Peugeot to release diesel-hybrid 308 late in 2007
Diesel engines dominate the European mass market, in large part because of the high cost of fuel. Gasoline engine hybrids haven't sold as well on the continent, so now Peugeot is planning to introduce the first diesel hybrid passenger car. The lower mid-sized 308 will unveiled as a replacement for the current 307, at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September, and a diesel-hybrid variant is expected to see the light of day by the end of 2007. Although this is a more expensive option, it should be more effective overall than gas hybrids. The hybrid gets the benefit of regenerative braking in the the urban environment, while the cruising efficiency of the diesel picks up the slack on the highway, where the hybrid is just dead weight.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Chris M 2:52PM (2/19/2007)
Sorry, but a hybrid electric drive is NOT "just dead weight" on the highway. One of the advantages of electric hybrids is they can use smaller IC engines with just enough power for cruising, getting extra power for acceleration when needed from the batteries. A smaller IC engine is more fuel efficient.
No road is perfectly level, they all have dips and rises, so an electric hybrid can regenerate and store energy going downhill and use electric energy going uphill if needed.
Toyota Hybrid Synergy Drive, Ford hybrid, GM "dualmode" hybrid, and other "Split Path" hybrids use an electric CVT to keep the IC engine at a fairly constant highly efficient speed, in spite of varying road conditions and speeds.
Sigh. These stupid anti-hybrid myths just keep popping up!
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Karkus 5:07PM (2/19/2007)
I am glad to see that the diesel hybrids are finally coming out. That may get some of those narrowminded diesel and hybrid zealots to see that they should stop fighting each other.
I too disagree with the "dead weight comment". Hybrids still do better on the highway for the above reasons (and others, like the fact the the car can get by with a smaller engine). It seems that lately, the quantity of blogs here has gone up, but the quality hasn't. If you're going to post something here, please just take a minute to check your source (JFGI) and make sure you're not just contributing to the spreading of misinformation. This should be a place where myths like that get dispelled, not propagated.
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jcwinnie 6:14PM (2/19/2007)
Uh-oh, three strikes, Sam.
I was going to ask, since you obviously never stop or slow down when on the highway, if you could let us know when and where you will be.
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