Next Toyota Prius to get over 100mpg

[Martin]

Click. That's about 45 km/L

Pretty cool, especially considering that gas could break $5.00 (US) per gallon in the states this summer. You'd thing that the General would figure out that they should eventually release a hybrid car...

[wtd]

I'm still waiting to see my idea implemented: hybrid powertrain with a diesel component, rather a gasoline engine.

[Martin]

I think that Exxon would send out the assassins for the engineer that designed that. That, or they already have...

[codemage]

Electric power is still pricey to generate. The only real power gain from hybrids is the power gained from regenerative braking and coasting.

Biofuels, on the other hand, are almost as burn-efficient but are non-pollutants, and are waaaay cheaper.

If highschool students can do it, why can't the industry?

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1605734/posts

[Andy]

they already have that in europe, it was in readers digest last year i think. people there go to fill up at the local mcdonalds. the problem with that is it only works for compression ignition not spark ignition. there are almost no diesel cars in north america.

[codemage]

You can get a conversion kit here for $1000 - $1500 (depending on your engine size and type) that will convert a diesel over to biodiesel.

I know the market is really small right now, but I know at least three people (friends & relatives) that use a diesel-powered vehicle as their primary transportation.

[wtd]

The impediment to diesel in North America has purely been PR. People look at large trucks belching black smoke and they swear off ever buying a car that runs on diesel. Of course, this is just because the diesel sold in NA is of absurdly low quality.

The internet is changing things, though. More and more North Americans are getting easy access to European media and seeing the diesel cars available there. Cleaner diesel is coming to NA.

[Andy]

by 2007, all the new transport trucks and other automobiles will have the same emission standards in the united states. it's unfortunate that the filtering technology willll be implimented is too expensive to be put in a 20 thousand dollar sedan.