Big-Rig Hybrids
People usually do not associate the word "green" with diesel trucks, but big diesels are getting cleaner. All new heavy-duty diesel engines sold in the U.S. after 2007 must meet strict new Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) standards that filter almost all the black soot particles and much of the nitrogen oxides that cause acid rain. The next set of standards, set to go into effect in 2010, will reduce nitrogen oxides even further.
The dirty little secret of the cleaner diesel engines: they burn more fuel--a big problem for fleet operators facing a 44% rise in diesel fuel costs over the last year. Commercial vehicles--the main consumers of diesel fuel--can accumulate 75,000 miles in a year. With diesel at $4 a gallon in some states, filling the tank on a long-haul truck now costs around $1,000. Even a small decrease in fuel efficiency can make a big difference to truck operators' bottom lines.
This is why heavy-duty truck manufacturers are now paying a lot of attention to diesel hybrids. Automakers have offered passenger cars and light trucks with hybrid systems for a decade, but it took new EPA standards and $100-a-barrel oil to create enough commercial demand for hybrid big rigs, garbage trucks and dump trucks.
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