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Ben, I think you have it pretty thought out on why 4wd uses more fuel. All of the above.
Creating a fully redundant hybrid with the front and rear wheels driven by completely seperate systems seems like alot of weight and complexity, especially in a truck.
There is power loss in power transmission systems when the torque turns 90*, I seem to recall it's like 92% efficient or something. With a transfer case and front differential there are two additional 90* turns, additional gears in the transfer case and more seals all have losses of thier own that add up.
Using a tansverse engine/transmission in front and an electric in the back might be more efficient. You could use a smaller engine/trans from a car in the front to optimize efficiency, with the electric powering the rear tires, total power output could be equal to the original configuration.
Then again, the complexity issue. Hmmmm.
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