Could 35 Mpg Diesel Trucks Be A Reality?

Clearly this kind of fuel consumption would be a dream to any truck driver and it is something that many people have spent many years looking into. So could 35 mpg diesel trucks be a reality one day?

In short the answer is yes, but it is not as clear cut as this. While achieving this kind of fuel consumption is not beyond the realms of possibility it cannot currently be achieved with a diesel engine alone. However thanks to bills that relate to energy and carbon emissions there are many different developments underway that could make this happen.

If a 35 mpg diesel truck was available it would mean huge savings for drivers of these vehicles as they will be able to get many more miles per gallon. However, this would come at a cost as currently the only vehicles that are legal for use in the United States that can boast this consumption are hybrid vehicles.

Senate Energy Bill

Some time ago the Senate passed an energy bill that stated that the average fleet fuel economy should be 35 miles per gallon by 2020. While the House has not yet passed this bill it looks as though time vehicle manufacturers have realized the potential of cars and 35 mpg diesel trucks and are looking into this. This means that in the future 35 mpg diesel trucks will not just be a reality they will be a legal requirement.

The reason for the Senate passing this bill is due to the fact that diesel engines are incredibly expensive to produce when compared to gas engines and even more expensive than electric engines. However by adding an electric engine to a diesel truck to make it a hybrid would be particularly expensive and this is an issue that manufacturers will have to iron out. Once this happens it stands to reason that more and more people looking for a fuel efficient truck will opt for a hybrid vehicle.

The only downside to a 35 mpg diesel truck that was a hybrid is that it would be very expensive initially to purchase. This could put many consumers off and could lead to a slump in the market before it had time to take off. However if more energy bills get past there will be a time when hybrid cars become much more commonplace and 35 mpg hybrid diesel trucks are on the road at a reasonable price.

Hybrid Trucks

Research has shown that the very best way to achieve 35 mpg from a diesel truck is to create a hybrid vehicle that would run on both electricity and diesel. In other words this would be a truck that would have both a diesel engine and an electric motor to power it. Without this crossover of power sources, at the moment, it is impossible to get this kind of fuel efficiency from a diesel engine alone.

Many of the hybrid cars that are currently on the market have excellent fuel efficiency such as the Ford Escape Hybrid which manages an impressive 34 city miles per gallon and 31 highway miles per gallon. Figures like these show that hybrid vehicles are capable of performing well and can go, on average 10 miles further than many of the diesel vehicles that are out there. So as shown, for 35 mpg diesel trucks to be a reality they would have to have two power sources rather than just a single diesel engine.

Having two sources of power would mean that while the truck was being driven the two power sources would work in conjunction with each other to create better fuel efficiency. While the truck was being powered by the diesel engine any leftover energy would then be stored in the electric engine. This stored energy could then be used while the truck was accelerating or needed that little bit of extra push when driving up hills. As you can see this kind of function would allow a diesel engine to get many more miles per gallon as extra fuel would not be needed for these different functions.

Online Resources

If like many people you are interested to learn more about whether or not a 35 mpg diesel truck could become a reality one of the best places to information is online. There are many different website dedicated to the study of hybrid vehicles and the possibility of creating a diesel truck that was capable of achieving 35 miles per gallon. Here are some websites that you can refer to in order to give you an idea of what could become a reality quite soon.

Hybrid Cars

For more information on the Ford Escape Hybrid take a look at the Hybrid Cars website which has plenty of facts on this vehicle. You can also compare the Escape next to other hybrid vehicles to see how it performs. This website is located here http://www.hybridcars.com/suvs-minivans/ford-escape-hybrid-overview.html and it makes incredibly interesting reading to anyone who is interested in hybrid vehicles.

Auto Blog Green

AutoBlogGreen takes a closer look at the energy bill passed by the Senate and goes into how a 35 mpg diesel truck could be achieved. This website which can be found here http://green.autoblog.com/2007/06/25/new-gm-diesel-to-get-almost-30-mpg-in-full-size-trucks/ is well worth visiting as it raises some very interesting points. So if you are waiting patiently for a diesel truck that is capable of achieving 35 miles per gallon this website goes a way to explaining how this could be possible in the future.

MPGOmatic

Another website which offers some interesting theories is theMPGOmatic website which you can visit here http://www.mpgomatic.com/2008/03/15/35-mpg-why-wait-until-2020/. It says that although 35 mpg diesel trucks are not available right now they certainly could be and Chrysler have the answer to creating a more efficient diesel engine. However thanks to the emissions regulations for the United States they are unable to produce and sell these vehicles in America.