Featured VW will replace small diesels by hybrids

I am sorry to read this as mild hybrids have so often over promised and under performed. Continental is an EU supplier that has been trying to sell 48V electronics as the base for mild hybrids . . . burdened on others to sell.

VW makes a nice Jetta hybrid with Gen-1/Gen-2 performance. It is not a mild-hybrid and should lead VW from the wilderness.

Bob Wilson

 

A full hybrid Yaris sells in the UK now for less than a diesel Polo and emits less CO2, much less NO2. Who needs mild hybrids?

 

Well of COURSE VW wants mild hybrids;
Hands-on: Why the Chevrolet Malibu Eco doesn’t make sense - ExtremeTech

GM Terminates Malibu and Vue Hybrids: Promises Newer Better Hybrids in 2010 and 2011 - GM-VOLT : Chevy Volt Electric Car Site GM-VOLT : Chevy Volt Electric Car Site

Once they fail miserably as they did with GM prior to & after bankruptcy, VW can say, "see? no one wants our hybrids ... so we have to go back to diesels because THAT's what our customers really want".
.

 

Well at least VW is now saying that hybrids have a place. They used to pretty well ignore them, saying that diesels were needed since EVs weren't ready yet. Unfortunately many Europeans believed them.

 

VW dumped the Jetta hybrid.

 

Those whom the Gods would destroy, they first make insane.

Bob Wilson

 

VW loaded the Jetta hybrid up with features, and then charged too much for it. It was the most expensive Jetta at the time, but it was a full hybrid.

 

They stuck a DSG in it, which is something I will never own a VW with again.

 

One problem is that they were only selling about 50 units a month.

It wasn't a very good hybrid though, it's from a brand that has a reputation for unreliability (meaning most of their market is brand enthusiasts), and Volkswagen's customer base has strong anti-hybrid biases.

In any case, properly implemented, a mild hybrid should be better than a non-hybrid, at a lower cost than a full hybrid with the same transmission type. (That's the caveat - the power split device is incredibly simple, and even with the second motor, may be cheaper than a conventional automatic or DCT.) And, remember, Honda's early hybrids were mild, too, and they worked. (They had terrible battery management, yes, but they worked.) 48 volt systems, however, will likely not work all that well for this...

 

We have some minor technical differences of opinion:

• Mild hybrids - don't have enough energy to sustain velocity for an period of time. That means the ICE has to run all the time with ICE overhead and frequently in partial throttle modes that are terribly inefficient.
• Honda IMA - did a good job of improving the low-end torque of their engine. It certainly helped but there was no way to decouple the IMA from the flywheel so electric only mode was like running the starter ... all the time. Even the Gen-1 below 42 mph would shut down the ICE every chance it could an sustain velocity on MG2.

I'm willing to be proven wrong but when I do a KE calculation or drag power even at typical urban speeds, the mild hybrids are off by an order of magnitude. The worst were (ARE!!!) the GM BAS(tard) systems. They don't even take out the starter motor and lead-block battery!

Bob Wilson

 

The Insight still had a starter motor. It was there so the car could be used without the traction pack. Otherwise, it was dead weight.

 

I hadn't heard about these violators;

EPA Notifies Fiat Chrysler of Clean Air Act Violations | U.S. EPA News Releases | US EPA
If VW has to do penance by making plug-in hybrids, does that mean Fiat/Dodge makes up for its sin by selling more plug in Pacifica vans?
.

 

sure, after they've paid their 18 billion dollar fine, and provided millions for charging infrastructure. maybe some medical payments for respiratory problems too.

 

The FCA thing is still on going, and if they are actually cheating, the fines will be less. The diesel engine is only in two models, and been available for 3 years. VW cheated for a decade over multiple models.

 

Ok . . . . Meanwhile;
http://reuters.com/article/us-volkswagen-emissions-suspects-idUSKBN16E04C
Basically, time for the little guys to fall on the sword.
.