Diesel Electric Land Rover hybrid, anyone?

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dchsw · #1 Post by **dchsw** » Thu Jan 20, 2011 2:16 pm

World's first production diesel/electric hybrid launched by Peugeot.

http://www.peugeot.com/en/products/cars ... brid4.aspx

Interesting. Especially when you consider the diesel engines in modern Land Rovers are sourced from a Peugeot/Ford joint venture.

I once read that Land Rover had a Freelander diesel/electric hybrid mule. Wonder what happened to that. Not in Stuarts collection, is it?

Mind you, if these guys get themselves ramped up, electric vehicles of any sort will be history. We'll all be filling up with bacteria poop. Way cool.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/opi ... le1871149/

David

davran · #2 Post by **davran** » Thu Jan 20, 2011 6:26 pm

Being that locomotives have been diesel/electric hybrids for decades I've wondered why car manufactures have been so slow to impliment...

rhino_ed · #3 Post by **rhino_ed** » Thu Jan 20, 2011 11:27 pm

Top Gear did this... poorly. Funny to watch though.

StuartL · #4 Post by **StuartL** » Fri Jan 21, 2011 12:31 am

Thanks David for the nudge but you actually are very close to the truth. When I was visiting Dunsfold a couple of years ago, Phillip showed me the closest thing to a stealth Land Rover that may ever exist.

It was a Defender 110 diesel built for the British Military for service in Ireland. During the day it would run on the diesel engine and charge a huge bank of batteries then at night it would run quietly through the streets of Dublin.

I don't know what ever happened to it but I passed on it. With all that extra stuff and the weight of the batteries it certainly wasn't practical.

gudjeon · #5 Post by **gudjeon** » Fri Jan 21, 2011 9:38 am

I think its like the fabricated fad to get money out of us before they move on to the next thing. Compact flourescent bulbs, meant to replace wasteful incandescents (how cheap were they to buy/make/dispose?), have their own share of problems and the next wave of technology already exists, but the major manufacturer does not have the patent and will need to to make money on the next wave of product.

Hybrids are problematic in service and practicality. Why is the top North American seller still the gas power F-150? Diesel electric or hybrid with traction motors technology has existed for some time but is kept on the back burner to provide the "next wave" of green marketing. It will be rolled out once the market has been saturated with hybrids and no more market share can be had.

Maybe I am just cynical about these things.

Landlover · #6 Post by **Landlover** » Fri Jan 21, 2011 11:37 pm

I think there is definitely some truth about what your saying, the automotive industry's timing has been definitely questionable at times.

I recently bought a small 2011 Accent to drive & my wife got a new Versa. We sold our 2007 Land Rover (kept the Series of course)...the 'Nice' cars all get horrible mileage. My Accent gets 52mpg & my diesel Series III is getting me 32mpg which is not that bad for an old truck.

I think everyone would agree how great it would be to get a Lr2/Lr3 diesel out here, or Defender for that matter! I also think it's ironic that Jeep offers diesel in Europe and not in North America...

red90 · #7 Post by **red90** » Sat Jan 22, 2011 4:08 am

Landlover wrote: I also think it's ironic that Jeep offers diesel in Europe and not in North America...

You can pretty much blame CARB 100% for the lack of diesels.

PaulC · #8 Post by **PaulC** » Sat Jan 22, 2011 9:09 am

Red 90 is right on the mark with that comment, having worked extensively for on LRNA on new vehicle launches / training etc for almost 10 years....it is obvious that Cali's SMOG regs dictate much of North America's vehicle inventory.

Puts manufactures in a very difficult position when a bunch of short term state employees are your R&D department that you cant fire for being knobs. :shock:
And lets face it the car makers make enough bonehead moves without the help of civic employees (I'm a public servant too so don't get all bent that I'm insulting the the service) :!:

red90 · #9 Post by **red90** » Tue Jan 25, 2011 6:06 pm

It is basically the NOX limits which cause the problem. Anything larger than a small car requires urea injection systems. This adds so much to cost that it is not feasible in lower cost vehicles.

The worst bit is that there is no scientifically justifiable reason for the limits being set so low.

It is scary to believe that the Smart TDI with over 80 mpg had to be cut because it could not meet the new emissions standards.

Doc Tari · #10 Post by **Doc Tari** » Tue Jan 25, 2011 10:43 pm

What about diesel pickups and vans? VW? It seems to me that if manufacturers can sell them into California, why not a LR diesel on this continent?

PaulC · #11 Post by **PaulC** » Tue Jan 25, 2011 10:51 pm

You cant buy a new VW diesel or any diesel car in California (as far as I know), Pick-Ups are ok cause they are trucks that maybe used to haul cargo etc(not a official SMOG quote).

Doc Tari · #12 Post by **Doc Tari** » Wed Jan 26, 2011 12:21 am

I believe you can buy a diesel VW in California and diesels newer than 1998 must be smog tested.

D2000 · #13 Post by **D2000** » Wed Jan 26, 2011 9:38 am

Found the following for sale in ALL states:

VW TDI's - Jetta, Golf, Touareg SUV
Audi - A3, Q7
BMW - 335D, X5
Mercedes BlueTec - E350, R350, GL350, ML350
Ford, GM, Dodge Trucks

All these Diesels are new "clean" diesel Technology.
Land Rover has made a marketing decision not to sell diesels in North America or does not have the Technology to meet the standards.

I'm afraid we will see a Hybird Land Rover before a Diesel :(

PaulC · #14 Post by **PaulC** » Wed Jan 26, 2011 10:56 am

Whistler110 · #15 Post by **Whistler110** » Wed Jan 26, 2011 3:51 pm

I don't think they would sell enough diesel, or hybrid, Rangies to pay for the ones they have to supply for crash testing. People that can afford a new Rangie probably don't care about the price of fuel and the gas engines do sound nicer. LR4's are another matter but probably fall into the same situation.

The Rover-Landers of BC

The Rover-Landers of BC

Diesel Electric Land Rover hybrid, anyone?

Diesel Electric Land Rover hybrid, anyone?

Electric Diesel Hybrid