At last, it finally ocurred to someone to try a diesel hybrid.

http://blog.wired.com/cars/2008/02/vw-unveiling-an.html

Hopefully for over here too, but I wouldn't put it past California and the EPA to throw up more roadblocks between now and then.

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Mitchell Oates
'87 MB 300D Diamond Blue Metallic
'87 MB 300D - R.I.P. 12/08
'05 Sport CRD Stone White
Provent CCV Filter/AT2525 Muffler
Stanadyne 30 u/Cat 2 u Fuel Filters
Fumoto Drain/Fleetguard LF3487 Oil filter
V6 Airbox/Amsoil EAA Air Filter
Suncoast TC/Shift Kit/Aux Cooler
Kennedy Lift Pump/Return Fuel Cooler

This is not their first They had some 3 cyclinder diesel Golf (rabbits here) prototype units running around Europe back in the late 70's. Instead of a clutch there was a motor/generatort. There was never a whole lot of press on it but one of the "Popular" magazines (Popular Science or Popular Mechanics) had a article on them

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Atlantic Blue 06 CRD Limited (his)
Joined by a 2000 XJ Classic (hers)

You should check out http://www.challengex.org. There are 17 schools across the US and Canada building hybrid SUVs and I believe 13 or so of the teams are diesel-electric hybrids. If you are a fan of the VM, you should check out the Rose-Hulman team.

In my years of being involved with electric vehicles, I've seen or heard of several one-off hybrids built by groups or schools for different competitions. One friend in VA even did work for GE for one of the OEM entries in the PNGV program - all of which ended up being diesel hybrids BTW. And I do remember the Golf hybrids VW tested in the late 80's/early 90's.

But if this comes to pass, it will be the first diesel-electric hybrid offered for sale by a major OEM. BMW has a 1-series diesel model in Europe that has many hybrid features - auto start/stop, regen braking - but not a hybrid in the accepted sense of the term.

My quibble is why they went with a parallel drivetrain. A series hybrid mau have well surpassed even 70 mpg.

_________________
Mitchell Oates
'87 MB 300D Diamond Blue Metallic
'87 MB 300D - R.I.P. 12/08
'05 Sport CRD Stone White
Provent CCV Filter/AT2525 Muffler
Stanadyne 30 u/Cat 2 u Fuel Filters
Fumoto Drain/Fleetguard LF3487 Oil filter
V6 Airbox/Amsoil EAA Air Filter
Suncoast TC/Shift Kit/Aux Cooler
Kennedy Lift Pump/Return Fuel Cooler

MrMopar,

You are right about Rose-Hulman -- they have a nice start. I didn't see where they were using the VM engine in their pubs. Have you talked with any of the team members? I'm excited by their efforts - impressive given that they have much less research resources than their competitors. It says a lot about their team.

If they are using the VM engine, they will need to have a different ECM/TCM configuration. I wonder if the Jeep will benefit from their research?

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Steel Blue 07 Jeep Grand Cherokee CRD
Mopar Skid Plates/GDE Programmer/Fumoto Oil Valve
80K+ miles & still smiling

Sold: Silver 06 Jeep Liberty Sport CRD

I think the forum should send them a provent and a SEGR kit

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2005 Silver CRD Limited
245/75R16 GoodYear Duratracs
Fumoto drain | ProVent CCV Filter
Stanadyne FM100 filter | Cummins fuel pump
GDE Eco | SEGR | BoulderBars | FrankenLift | Frankenskids

What is the basis for this claim? I am assuming what you mean by a series hybrid is an all electric drive train fed by a generator, so the diesel engine is not connected directly to the wheels. To me, this would result in drivetrain inefficiencies when operating on the diesel engine, and that's where the power is going to all come from, especially on a long trip. In my mind, a direct mechanical connection to the wheels with both the electric and diesel motors is more efficient for the diesel engine with minor electric inefficiencies.

And BRAVO to VW! I've been waiting for this for a long time. A hybrid diesel seems ideal in the progression to all electric transportation -- it's a perfect application and platform to develop battery technology.

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'05 Liberty CRD B100, SEGR - SOLD

'01 Beetle TDi B100, EGR delete
'83 Mercedes 240D B100, no EGR

--- SEGR Builder ---

Mahindra-Mahindra who plans on having a diesel SUV and pickup in the US market next year says a hybrid will be released shortly after the introduction of the pickup and SUV Here's some info http://puregreencars.com/Green-Cars-New ... -2010.html

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Atlantic Blue 06 CRD Limited (his)
Joined by a 2000 XJ Classic (hers)

I'm a student at Rose and do all the calibration work so I know all about them... our ECU is different from the KJ one and our car has it's own CAN network over which all the modules talk to each other and then communicate also with the GM LAN as well. We use the R2516 that is found in the London Taxi (coincidentally, which has the 2.5L VM + 545RFE combo) and also found in Uffe's KJ.

Actually we run more EGR than your Jeeps do with no soot build-up and nary a problem. Amazing what you can do with it. The motor I started with (brand-new): nice oil vapor from CCV. The motor I re-built: no oil vapor from CCV, and yes it's functional.