Quote:
Originally Posted by Ken07AOVette
The next new light duty truck I buy will be some sort of Hybrid or an eco-diesel. I am leaning heavily toward Hybrid with the price of diesel though, it's ridiculous. A couple years ago I bought a few thousand litres of diesel at .66c, every time I went to town I brought back 2 sliptanks full. The with the discount or rebate it was closer to .60c. What is it today, $1.20?
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That's half the problem with diesel engines now. Users that really need it are a captive audience so they have to buy it at that price. And usually are commercial operators who are generating cash flow as part of vehicle operation anyway. In all fairness, diesel sulfur purity is better now than when prices were lower, but that refining effort is still only a fraction of the markup.
The other half of the problem is all the 'emissions' crap on the engine which wasn't there before.
A small diesel engine putting out near maximum most of it's life in a medium vehicle is the best mileage-maker you will find. Unfortunately those are rare to non-existent here, and choked with emissions stuff to cut their theoretical mileage in half.
A convention mechanical drivetrain powered by a big electric motor with a battery buffer has been in development for some time. The question is, what constantly charges the battery? In big service vehicles (garbage trucks) it's a small gas turbine like in Jay Leno's motorcycle. In half-tons a small diesel.
But that battery is still the core problem. I'd like to cut that size and capacity way down, and use tethered power like electric train pantographs to feed the motor on main highways and roadways. 'Off-piste' you could use anything like diesel, gas motors or even steam turbines.
I'd like an electric half-ton with a naptha-fueled steam turbine in the box driving the electric motor directly, through power electronics.