Why don we use existing technology for fuel efficient vehicles?
Diesel locomotives do not use regenerative braking. They use dynamic braking. The drive motors are run “backwards” as generators, but the power is just disspated in a resistive mesh.
Electric cars have been around as long as cars have been around. The only real impediment to their use has been batteries, not the electric motors themselves. Agreed, for a purely electric vehicle, but I thought we’re talking about a hybrid diesel-electric system using the diesel engine to power motors via an alternator. diesels doesn’t seem to be an impediment to their use in tiny, efficient cars Also agreed, although, however you slice it a diesel engine will always be heavier than a petrol engine of the same power output at around small car sizes. Diesel engine and materials technology has improved to the point where the extra weight can be trumped by the better efficiency of a good diesel design. Insert a strong enough motor into that transmission and you’ve lost that gain and then some. next to combustion engines, electrics are a dream at continually changing speed. Also agreed, but I was discussing the inapplicability of comparison with a diesel-electric locomotive, as discussed
