[hayden55]

You will get 90% of the benefit on mpg of a hybrid truck if you get a manual transmission truck and add the following:

1. Electric power steering: So you can steer without being hercules. Quite a few diy electric assist steering column write ups now.

2. Kill switch: easy off without cycling interior electronics on/off every 30 seconds. Maybe even rig up a separate switch and relay to the starter to crank the truck without the key cycle when the stoplights turn green.

The only bummer here is:

No AC when the engine is off: Thats a no from me dawg. But if you could rig up an electric ac compressor or an e assist one you could have AC. That would be sick. Doable. But showing up every where sweaty is not doable.

*Also, I can go without the E assist brakes after the initial vacuum rolls off. Never really been an issue.

A Ford Ranger 3.0 5 speed manual or a First Gen Tundra v6 5 speed manual would be great candidates. Too bad you can't do the extra tall rear gear ratios like Fords in the Toyota or it could get some pretty insane gas mileage. But ultimate reliability makes up for it.


*I would love to see someone do a hybrid assist where there is a gear mesh of some sort. But not realistic. Getting the ac compressor to work engine off would be more useful to get working first.