Hypothetical: John Deere as a small diesel that will run a generator to charge batteries on a small car. It gets 150 mpg. Diesel does NOT have to come from petroleum, It can be made from almost any oil. We can make the fuel not using petroleum. Buy one?
by 
Pilgrim
ANSWERS: 2
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Hypothetically, yes. You will need to crunch a lot of numbers that are beyond me, but it might work. You need to consider the power loss, the availability of alternate fuel, maintenence and a few other factors. If your only goal is to avoid petroleum use and you have a source, great. If cost, time, pollution and other factors enter in, i suggest you count the cost. The best answer is a definite maybe.
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Diesel-electric is a well-tested technology. In mobile applications it's used mostly in large devices like railroad locomotives and ferry boats, b/c it works best with large, heavy, low-rpm diesel engines. The diesel engines currently used in cars and light trucks are high-speed, lightweight engines with a short lifespan. I wouldn't bother trying to fit a tractor engine into an automobile. If I could buy a ready-built diesel-electric hybrid, that would be different. I'd go for it.
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