Big serious trucks are not usually what comes to mind when you think of the word “hybrid” but in a world of $100+ barrels of light sweet crude, Peterbilt is putting out some products that may change that. Its medium duty Peterbilt Model 330 (photo above) is just like a Prius. Except it takes diesel and boasts as much torque as a herd of Prii.

Featuring the Eaton parallel hybrid power system, the Model 330 and Model 335 both offer electric motor assist, regenerative braking, lithium ion batteries and fat tax credits. The 330 uses about 30 percent less fuel in an urban driving cycle while the 335 can save a whopping 60 percent when it’s used in a utility configuration. How does it do that? Say you’re up in the bucket restoring power after a thunderstorm, the battery supplies the juice you need to maneuver. If you need more than the battery has, the motor will automatically turn on and quickly recharge it.

Peterbilt has another type of truck that features Eaton’s Hydraulic Launch Assist (HLA). The imaginatively-named Model 320 is designed for “vocational stop-and-go applications” or “garbage truck,” in the modern parlance. As a vehicle that may stop and go a thousand or more times a day, this Peterbilt takes advantage of hydraulics to recover up to 75 percent of the energy from stopping to use for relaunching.

As has been found with other heavy duty hybrids, maintenance, as well as fuel, savings are significant with these workhorses. Quieter operation and lower environmental impact seal the deal.

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