it's because the shape has been honed by the wind. So, in a way, Steve believes that the introduction of the Aptera marks a jump into the future of automotive design in more ways than just the alternative powertrain.
For the details on this exciting alternative to your mainstream automotive market, click past the break!
The frugal 1.6-liter diesel Peugeot 308 (and the very frugal diesel hybrid version) get some of their low numbers to Michelin's new low-rolling resistance tires, called Energy Saver. According to AN Europe, the tires themselves don't subtract too many grams of CO2 emitted for each kilometer driven (just four grams) or liters of fuel required to move the car (just 0.2 per 100 kilometers), but take the four rubber circles in context with other fuel economy measures in the 308 line (weight reduction, using a diesel or diesel-hybrid powertrain) and you can see where some of the vehicle's low numbers come from. Continental, Goodyear and Bridgestone also offer low-rolling resistance tires.
[Source: Dale Jewett / Automotive News Europe (subs req'd)]
Among the seven new hybrid models that Mercedes-Benz will be displaying at next week's Frankfurt Motor Show is this S300 hybrid. The S300 has a four cylinder Bluetec diesel (probably the latest 2.2L) that, combined with the hybrid system, has an output of 224 hp and 413 lb-ft of torque. A full-size luxury sedan running at 43.6 mpg is certainly nothing to sneeze at. The best part is that this car could be Tier 2 Bin 5 compliant so it could be fifty-state legal in the US market. We don't know if it has the Two-Mode hybrid or the mild hybrid system that Mercedes is developing with BMW. We'll find out soon enough.
French automaker Peugeot will be showing the latest iteration of their diesel-hybrid demonstration vehicles at the upcoming Frankfurt Motor Show. Previously they had shown a 307 and also Citroen C4 with a diesel parallel hybrid powertrain. The new car is based on the recently-introduced 308 which is a C-Class-sized car similar to the Ford Focus or Chevy Cobalt.
The new 308 hybrid HDi has a 107hp 1.6L diesel along with a 21hp electric motor. On the EU combined cycle the 308 is rated at 69mpg (US) and only 90g/km of CO2. That puts it very close to the latest Smart ForTwo diesel which gets 72mpg / 88 g/km but in a much more practical five-seat package. Production is currently targeted for 2010. All the details are after the jump.
Eaton Corporation has launched production of their new hybrid drive powertrain for medium trucks. Several hundred of the units will be built this year for installation starting in 2008 by truck makers like International, Peterbilt, Kenworth and others. Over 220 trucks have been produced over the last several years for field testing that has accumulated more two million on road miles.
The Eaton system is a parallel hybrid architecture that has an electric motor/generator mounted between the automated clutch unit and the transmission. The system is designed to work on diesel-powered trucks and includes regenerative braking capability. Hopefully we will start seeing these systems widely adopted on vehicles like school buses, garbage trucks and other vehicles that have an extensive stop and go duty cycle.
The latest diesel-powered cars offered in Europe come close to - and in a lot of cases beat - hybrid-electric cars like Toyota's Prius in the mileage stakes, so imagine what would happen if you combined the best of both technologies. France's Peugeot hopes to do just that and by becoming the first carmaker to launch a diesel-electric hybrid by the end of the decade. The recently launched midsize Peugeot 308 hatch will be the first vehicle fitted with the new powertrain, but it's likely other models will soon follow suit if it proves to be successful.
The Peugeot diesel hybrid should average better than 70mpg (58.3mpg US), which would mean its emissions levels would be lower than most other cars except for pure electric vehicles. By comparison, the Prius rates 65.7mpg (54.7mpg US). However, most motoring mags have found its real-world fuel economy ratings to be much lower.
The only factor holding back the release of the hybrid 308 is the high cost of the batteries and electric motor, but engineers are working hard to make the technology more affordable.
By now, we have all come to realize that not all hybrids are created equal. Some hybrid drivetrains are designed to maximize fuel mileage, while some cater to the performance crowd. Hybrids are available or are being designed for everything from basic transportation to Sport Utility Vehicles and Luxury cars and even sports cars. So, I was not all that surprised to read that Mercedes has plans for a hybrid version of their range-topper, the S Class sedan. But, I found it a bit odd that the car was to use a small 2.2 liter four-cylinder engine. Now, this engine is a twin turbo Bluetec diesel, but still, the idea of a four cylinder extra large, extra heavy luxury sedan must be met with some surprise, right? Anyway, the drivetrain is apparently capable of hitting 35 miles per gallon, which is very good for a vehicle this size, and it should be capable of even better figures in the smaller E Class and C Class vehicles that will inherit the engine later as well. No word yet on whether these vehicles will make it over to the U.S. or what they will cost.
Writers for Newspress are at the Commercial Vehicle show in the UK and their overall impression of the CV market is "Battery electrics today – hybrids tomorrow." That might seem backward to people familiar with the passenger vehicle market what hybrids dominate over the pure-EV market, but that's how they see it.
Their logic is easy to follow: there are no hybrid CVs available on the UK market, but companies like Smith Electric Vehicles of Tyne and Wear, were displaying a "new generation of battery-electrics comprising repowered versions of established diesel-engined models, notably Ford Transit vans and chassis-cabs at 3.5 tonnes gvw and the Avia chassis-cab (dubbed the Newton by SEV) at 7.5 and 9 tonnes." In the UK, hybrid CVs are in the prototype stage and the EVs are already on the streets (see, for example, this post).
One big push for these clean trucks is the planned Low Emission Zone (LEZ) restrictions in London. Smith Electric Vehicles use Zebra sodium nickel chloride batteries instead of lead-acid type batteries. Newspress learned that these power packs are about 80 percent lighter than lead-acid units with the same energy storage and deliver more performance.
