AutoblogGreen has reason to be happy, having found evidence that Toyota's recent purchase of a 5.9% stake in Isuzu will bear fruit in 2010 when the Japanese juggernaut marries its Synergy hybrid drive system with a diesel engine. Presumably such a hook up was made possible, or at least hastened, by the expertise in diesels that Isuzu brings to the table. Toyota knows its way around an oil burner too, but its Hino commercial truck division usually deals with diesels meant for trucks and buses.
Heck, even we have to admit that we're excited for such a combo, as diesel engines excel in efficiency when cruising at highway speeds, much more so than a gasoline engine, which to this point has always been the electric motor's dance partner in modern hybrids. JapanToday is reporting that a Toyota subcompact with this diesel hybrid drivetrain will be available as soon as 2010. Assuming we're not all driving EVs by then, such a car should easily grab the mpg crown in the U.S.
[Source: AutoblogGreen, JapanToday]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
Mike @ Nov 21st 2006 3:45PM
Ahhhhhh, finally someone is using their head!!! This combinaton will make a real difference - not the over hyped gas/electric hybrid!
laserwizard @ Nov 21st 2006 3:46PM
I've long been an advocate of the diesel hybrid for the very reasons you mentioned. I'd actually do this one step better having the car completely electric with only a small diesel engine being used to provide fast-on-the-fly recharge to give an electric car the distance of a fossil fuel car but with the four wheel drive of motor/hub electric without having the need for driveshafts/half-shafts. A small diesel engine designed to operate at the rpm range that is most efficient for a diesel would seem to be the best of both worlds - and - a diesel could be used in biodiesel functionality a further benefit given the setup of the system.
ebb @ Oct 15th 2007 10:57AM
true, and if you add a particle filter you have the best workable technology of the next 20 years (or more...)
Big Bush Lover!! (no sarcasm... really!) @ Nov 21st 2006 3:51PM
Now this is interesting. I've been waiting for such a thing in a small car. Will this engine/motor ever actually come to the US? To say the least, I'm skeptical. Somehow diesel cars with great performance and efficiency are terrible for the environment over here, but dually diesels/Hummers/other stupid SUVs and the losers (with tiny ___s) who drive them with automatic transmissions are well... illegal to shoot. ;)
Spalind @ Nov 21st 2006 3:52PM
Leave it to Toyota to pick up GM's scraps and turn them into gold...Just another example of the inability of American auto company's ineptitude...
l.o.o.o.o.s.e.r. @ Nov 21st 2006 4:01PM
LOL Ford said they will start introdusing more diesels to USA in 2009, just one year later Toyota will have a Diesel hybrid. LOL
Cameron @ Nov 21st 2006 4:11PM
I can't wait! I hope it does well.
Paul @ Nov 21st 2006 4:35PM
dopey americans sell the assets at a cheap price because they mismanage them. look at fiat and suzuki. i have no doubt that saab will take off once it is not dumbed down by the idiots at GM.
dt @ Nov 21st 2006 6:01PM
#4, #5, it gets even better. Look up "PNGV" -- The Big 3 could have had diesel hybrids, oh, 2 YEARS AGO. Such vision on their part, such foresight and planning -- it boggles the mind.
l.o.o.o.o.s.e.r. @ Nov 21st 2006 6:10PM
Oh come on now. Give me this speech on how Diesels are better than hybrids....all you GM and Ford apologists are eating your hats now. You were harassing everyone claiming that diesels GM and Ford make (which they do not even SELL in USA) are much better than dopey hybrids. Suddenly your world collapsed, Toyota introduces a diesel hybrid, how about that.
The fact that there are only 8 comments tells me that all those who claim that their F-350 gets better MPG than Camrys chose not to read this topic.
I'll write what I wrote before, Toyota introduced Prius in Japan in 1997, we are a month and two weeks away from 2007. A full decade and GM still has no answer to Prius, a full decade...... no industry can survive being a full decade behind competition. It's like Dell just now introducing a 1 gigabyte hard drive in 2007 while HP sells lat pots with 200GB at the same price.
Some in here have been saying that Boeing was in similar situation. No, first of all Boeing has a HUGE military business, so if they were unable to make money in commercial business they can rely on military business. That is not the case in car business, a company must be able to introduce a new car every 3 years.
Now comes this, Toyota is beating GM and Ford in diesels. The automobile magazine in its latest issue says that Honda has some of the best diesels and they will be compatible with tough USA 2010 emitions. This is what happens when fools run companies. But hey I am sure all these GM lovers will always have the back of Rick Wagoner, he can do no wrong, he is perfect.
Tony C @ Nov 21st 2006 6:27PM
Ummm... Toyota's been including diesels in their European models for years! Why would Isuzu's diesel technology be any more significant to their diesel/hybrid development?
ebb @ Oct 15th 2007 10:56AM
Isuzu is considered by many to have the best diesel technology
Daniel @ Nov 21st 2006 7:10PM
Hey dt (#8) the successful PNGV program where the Big Three develop full size cars with diesel-electic hybrid all electric drive ws not 2 years ago - it was in 1993.
American firms have had this technology for at least a decade and a half but they have not used it. Their 1993 full size cars - the Ford Prodogy, GM Precept and Dodge ESX3 go between 70 MPG and 80 MPG.
So now they will cry when the Japanese take the lead in this field that has huge potential with its high milage, low maintenance, and environmental benifits. The American firms must be out of their minds by not developing in this future growth segment.
Chris @ Nov 21st 2006 7:12PM
Wasn't it Toyota that claimed no one would be willing to pay the price premium on diesel hybrids about two months ago?
Chris @ Nov 21st 2006 8:34PM
GM has diesel-hybrid city buses that decrease fuel consumption by about 60%. We all know Toyota shoves their "green" image down the throats of any consumer that will listen, but one of these buses save way more fuel 100 (at least) Prius' ever will. Same with these diesel-hybrid subcompacts. You all are Toyota's puppets.
Barney @ Nov 21st 2006 10:28PM
I went to an annual car show sometime in the mid nineties in Vancouver,Canada. One car that realy caught my eye was a VW Rabbit, diesel Hybrid. Obviously it never made it into production. Fuel was cheaper then and no one interested.
Howard Kerr @ Nov 21st 2006 11:09PM
It remains to be seen if a diesel...anything will be sold by 2012 the way emissions rules are going. Tho I do have to hand it to someone...in this case Toyota, for doing a decent job with another GM castoff, as another poster says.
Bill Maher is an Idiot @ Nov 21st 2006 11:47PM
Paul...don't take this offensively, but my ball sack has more brains in it that you do. Fiat and Suzuki were never owned by GM.
Barney @ Nov 22nd 2006 8:34AM
Re 13 Chris: Locamotives have been using the technology for decades as well. We are talking "personal" vehicles here. GM isn't the onlu manufacture that makes Hybrid bus's. If anything, trolly bus's used even less fuel but no one liked the overhead wires. The Cable cars in San Fran is another economical public transit system BUT were are talking "personal vehicles" Hino/Toyota are making Hybrid transport trucks as well but of course you feel ONLY GMC is technologically advanced.
kerry Beauchrt @ Nov 22nd 2006 11:24AM
Hybrids that are not plu-ins are a fraud. They do NOTHING of consequence to reduce oil dependencies,
and now are planning a new unneeded fuel type for consumers. That's just ducky. Why are the Greenies so silly as to believe that something other than elctric power can solve any problems. Wise up and ditch those stupid hybrids - they are economically absurd, overly complicated do-nothings. As an engineer I vomit everytime I hear the word hybrid. There are a Rube Goldberg abomination that no engineer would admit to
help design. We have practical batteries , folks, in case you all have been on Mars for the past year. We don't need two or three different fueling infrastructures. That's preposterously inefficient. Internal combustion engines belong in the Smithsonian, not driving along our highways.