Diesel, and there are several reasons why:
1) try taking a hybrid from Los Angeles to Flagstaff. You go from sea level to 8000 feet, over about 480 miles. About 100 miles out of LA you run out of battery, meaning you have to make the rest of the trip on fuel and you'll be lucky to beat 30 mpg. As you crest the several peaks at 40 mph and endangering the lives of hundreds of travelers by altering the traffic pattern, consider this...
2) had you purchased a VW TDI... You would not lose power because you ran out of battery on the highway, you could have crested every single one of those mountains at 80 mph if you chose to do so, and you would end up in Flagstaff having made 50 mpg or better with your torquey little diesel.
3) if you then do the math, you will realize that the emissions you have put out from your TDI will have beaten the hybrid by anywhere from 20 to 100% in all but the particulates category, and the majority of your particulate emissions are soot which fall harmlessly to the ground and pose no threat to the dophins which the Prius owners are so willing to hug. The EPA considers those particulates "evil" but you can sleep at night knowing that the nasty black stuff from your exhaust has about 1/100th the effect on the environment as the "invisible" exhaust from that gasoline-powered Tercel you just passed going up the mountain.
4) The amount of torque that diesel engines make equates to fun on the street. People buy the horsepower that manufacturers advertise, but the feeling you get in your butt when you drive is torque. If we went back 100 years and supported Rudolph Diesel in his research, we would all be sitting at our keyboards debating why gasoline wasn't more popular.
Couple 'o thoughts here, Been looking at both as ALL my vehicles are aging and need to be replaced. I'm with farmer man on the biodiesel, and you can make it in your garage very low tech for about $1.00 or so a gallon and the emissions are virtually nil, plus if you happen to spill the stuff all it is is refined vegetable oil...no ground water contamination and the bi-product from making bio-diesel is glycerine...(can you say home made soap?) V.W. TDI 40 to 50 MPG plus vs. Hybred 30 MPG maybe, HMMMM? Also my truck is getting old so Diesel would be the choice for me. Mom wants to haul the rug rats and all the Science projects, band instruments etc. (we home school) so a diesel suburban makes sense, plus making bio diesel woul be a KILLER science project for my son at the next science fair.
My next thought is converting a small gas vehicle...WV rabbit (pickup) or ? to straight electric. 70 MPH and a range of 70 to 100 miles. My commute is 30 moles so my boss would set up a charging station (I'd get a killer parking spot) and the company could be eligible for energy credits.
For the Prius owners, I just read in the Mother Earth News that there are after market companies that have a device that lets you run on the battery longer before the gas engine kicks in. You push a button on the dash and this mode over rides the normal mode for a short distance. See TMEN for more info.
Why do I want to do all this? Not only 'cause of the price of gas, but more importantly the future of the next generations. I live in one of the worst air quality basins in the U.S. (San Juaquin valley) about 100 miles south of Sacramento and in the summer you can almost take a breath of air and have to chew it before you inhale. I want to set an example for my kids, and try to (at least a little ) help clean up the air (BTW I am not a tree hugger)
Finally if one realizes how speed and air drag work on a vehicle one would slow down some. As you increase your speed the air drag increases exponentially (by the square ((Farmerman, I trust you will correct me if I am wrong here))). Well that's my $.02.
Try this for a bio-diesel set up. Pretty much plug and play...
http://www.makebiodiesel.com/home/home.asp
A couple guys here are using this set up. One guy filters his used motor oil from his fleet and mixes it in with his bio diesel for a ratio of 80% bio to 20% used motor oil. He has a large ranch so this is an ideal way to use it up, however the pollution factor has me concerned.
I think I'll wait for the hydrogen cars. I know! It'll be a long wait.
