Running on coconuts...

[MasterBates]

Actually, non-aviation rated turbines have been used in cars as far back as the 1950s.

They use regenerators and other things that make the weight too much for aviation but OK for cars.. Part load efficiency on turbines suck. Period. They can match diesel efficiency for line haul freight or other high-load all the time demands, but the cost benefit is marginal.

Hybrid diesels make the most sense, but hybrids are a bit of a scam in of themselves.. make great sense for a small part of the people, but outside that percentage, when you factor in the environmental and economic costs of that battery pack, they are worse than an efficient diesel.

I looked at a hybrid for my ex-wifes last car. Ended up getting a Jetta TDi. Car's great. Just can't stand the driver.

 

[HueyCobra8151]

But oil isn't found everywhere. Hence OPEC. You can grow corn or whatever almost anywhere. We can import food from another country without the danger of them restricting supply or raising costs at the level that is possible with oil.

You raise the question: Which diminishing natural resource is more important? Crude Oil, or Land?

Oh yeah, and not all land is farm land suitable for growing crops. If that were the case, many countries in the world would be much better off.

I would rather drill for oil off the coasts of (insert just about any coast off of the US here), or ANWAR, or somewhere else -or- figure out an alternate energy source as useful and abundant as crude oil.

Jacking up the price of food is fun and all...but it simple is not economically.

Another major problem is that all of the hippies driving around with their "Biodiesel" stickers on their shiatty ill-maintained vehicles create a major cloud of smug which we all know is the worst form of pollution there is.

 

[Tex_Hill]

I haven't done a lot of research into bio-diesel or bio-JetA, but I can tell you that ethanol is crap.

Ethanol is not a new product. As a matter of fact, Henry Ford experimented with using ethanol to power the Model T, but abandoned it because it is so inefficient.

The production of ethanol is very wasteful. Using today's technology, it takes 1500 gallons of water to produce 1 gallon of ethanol. Not only that, but even the EPA admitted in federal court that because of its higher volatility a car using ethanol puts out more smog than straight gasoline.

Here's a good article on ethanol: Ethanol: A Tragedy in 3 Acts

 

[xj220]

Actually, non-aviation rated turbines have been used in cars as far back as the 1950s.

They use regenerators and other things that make the weight too much for aviation but OK for cars.. Part load efficiency on turbines suck. Period. They can match diesel efficiency for line haul freight or other high-load all the time demands, but the cost benefit is marginal.

Hybrid diesels make the most sense, but hybrids are a bit of a scam in of themselves.. make great sense for a small part of the people, but outside that percentage, when you factor in the environmental and economic costs of that battery pack, they are worse than an efficient diesel.

I looked at a hybrid for my ex-wifes last car. Ended up getting a Jetta TDi. Car's great. Just can't stand the driver.

Again, true. That Chrysler Turbine car is something. The big problem though is, like you said, partial load but also turbines can't handle the stop and go like normal gas or diesel engines can. Everyone's experienced turbine lag and knows how long it can take to wind up, imagine that in rush hour traffic. Diesels themselves are actually a really good way to go, they can be very efficient and actually are becoming very clean. It's a shame they haven't caught on popularity here like in Europe. Direct injection is going to be the next big thing. Take a look at Ford's EcoBoost engines coming out and you'll see what's possible.

 

[MasterBates]

Next big thing?

My 1994 F-350 had direct injection. As does the Manatee-Mobile and my 99 F250.

Plus any 2-stroke Detroit Diesel has had it since the 1930s.

 

[xj220]

I'm talking in terms of gasoline engine. There's two basic types of engines, Homogeneous Charge Spark Ignition (HCSI gas engine) and Stratified Charge Compression Ignition (SCCI diesel). Direct Injection is a combination of the two and is SCSI. As part of their capstone, I had some friends try and convert a lawnmower engine into a direct injection engine. Not easy, especially since a true direct injection requires an exact location for the injectors.