Hybrid vs. Diesel
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From: Houston, Texas
2022 SL63, 2008 CL63
[QUOTE=240D 3.0T;3338671]That article is old news and comparing apples:oranges. 
I disagree. Name a series hybrid diesel that I can buy today here in the U.S. This is one of the first articles recently from automotive writers that does not immediately pan the diesel for the cost difference in fuel but takes into account the driveability, longevity ect. The recurrent theme from Car and Driver and Road and Track is that the diesel is dead. It seems the japanese have a better PR team than the germans.
I disagree. Name a series hybrid diesel that I can buy today here in the U.S. This is one of the first articles recently from automotive writers that does not immediately pan the diesel for the cost difference in fuel but takes into account the driveability, longevity ect. The recurrent theme from Car and Driver and Road and Track is that the diesel is dead. It seems the japanese have a better PR team than the germans.
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2004 e320sw4, 2006 e320cdi
[quote=C5DRVR;3340330]
I think relying on those magazines for objective opinions when the publisher recieves thier advertising dollars is like watching the grammy's and accepting coldplay had the best 'rock' song...
That article is old news and comparing apples:oranges.
I disagree. Name a series hybrid diesel that I can buy today here in the U.S. This is one of the first articles recently from automotive writers that does not immediately pan the diesel for the cost difference in fuel but takes into account the driveability, longevity ect. The recurrent theme from Car and Driver and Road and Track is that the diesel is dead. It seems the japanese have a better PR team than the germans.
I disagree. Name a series hybrid diesel that I can buy today here in the U.S. This is one of the first articles recently from automotive writers that does not immediately pan the diesel for the cost difference in fuel but takes into account the driveability, longevity ect. The recurrent theme from Car and Driver and Road and Track is that the diesel is dead. It seems the japanese have a better PR team than the germans.
Last edited by brakes; Feb 10, 2009 at 01:02 AM.
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617.912 722.118 123130 from Stuttgart
I recently drove a thousand some miles in a Toyota Prius with the Hybrid Synergy drive.
I normally drive a 1978 n/a 300D sedan and have made the same trip. Note, I do my own maintenance and regularly adjust the valve clearances et. al. The '78 runs very well. Has less the 100k on the odometer too!
Without the hybrid drive augmentation, my '78 gets very comparable mileage. Uphill, the hybrid definitely wins.
Being able to charge the lithium ion batteries off my diesel genset to avoid buying gasoline was very rewarding... :lol:
Ultimately, tho, I would not put my wife and children into a Prius. Granted, I am used to a very heavy sedan with loads of horse power, little torque and an unbeatable suspension. The yaw between the hybrid and conventional drivetrains was unbearable. I honestly was in fear while operating the thing at highway speeds.
Sadly, I also could not help but think the whole time about the massive geological and ecological damage afforded by the mining and mass production of lithium ion batteries. That the automatic transmission is as old as the paper airplane (Thank you Mr. Da Vinci!) is merely ironic considering that the technology for producing hybrid drives is absolutely nothing new. Just the presence on the marketplace is noteworthy, imho. Where the military goes, the private sector follows.
How do you think submarines run silent, run deep?
I did, very much like the display system - especially the option to turn the display off!!! Huge win for ergonomic design. The power button start also took a LOT of getting used to. Might have been the way the rental was set up, but with the keys in the ignition, I was able to lock myself out of the car while it was running. The Toyota roadside assistance was extremely UNhelpful.
As the owner of a new, used or second hand Mercedes-Benz in the United States, I receive free 24/7 roadside assistance from the manufacturer, 1-800-FOR-MERC.
Sadly, all the M-B reps I speak with confirm that there are absolutely no plans whatsoever to make a diesel hybrid. They are on the unsustainable path to hydrogen fuel cells. Too bad that technology is still 25 years away at best. Well, at least sustainable hydrogen is. I am sure we will squander enormous resource in the effort to make short sighted fuel cels a reality for the petite-bourgeois.
Anyone hook one of these up to their rides?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wood_gas_generator
Check out the 1989 U.S. F.E.M.A. guide to construction, whoda thunk?!? Some funny pictures out there from the second world war with cars that have these rigs front loaded. Apparently was even still popular in countries like Korea until the seventies?
Best,
-Uncle Paka
I normally drive a 1978 n/a 300D sedan and have made the same trip. Note, I do my own maintenance and regularly adjust the valve clearances et. al. The '78 runs very well. Has less the 100k on the odometer too!
Without the hybrid drive augmentation, my '78 gets very comparable mileage. Uphill, the hybrid definitely wins.
Being able to charge the lithium ion batteries off my diesel genset to avoid buying gasoline was very rewarding... :lol:
Ultimately, tho, I would not put my wife and children into a Prius. Granted, I am used to a very heavy sedan with loads of horse power, little torque and an unbeatable suspension. The yaw between the hybrid and conventional drivetrains was unbearable. I honestly was in fear while operating the thing at highway speeds.
Sadly, I also could not help but think the whole time about the massive geological and ecological damage afforded by the mining and mass production of lithium ion batteries. That the automatic transmission is as old as the paper airplane (Thank you Mr. Da Vinci!) is merely ironic considering that the technology for producing hybrid drives is absolutely nothing new. Just the presence on the marketplace is noteworthy, imho. Where the military goes, the private sector follows.
How do you think submarines run silent, run deep?
I did, very much like the display system - especially the option to turn the display off!!! Huge win for ergonomic design. The power button start also took a LOT of getting used to. Might have been the way the rental was set up, but with the keys in the ignition, I was able to lock myself out of the car while it was running. The Toyota roadside assistance was extremely UNhelpful.
As the owner of a new, used or second hand Mercedes-Benz in the United States, I receive free 24/7 roadside assistance from the manufacturer, 1-800-FOR-MERC.
Sadly, all the M-B reps I speak with confirm that there are absolutely no plans whatsoever to make a diesel hybrid. They are on the unsustainable path to hydrogen fuel cells. Too bad that technology is still 25 years away at best. Well, at least sustainable hydrogen is. I am sure we will squander enormous resource in the effort to make short sighted fuel cels a reality for the petite-bourgeois.
Anyone hook one of these up to their rides?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wood_gas_generator
Check out the 1989 U.S. F.E.M.A. guide to construction, whoda thunk?!? Some funny pictures out there from the second world war with cars that have these rigs front loaded. Apparently was even still popular in countries like Korea until the seventies?
Best,
-Uncle Paka
