The Persistent and Elusive Dream of a Diesel Hybrid

[dpeilow]

The Persistent and Elusive Dream of a Diesel Hybrid | Hybrid Cars

 

[TEG]

Yes, and what about CNG hybrid? You can get one or the other but not both together. I can't think of any technical reason why you couldn't do this.

 

[mt2]

I was looking for a link to back this up, but couldn't find any from a "reputable" source. One of the big hurdles to the adoption of diesel anything, let alone hybrids, is the California emissions rules. As I recall it, diesel is measured in emissions per gallon whereas gasoline is measured in emissions per mile. This creates a real issue for hybrids since smaller diesel hybrids may easily pass the emissions per mile measure, but fail according to the emissions per gallon measure.

Plus, the diesel emissions standards are more strict than the gasoline standards, which is why VW pulled most of their TDI vehicles out of the US market in 2008 and are slowly reintroducing them with tighter emissions controls. Personal experience there, I was considering a diesel Passat and they discontinued them.