Send to a friendDucati Minor October 19th, 2007 5:57 PM Link
A turbo-diesel would be fitting inside a Forester.
Subaru’s Diesel Likely to Beat its Hybrid to Market
Written By: Seyth Miersma
Ever since Toyota grabbed the portion of Subaru that was formerly owned by General Motors, there has been, talk, speculation, and the promise of a hybrid-driven Subie.
Despite Toyota’s expertise in leveraging the hybrid advantage, the unique design of the Subaru brand’s traditional boxer engine makes a straight synergy drive copy an impossibility. A flat-four diesel on the other hand, looks like it is on the way.
(Click through the jump to read on about Subaru’s diesel future.)
If you’ll remember last spring’s Geneva Motor Show, you may recall that Subaru used the venue to unveil its flat-four diesel engine. This engine is ready to roll, and should start appearing for sale in Europe sometime after this year’s Geneva show.
Meanwhile, don’t give up on the Subaru hybrid; just prepare for a wait. The Toyota technology is still viable for use with the flat-four set up, but it will have to be repackaged. On top of that, Subaru parent company Fuji Heavy Industries is on record as saying that it won’t build a hybrid without lithium ion batteries. Stay tuned.
12 Comments
LandCrusher October 19th, 2007 7:38 PM Link
Does the td have decent mileage, or is it a typical subaru?
Dman October 20th, 2007 4:28 AM Link
Right on Ducati.
Speaking as a Forester owner, all that low end grunt would be well appreciated.
jeepgirl October 20th, 2007 11:56 AM Link
I’d be even happier with a turbo diesel hybrid..
Why is that so hard to understand?
chuck goolsbee October 20th, 2007 3:38 PM Link
JeepGirl, it is an easy concept to understand, especially as the first “hybrid” devices were alwaus Diesels (think locomotives). BUT in terms of the automobile people seem to forget that the desgin goal of the gasoline/electric hybrid drive was reduced emissions, NOT fuel economy. Fuel economy is a pleasant benefit but it was not what the engineers were working towards with the hybrid concept. If you set your wayback machine to the late80s/early90s California mandated a zero-emissions percentage in each automaker’s fleet. GM went EV1, but the Japanese took an half-step going hybrid.
Had fuel efficiency been the number 1 design goal, then there is no doubt that Diesel would have been their first choice. Unfortunately California has done everything in their power to deliver a death sentence to Diesel.
Now, 15 or so years later and when the hybrids are actually shipping in volume, fuel prices have rocketed skyward and the primary thing on consumers’ minds is fuel economy. Hybrids outperform most everything else with regards to fuel economy so they are selling very well.
Will we see a Diesel-Electric hybrid at some time? Of course. But it will take some time to deliver.
–chuck
http://chuck.goolsbee.org
Mena October 20th, 2007 9:08 PM Link
“Hybrids outperform most everything else with regards to fuel economy so they are selling very well.”
Actually, in the real world, they don’t. And they are about even on paper. The number one reason people don’t buy diesels in droves is the noise and the smell. With today’s quieter diesels and the reduction of the smell because of better fuel, there is a change happening in the perception of diesels with most people.
Hybrids sell because they get great gas mileage, period. Sure some people would still buy them but if they got the same mileage as a typical sedan they would die off very quickly.
smokyburnout October 21st, 2007 12:31 AM Link
i was under the impression that the reason there aren’t any diesel-electric hybrids on the market yet was cost… diesel models cost more than their gas counterparts, hybrid models cost more than their gas-only counterparts, so logically a diesel-electric hybrid would have an even larger price premium over a normal gasoline version of the same car.
bg October 21st, 2007 11:38 AM Link
tighten the cams on a forestor and change the ecu maps with a better control. Low end diesel grunt isn’t even necessary. Subarus aren’t ready to go as one would expect.By the time most of people figure it out..oh no. There goes the engine into extinction. To heck with Subaru. I presume the complaints come from carb owners of the past:The only low end grunting gas engines. Remember those? The real time tune that needed a monkeys iq to kick the choke on in the cold?
Hybrid Diary » Blog Archive » Hybrid Car News: Hybrid, subaru - October 23 October 23rd, 2007 3:26 PM Link
[…] Hybrid Car News: Hybrid, subaru - October 23 October 23, 2007 5:40 am Admin Uncategorized Interesting article on http://news.windingroad.com. Despite Toyota’s expertise in leveraging the hybrid advantage, the unique design of the Subaru brand’s traditional boxer engine makes a straight synergy drive copy an impossibility. JeepGirl, it is an easy concept to understand, especially as the first “hybrid” devices were alwaus Diesels (think locomotives). BUT in terms of the automobile people seem to forget that the desgin goal of the gasoline/electric hybrid drive was reduced emissions, NOT fuel economy. Fuel economy is a pleasant benefit but it was not what the engineers were working towards with the hybrid concept. Now, 15 or so years later and when the hybrids are actually shipping in volume, fuel prices have rocketed skyward and the primary thing on consumers’ minds is fuel economy. Hybrids outperform most everything else with regards to fuel economy so they are selling very well. “Hybrids outperform most everything else with regards to fuel economy so they are selling very well.” With today’s quieter diesels and the reduction of the smell because of better fuel, there is a change happening in the perception of diesels with most people. […]
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