F150 more fuel effcient than a Pirius??

[02supercrew]

Not sure how much truth there is to these links, but they should spark some interesting debates...

Link 1
Link 2

IMO, if there is any truth to these links, this could be a revolutionary step ahead and a solution to todays hybrid problems (heavy and complicated electrical sytems, not to mention the few technological advances in batteries).

 

[brianl703]

I wouldn't think that highway driving is a primary mode of driving for consumers in this metro area.

Sure, the road you're driving on might be a highway, but with average speeds of 5-20MPH due to backups (which now happen on weekends, and extend as late at 10pm on weekdays sometimes) it's more like city driving.

 

[stringsattached]

I have a hydraulic-hybrid bike that runs on nothing but water and food, and a bus pass if I need to get around on short trips. Works great for me and about half of the world.

(I'm still totally buying one of the new trucks when they come out though.)

 

[NJC]

It appears another one of the many projects under development that "could" be more efficient and will be "commercialization-ready" in 10yrs.

I'd really like to be more enthused about this stuff but much of it is perpetuated for the wrong reasons. And has the EPA, a gov't wing, every designed/innovated anything the public uses? I'm asking the question as I don't know.

#1 efficiency gain? Drive less.

 

[1sttruck]

" #1 efficiency gain? Drive less. "

Yup, as I increased the mileage in my 3/4 ton 4x4 pickup to 38 mpg ! (actually I'm carpooling, we switch driving every other week, so I effectively double the mileage on my truck for commuting :^)

 

[pa04prius]

If it sounds too good to be true.......

 

[ALS]

There is a better way to make a pickup truck more fuel efficient. It's called better aerodynamics.
Aero Truck

 

[Bret Chase]

I saw a similar technology on some techy show years ago.. probably beyond2000 or similar. but in the one I saw, the powerplant was a 5hp briggs. I remember them hitting the gas pedal w/ the engine off and the thing shot ahead on just hydraulic power.. pretty amazing.

for any hybrid city driving is where it's at.. on the highway a Corolla does better than the Prius.

 

[02supercrew]

An Aero truck would be useless in my neck of the woods especially in the winter. If you want great mpg, just get a car.

The point is not making trucks more effcient per-say, but to improve all automobiles including cars. It just happens that Ford is using the F150 as a test bed due to the large working area that it offers.

 

[robbobster]

Ford showed this on a truck at the Detroit Auto Show about three years ago. It may have been the Tonka show truck...can't recall exactly.

They indicated that it would be marketed toward vehicles like buses and garbage trucks, heavy vehicles that are driven in a style where the technology would be most useful.

Looks like they are now considering more pedestrian vehicles...

 

[kanling]

What exactly is a "hydraulic cylinder" that will be used to "store the excess energy"? I sure wouldn't want to see one blow.

Sounds like traditional automotive hype at this stage. Many ideas have come and gone through the years. I recall about a dozen years ago they were going to use massive flywheels to store energy in transit buses... I don't think that ever happened.

 

[Quattro Pete]

Looks like Ford is looking for ways to make their big trucks, vans, and SUVs more attractive to the customers. Great. As if we didn't have enough of those behemots on the streets.

The technology looks promising though, at least on paper. Let's see how they do on implementation in production versions.

 

[keith]

EPA turns innovator with hydraulic hybrids

"... because of the added vehicle weight, the hydraulic hybrids tend to get worse fuel economy on the highways -- one of the primary modes of driving for consumers."

Good idea for town drivers. Dragging around lots of extra weight kills the highway numbers.

 

[Kestas]

I've read similar palaver from Ford many times before. They've abandoned announcing "what they have achieved" and instead announce "what they are trying to achieve". This nonsense has been going on for over ten years, ever since Motorola came out with their six-sigma program... something they, nor anybody else, have been able to achieve.

Ford likes talking about these wonderful things they're doing (or are trying to do) with trucks and SUVs..... 60 mpg!!!!... then it stands to reason they're Escort should get 120 mpg!!! Why not just apply the same technology? Whatever they're doing, their reasoning is flawed, and I don't think it'll ever happen.

 

[blupupher]

Yea, I saw this 3-4 years ago in I think popular science. Looked interesting, but seemed to be more of a "use a smaller engine and get better mileage, but still have the "oomph" off the line to get going".

As for the mileage issue, hybrids get worse mileage on highway than is city.

 

[TheTanSedan]

Fuel efficency is overrated. My 111,000-mile 2001 DODGE 1500 is cheaper to own than a Toyota Prius . . . due to near-zero depreciation (and I can sell for more than I paid), zero finance charges, lower insurance cost and (the zinger) the mileage tax deduction of a vehicle used for business. The above is projected over the next five years/60,000 miles. My 2005 cost was .30-cents/mile for about 20,000 miles.

Trucks do need better mileage. Would love to see a DODGE Dakota with a turbo-diesel. This market hasn't been well-served by innovation for over ten years.