52 mpg VW

Some high-tech tricks and some common sense tweaks turn a Volkswagen Golf BlueMotion (diesel) into a torquey 52 mpg / 118 mph sipper without any hybrid stuff. The Golf is at the Frankfurt Auto Show now and on sale in Germany this fall.

• Enclosed radiator grille aids aerodynamics and two fans keep it cool
• C02, the greenhouse gas, has been reduced
• A software intervention in engine management reduces the idling speed combined with a particulate filter simultaneously improving emission behavior
• Longer gear ratios in third, fourth and fifth gears
• Light-running low rolling resistance tires running at a higher pressure
• Top speed increases to 118 mph businessweek.com

Now, what would happen if we put a super clean diesel into hybrid platform? Well. actually, the characteristic of diesel engines is to drop their fuel mixture at idle, when gas hybrids shut-off, and be more efficient at the highway speeds than a gas engine mated to a hybrid power system. Maybe less mileage could be attained when adding the extra weight of batteries and mechanicals, than you would think.

Although diesels prevail in Canada and Europe, U.S. consumers are still suffering from a combination of post-traumatic 1979 Oldsmobile diesel syndrome combined with US auto marketers never giving it another chance. The fuel here is also heavily laden with road taxes associated with trucks usually making it more expensive here than gasoline so mileage gains would have to be impressive.