While on vacation in DC I saw a Ice Blue escape drive by (only had a few seconds to catch it) but it had big blue Ford oval's on the front door and another sign to the effects of E85. Sadly this is all I caught. Is this a personal conversion, or a Ford test, or ????

Just curious why they don't come from the factory E85 ready like many other new Fords. Since Ford's tring to claim "greenness" by reducing emmisions from both the Escape & the Factory, using recycled seat covers, etc. Wouldn't e85 just be another notch on the "green" belt?!

 

It's a Ford thing. Not sure when it will be available, but that would be nice to have!

http://media.ford.com/newsroom/featu...?release=22424

 

Dumb question, and a step further then E85, why cant hybrids be built with Diesel Motors...that seems like it would be even more superior.

 

I just read the other day, that someone announced that they would (not Ford Escape).

Though, a diesel electric reminds me of a locomotive. And "E85" takes on a whole new meaning.

Which then takes my mind to Diesel Electric Hybrids.

 

yeah I saw it in DC about a month ago parked outside my office building. I think it would be great to produce in mass, if they actually had E85 stations in the nova area...

 

A hybrid biodiesel would be attractive!

 

GM showed a diesel hybrid version of an existing European car at the Detroit show, a summary is here:

http://www.caranddriver.com/article....rticle_id=9098

A gas version of the Astra is going to be sold in the U.S. beginning next year by Saturn.

Because diesels produce lots of torque and not so much horsepower, and require a lot of juice to start, they are naturally a poor starting point for hybrid-izing. However, diesel rules in Europe and bio-diesel is still on the table as an alternate energy source, so people are looking at it despite the innate challenges.

 

I think Diesels have a limited RPM range, like the Atkinson cycle

 

Industrial diesels have limited RPM range because they can be more efficient. However, the one diesel automobile I owned idled at about 700 rpm, redlined at about 5000 and drove just like a gas engine.

The real negative about hybrid diesels is the returns are diminished. The higher the gas mileage of the car to start with the less impact the hybrid system will have. That's why Toyota made such a big deal about the Prius being a Camry class car and not a Corolla size. Why buy a hybrid is the gas/diesel version already gets 40 MPG?

 

The hope is the hybrid diesel will deliver even better fuel efficiency than the Atkinson hybrids. If it get 40 MPG now, what happens when the super/turbo charger is gone, and the boost replaced by the traction motor! Can we get 50 or 60 sticker MPGs from an Escape class vehicle?