Honda is expanding Hybrid and Diesel line up (fuel, best, selling)
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Does anyone know why there are no diesel hybrids out there, only petrol hybrids? Is there something about diesel engines that makes them unsuitable for use in a hybrid application?
Drover, I asked one of the diesel engine service techs at work about this.
A diesel engine needs to reach its optimum operating temperature for best fuel economy. It's also very hard on a diesel engine to start it, not let it warm up, and then shut it down -- this is why diesel powered cars are not recommended as around-town grocery-getters.
Hybrid engines like the one used in the Toyota Prius run mostly on the electrical engine below 30 mph; the gas engine only runs to either charge the battery or to give an extra power boost. The on-off nature of the fuel engine means that a gasoline-powered engine is a better match (currently) than a diesel.
Having said that, the service tech also said that one of the foreign car companies (Toyota, he thinks, but he's not certain) is currently working on a diesel hybrid.
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