Day 4 was driving west, in the far west to be more precise. I84 in Wyoming, Utah, Idaho and Oregon. This is one of the most scenic routes I have ever traveled (and I have been in a lot of places around the globe). This is beautiful USA at its best.
Not only was it stunning, gorgeous and awesome all at the same time, it also gave me a good chance to work with Jake the Brake. In Utah there were a couple shorter 5% downhill grades with a 65 mph speed limit. My combination weighs 60k lbs. I left the tranny in top gear and switched on the engine brake. My great DD15 gives me 3 settings for the engine brake - low, middle, high. I switched to high and the engine kept the truck nicely at 65 mph without needing the foot brake at all. Not only is the DD15's engine brake performance very impressive, its silence is even more impressive. Very comfortable and great to use.
The real downhill test came in Oregon shortly after crossing the Idaho state border. 6% downhill for 6 miles. The traffic signs give you plenty of warning so you get a lot of time to get ready and pick the right gear. I opted for the top-1 gear and then splitted that gear. I did not have to tap the brake a single time and was able to regulate the speed nicely at 45 mph by switching the engine brake back and forth between mid and high. Here again, very easy and comfortable to use. I think I am falling in love with this engine. (No worries, Schmusi, it is just an engine.)
I84 in Wyoming and Oregon also lets you encounter a lot of windmills. Beside those, I also saw some solar panels in Idaho. And straw, lots of straw on Idaho farms. This straw would make a great feedstock for producing 2nd generation biodiesel - so called BTL - Biomass To Liquid. It made me wonder if the farmers ever use all the straw they produce.
All these sightings made me think of Detroit Diesel's and Daimler's strategy for sustainable mobility. In essence it is a 4 step approach :
1) from clean conventiol, fossil based fuels in combination with highly efficient vehicle and powertrain technologies, to
2) natural gas such as CNG - compressed natural gas and LNG - liquified natural gas, t0
3) Biomass To Liquid fuels
4) fuel cell powered by hydrogen.
Hydrogen created by clean energy sources such as wind, solar, water and geothermal sources that is then used as a fuel in a fuel cell to power a vehicle is the ultimate and longterm solution towards sustainable mobility.
Energy from water, solar, wind or plants really all have the same source : energy from the sun. Of all the sun's energy hitting the earth's surface, there is only a small fraction that we need to meet the energy demands of human society around the globe. All we need to do is capture that little fraction of energy and make it available in such a way that it can be used for mobile applications. This really is sustainable mobility. It is good to know that Daimler is working hard on turning this vision into a reality.
Miguel
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