yes? no? maybe?

I wish
I hope
I dream !

.....

 

As a current owner of a Honda Insight as well as a MCS, I can tell you that the MINI probably won't be a very good hybrid. A real good hybrid needs to be designed specifically for that purpose. These SUV hybrids are a joke. $6k for the hybrid systems for an extra 5 mpg... The MINI's Cd is .36 which isn't very good. Even if you add a hybrid system to a Cooper to give it a couple hundred lb-ft of torque, you still need an engine that's capable of 50 or so mpg.

The other option that's been seen mainly in auto showes is a performance hybrid system. Take a MCS and either a battery system (or even better ultra capacitors) to power an electric motor for heavy acceleration. They would drain by the end of acceleration but they did their job...and could be charged back up with regenerative braking like current hybrids. This car would still get the same mileage as a MCS but have a great 0-60 time. I'm not sure about the benefits due to the extra weight of the systems though.

 

Whaddya think they did that to the Accord for?! Better 0-60 times,5 mpg better and no trunk. Whoopee!

 

We have a Prius and an MCSC. Very different cars. While the Prius is a great car, I agree with kapps -- a good hybrid needs to be designed specifically for that purpose.

 

I'd love a hybrid Mini--if it were effective. Like it's been said, the main problems are the poor drag co-efficient and the lack of space for the batteries. Maybe the Clubman/Traveller will have enough room under the rear floor, but before they engineer anything for back there, they'd need to address the angle of the nose and windshield quite a bit, rendering the Mini...pretty unMini looking. Shame. I'd like the extra mpg, the extra torque, and wouldn't mind a sleeker look either...

 

How about a hybrid MINI diesel? Those get pretty good mileage, right?

 

Yeah, Diesels get excellent gas mileage and have really high Torque #'s at low RPM's. I have a friend that's getting a TDI? Volkswagen Beetle, only 100hp, but 177 lb/ft of torque, at like 1800-2200 RPM or so. And gets somewhere in the range of 43-46 MPG/highway. And currently, Diesel is cheaper than regular unleaded, so that's an added savings as well. Not to mention they last forever, the engines anyway.

 

You don't need to reinvent the wheel.

MINI already has a diesel in Europe as well as MINI ONE.

I hybrid is good but takes $$$ for R&D and isn't going to be cheap to build.

Just lower the weight and bring on the Diesel version. How can that be so bad if gas prices continue to head for the worse.

The MINI ONE D
http://archives.tcm.ie/businesspost/...y310801365.asp
A reported 42.8 mpg in the city and over 50 mpg on the highway.
75 bhp, 102 mph top speed, 0-60 in 13.5 seconds.
No Air conditioning standard!!!!
Now that's my kind of car!

 

I have seen the D's and One's around here. Perhaps we should petition MINI to send a diesel to America? Germans--Europeans in general it seems--are very into fuel-thrift vehicles, so there is a market on this side of the pond. Americans (at least this group) tend to like speed. Maybe a turbodiesel would do well? Ooh, all the torque you can handle, all under 2500 rpm...

dan

 

Give me a MINI diesel that is biodiesel compatable.

Or a MINI with a flexible fuel engine so I can use ethanol.

Or a straight up diesel that I can add the mod kit to so it can run off of used cooking oil from Chinese Restaurants. Restaurants will give you their used cooking oil for free! Go from a reliance on foreign oil to a reliance on cooking oil.

GREASE IS THE WORD!

MTFBWY,
--Will

 

You would have to filter the used cooking oil otherwise you'd fill your tank with sediment and other grody things (I know what people throw in fryers... boogers to small animals).

 

I am completely aware of the filtering process (it's critical), but I thank you for the reminder. I have been doing a lot of reading on alternate fuel sources, but I do not claim to be an expert... although I did sleep at a Holiday Inn Express last night.

MTFBWY,
--Will

 

I would love to have one in my garage, a Mini Diesel, such a shame, that they are not bringing that car to US.

 

I want a MINI Turbo Diesel... 45+ mpg with MINI Styling.

By the by, why do Toyota and Honda think they've made something super hot that only makes 45 MPG (real milage) when VW has been doing that for decades, with simple old technology?

 

I second that. Hybrid technology is nothing but a scam/publicity stunt by the Japan, Inc automakers to make themselves look "green" and "happy, happy".

 

Correct

 

I can tell you what is going to kill any hopes of a D powered cars in the US. California. See its smog laws pretty much ban D powered cars. So here you have a non standard power plant choice (non standard in the USA) that you can't sell in what is the biggest market.

Oh and in CA we are paying $3.25 for 91 Oc, and D is runing around $3.35.

I looked at the TDI Jetta, but when I ran the cost figures it worked out to be such a small savings over the MINI that I let my emotions rule the day. Not counting the MINI's great advantage in the resale values.

 

The catch here is you still use diesel to when starting and shutting dow. Cooking oil is only used when the engine is running and up to a certain temp.

Stilll a good idea! Americans love Fried Food. An Infinately renewable energy source! Should screw those oil rich B_sta_ds!

 

New Diesels coming from europe (MB, BMW etc.) are burning cleaner than the California standards. It is the $$$$ Rich SOB's in the US oil comanies who wont brew the low sulfur European formula Diesel fuel!

 

Ever heard of smog in a German city?
Didn't think so.
They don't use catalytic(spelling?) converters here either...
makes ya' wonder...

dan

 

Agreed

 

read smog laws, diesels are from what I understand, EXEMPT. minus a visual inspection.

-Josh

 

My boyfriend is threatening to do stuff to my new mini's engine when it gets here next month to be able to do diesel from day one.

You're right, I'm starting to think hybrid technology is fishy.....

 

Somehow, I highly doubt you can convert a gas engine to run diesel reliably. Diesels have almost 2x the compression ratio as gas engines and they are ignited completely differently. Because of this, they have to be built rock solid (which is why they usually last 200k+ miles). I'd like to see our MINI engine with a 20:1 compression ratio.

Your right about hybrids, the reason we got the Insight was that it's really the only one that is economically feasible - and it's not for everyone. Getting 65 mpg over 80k miles (so far) and a tax credit the year we bought it has made replacing the battery (whenever it goes) a lot easier. Add to this the fact that Honda looses money on every Insight sold and you get a car that in the right conditions can get over 100 mpg consistently for a bargain price. We love it and plan on driving it until the engine just can't do it anymore. The same thing goes with the MINI too

 

Massachusetts, too.