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To raise awareness of the high mileage it’s possible to achieve by driving sensibly in a sensible vehicle, John and Helen Taylor traversed the lower 48 states in a stock 2009 VW Jetta TDI . Staying within 5 MPH of the posted speed limit, the couple used just 11 tanks of fuel on the trip resulting in an overall fuel economy of 58.82 MPG. Yes, you too can get nearly 60 MPG while driving a nice, normal car. The couple is now holder of the new Guinness World Record for least amount of fuel used while visiting all 48 contiguous states. The numbers break down as: 3.99L/100KM, 11.04 tanks of diesel costing a total of $653.06, 853 miles per average tank, 6.9 cents per mile, 9,419 miles driven. That’s damn impressive especially since there’s not a hybrid badge in sight. [ Fuel Academy via Autoblog ]
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The combination of a fuel-sipping diesel engine with plug-in hybrid technology is something that hasn't really been utilized — until now. This is the Volkswagen Golf Twin Drive Concept, and it looks even more promising than VW's late Golf TDI Hybrid from Geneva . Evidently, the Twin Drive can be run in electric-only mode for a range of up to 30 miles using an 82 HP electric motor. But, there's also a 2.0-liter turbo-diesel that makes 122 HP which can take over once the batteries have been drained. When the two powerplants combine, you become Captain Planet have a parallel hybrid with about 174 HP. The range is aided even further by regenerative braking to charge the batteries, and start-stop technology that shuts the engine off when idling in traffic. But is all of this just a techno' showcase? Or will it actually be made available for normal people to save fuel with? galleryPost('golftwindrive', 6, 'Volkswagen Golf Twin Drive Concept'); Well, Volkswagen...
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Remember when we drove a European-spec Honda Civic 2.2 i-CTDi on a 100-mile road trip? We did pretty well, averaging 72 MPG . While we were throughly impressed, it was nothing compared to earning two spots in the Guinness Book Of World Records. Helen and John Taylor, a British couple, earned their two spots of fame in the record book of record books while Down Under in their little Peugeot 308 HDi. The first record was for "longest distance on a single tank," set by traveling 1192 miles on just 60 liters of diesel fuel — just 15.8 gallons. The other record, "highest mileage for a journey," was set by completing 9,062 miles at an average of 90.75 MPG. So how did they do it? What magical modifications were made? Actually, the car was stock. Stock as in standard, from the factory, without any modifications besides the sponsors' stickers. That is, unless you count the extra weight of the couple's luggage as a modification. It's figures like this that make...
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Peugeot intends to race a diesel hybrid version of its 908 prototype at next year's 24 Hours of Le Mans. Jean-Philippe Collin, the French automaker's new CEO, revealed the plans in an interview with L-Equipe, revealing that the vehicle could see competition as early as November at the ACO 1,000km challenge in Shanghai. We predict success for the first diesel electric hybrid racecar, it'll be able to combine the excellent fuel economy and torque characteristics of both diesels and hybrids and would be positioned to take advantage of any future rule changes that benefit hybrid technology. F1, for example, is actively working to bring power added by regenerative braking to the sport [Via Motor Authority ]
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We've been saying for years the only efficient hybrid with current technology is one mated to a diesel engine, and now it looks like another automaker is jumping into the conceptual fray. Our little news yesterday on the BMW Vision EfficientDynamics X5 -- translated from Bruce, that appears to be an X5 outfitted with a 2.0-liter twin turbo common rail diesel mild hybrid (wow, that's a mouthful, ain't it?) -- appears to be wholly true. BMW will be revealing this little concept in environmentally friendly CUV-ing at the Geneva Motor Show next month and they've now seen fit to reveal the rest of their press shots and the full press release, which we've got below the jump. Feel free to read through it if you're suffering from a strong desire to fall back into bed. For now, here's the gist of it -- hybrid + diesel + BMW = Over 100 HP per liter (total of 204 HP), 295 lb-ft of torque between 2000 and 2500 RPM. Exciting, isn't it? galleryPost('BMWVisionX5Geneva'...
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We first met Metrompg when we did a story on Mr. Harry Stevinson way back in 2006. Since then we've been occasionally plucking bits and pieces of interesting fodder from them and their all grown up version Ecomodder . The incredible 73 miles per gallon we got out of the 2007 Honda Civic i-CTDi is almost an entry point for these guys. If you want to know how to mod your jalopy for ludicrous mileage, these are the places to go.
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It seems that in the Land Down Under the Trev has quite a bit of work ahead of itself. The Hyundai i30 was recently crowned the greenest mobile in all the land, in addition to the overall 2007 Car of the Year in Oz by carsguide. Wait a second! The greenest car in Australia isn't a hybrid? Negative. But who needs a hybrid when you have an i30 with a 1.6-liter turbo diesel that is reportedly capable going 62 miles on 1.23 gallons of fuel? Another big factor in the selection process that eliminated all of the hybrids was simple economics. The judges smacked them down for having high initial cost premiums, especially compared to the $21,490 i30 price tag, which is $16,000 cheaper than the Prius. [ TH ]
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A year and a half after kit designer Robert Q. Riley originally dreamed up his XR-3 three-wheeled, two-seater, plug-in hybrid kit car, it is now a reality. Sorry, 3D modelers, your job is now done; the first XR-3 hybrid has been built and plans for this greenmobile are now available for purchase. galleryPost('xr3hybridkit', 9, 'XR-3 Hybrid Kit Assembly'); galleryPost('xr3hybrid', 6, 'XR-3 Hybrid Concept Renderings'); As we've mentioned before , the XR-3 is a three-wheel plug-in diesel-electric hybrid that we're told can get 125 mpg while running on only electric power, and upwards of 225 when combined with the diesel combustion engine. Allegedly, the XR-3 can achieve a top speed of 85 mph, and the entire unit has a curb weight of 1,300 pounds. The standard kit runs $170, which gets you 15 or more 24-inch by 36-inch drawing sheets and a 150 page technical manual chock full of pictures and illustrations. For another $30 you can get a CD containing 2D...
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You might want to hold off on veg-ifying your Mercedes 300TD wagon, as the new source of waste-based energy may be coming from your kid's day care. Engineers at a company called AMEC are working to use a process called pyrolysis to break down dirty diapers into a cheap synthetic diesel fuel that would cost only 50 cents per liter (a little less than $2.00 per gallon). The process could work with any sort of trash, but works better when you can keep a consistent material. While this fuel doesn't yet reach the quality of vegetable oil, it gives us hope of a future where we'll be driving a Straight-Diaper-Diesel Golf. No word on whether adult diapers work better than infant diapers. [ CTV ]
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Those funky number crunchers at the RAND Corp have found that owning a diesel is slightly more cost efficient for the buyer than a hybrid, but that owning either contributes to the betterment of society. The study also found that E85 kind of blows, relative to the other options. Diesel was the overall winner as it provided the highest savings over the life of the vehicle ($460 for cars, $1,249 for SUV's and $2,289 for trucks), compared to hybrids ($198 for cars, $505 for trucks and $1,066 for SUV's). E85 cars actually cost their owners more over the lifetime of the vehicles, though still assure that someone missing part of their spine will be elected president. Full release after the jump: Diesel- and Hybrid-Powered Vehicles Can Provide More Societal Benefits than Gas-Powered Autos Cars and light trucks powered by advanced diesel technology or hybrid technology can provide larger societal benefits than traditional gasoline-powered automobiles, according to a RAND Corporation working...
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Chrysler 's Jim Press says his company plans to offer an alternative-fuel powertrain option in every model it sells. Press told the Detroit News diesel , plug-in, fuel-cell and gas-electric hybrids could all be used to backfill Chrysler's lineup with environmentally friendly alternatives. The vice chairman of Chrysler says the company's commitment to green technologies comes from the top -- new owner Cerberus Capital Management, whose financial boffins probably have figured to the tenth of a cent what a greener image would sell for. Despite such lofty goals, Chrysler has a long way to go before it'll be known as a green automaker. Of the Big Six, Chrysler is the only company without a hybrid on the market right now. The Chrysler Aspen and Dodge Durango will be the company's first hybrids when they arrive in 2008, using a two-mode hybrid system mated to the 5.7-liter Hemi. And yes, as we told you first earlier this summer -- it's called the " HemiHybrid ." [ The Detroit News ]
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