• Death_Equity@lemmy.world
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    15 days ago

    Diesel electric, not diesel hybrid.

    Diesel generates power that charges the batteries. It would be more expensive than a normal ice car, but it would have thousands of miles of range and get 8-10x the range per gallon.

    • Maggoty@lemmy.world
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      15 days ago

      Afaik the only difference at the general level is whether the IC engine connects directly to the wheels or not. A hybrid can run on either engine. A diesel electric uses an IC engine to create electricity for an electric engine. So you still need at least two engines, it’s just wildly more efficient. And quite a bit more expensive to produce.

      • bamboo@lemm.ee
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        12 days ago

        Wait why would you need two engines? Or are you counting the diesel generator as one and the electric motor as one?

        • Maggoty@lemmy.world
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          12 days ago

          Yup. A diesel generator is an engine. It’s just hooked to an alternator instead of a transmission.

          • bamboo@lemm.ee
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            12 days ago

            Yeah I wasn’t confused by the diesel generator, but typically electric motors are smaller and simple enough that they’re not considered an engine.