Diesel Auto Wave Soon To Arrive - Not Just German, But Also Japanese Beginning This Fall - NYT

[hatrack]

AFTER years in the automotive wilderness, largely exiled to the smoky borders of truck stops, diesel is coming home. Americans may not recognize its freshly scrubbed face. A 19th-century invention by Rudolf Diesel, the diesel engine has always been known for outstanding fuel efficiency, with better mileage (by 25 percent to 40 percent) than gasoline. But the kerosenelike fuel and the engines that burn it were dirty, noisy, dawdling and even deadly, linked to increased risk of cancer and respiratory disease.

That has all changed, in part because of cleaner-burning fuel — its 2006 rollout had been mandated in 2000 by the Clinton administration — that has 97 percent less of the sulfur responsible for diesel engines’ sooty particulates.

The low-sulfur fuel, hailed by the Environmental Protection Agency as a historic advance, has opened the door to sophisticated emissions controls that let diesel engines meet the strict pollution standards of California. Those rules, the world’s most stringent by far, require 2009-model diesels to be as green as gasoline or even hybrid models. In the meantime, advances like turbocharging and high-pressure fuel injection have transformed diesel cars from soot-belching slowpokes with a telltale clickety-clack sound to smooth, tidy and powerful machines that many Americans would have a hard time distinguishing from gasoline models.

EDIT

The new diesel disciples are not just the usual German suspects. Three Japanese companies — Honda, Nissan and Subaru — are ramping up the technology. Long known for efficient gasoline engines, Honda will offer its first American diesel next year, as an option on the Acura TSX sedan. A similar diesel Honda from Europe that I recently tested achieved a wallet-friendly 53 m.p.g. on the highway.

EDIT

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/18/automobiles/18DIESEL.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

[splat]

1. Diesel averages $4.482 a gallon; no thanks, keep those cars

[Autumn Colors]

10. Yeah, but at 60 miles per gallon, that's cheaper than gas

My initial thought was that diesel was more expensive than gas, but was looking at some diesel cars (i.e. VW Rabbit/Golf) and they seem to get twice as many miles per gallon as the average car and 3x the mileage of the average SUV.

PLUS, you can use biodiesel in them .... or make your own!

http://www.journeytoforever.org/biodiesel_make.html

Was looking at all of this awhile back and thought that if a person could make a deal with a restaurant or two where they'd give you their used cooking oil for free (a deal for them since they wouldn't have to pay a degreaser to haul it away), this stuff could be cooked up very cheaply -- only having to pay for the cheesecloth to strain the food particles out of the oil and the additional chemicals to make the biodiesel.

My next car will definitely be a diesel ... hopefully there will be diesel hybrids by then.

[kristopher]

11. Not necessarily cheaper.

You also have to factor in extra cost for the price of the diesel engine - typically $1500-$2000 I think.

I'm waiting until 2012 and buying an electric drive.

[Eurobabe]

2. Great, now that diesel is more expensive than regular gas

Last diesel I saw in the US was $4.55. Regular $3.85

[rusty_parts2001]

4. Day late, dollar short

[AlecBGreen]

14. yes, diesel is currently more expensive

but i can grow it on my farm :) Gasoline? Not so much...

[Fenris]

3. Just in time for the supply to start running short.

Diesel's probably not going to come down in price anytime in the near future.

[TheFarseer]

5. the first two responders are missing a very important point

Diesel costs less than gas to refine, so we could actually save on refining costs. So why is it more expensive at the pump? Very simply because refineries are concentrating on refining gasoline (which is what most people use) I suppose to prevent armed mobs from lynching all the oil executives. Diesel could just as easily cost less than gas, as it did just a few short years ago before this slow motion Armageddon of the oil crisis really exploded.

[splat]

6. The Saudis made the point that demand for diesel is rising as our gas usage drops

They're happy with the balance, and see no reason to lower the price of gasoline while demand drops. Diesel, on the other hand, is more profitable...

It was all on NPR yesterday.

[Trillo]

7. Efficiency-Market-based pricing.

If diesel engines are 25-40% more efficient than gasoline, then the MBA sees a value added market that costs 25-40% more at retail for diesel fuel. That it may cost less than gasoline to refine is a real bonus, for that boosts producers and sellers profit even higher. It's kind of the opposite of Free-Market pricing, I suppose that is why Biz leaders cry out "Free Market, Free Market" at every opportunity.

It seems the concept of pricing something at production cost + reasonable profit was disposed of decades ago.

[old mark]

8. Here in SE Pennsylvania..

Deisel fuel is nearly $5/gallon.
Premium gas is about $4.15.

I'll keep my old VW.

mark

[Davis_X_Machina]

9. More flexible than gas engines when...

...second-generation bio-alternatives come on line.

[silverojo]

12. What a stupid idea

First off, diesel is expensive as hell. Secondly, the emissions from diesel engines are horrendous. Hell, I even know chain smokers who can't stand the stench of diesel.

This is not the answer to the problem of making the air cleaner.

[NickB79]

13. Just in time for diesel shortages and rationing!!!

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=115x148746

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

15. Biodiesel sells for about $5/gallon at the Los Angeles Biodiesel Coop

But it's a lot less polluting than diesel made from 100% petroleum. Hopefully, in time, with new technologies such as extraction from saltwater algae (which I understand has an extremely high yield of energy per pound), the costs can go down.

[roflwaffle]

16. cost per btu

FWIW, the difference in gasoline and diesel prices tend to reflect the difference in energy content of the two fuels. For instance, diesel has ~14% more energy per gallon IIRC, and it costs ~14cents more per dollar here than gasoline. There are regional and seasonal variations, but for the most part the pricing has followed this difference. The weakness of the dollar and switch to ULSD, recently in offroad apps, has skewed this to an extent, but for the most part IME it holds true.

[hogwyld]

17. I was in Germany recently

And was fortunate enough to get a diesel Mercedes as a rental car. No clackity clack, no smoke, smooth as satin, and at 200 kmh on the autobahn, pulls only 3k rpm. Only did this for a couple of miles, and was still being blown away by other cars. Of course, at the end of the week, paying 50 euro to refill the tank was painful...

[wtmusic]

18. Chocolate, Vanilla...

Just as expensive, still dirty (unless you choose one of the luxury sedans which requires urea refills to cut NOX emissions), still ME-reliant. No doubt using biodiesel will void the warranty.

Designed to take your eyes off plug-in hybrids and especially battery electrics, which would fulfill the daily needs of 90% of Americans, be twice as clean, and cost half as much to drive.

[Ganja Ninja]

19. If only I have a job a year from now I might be able to buy one.

I don't see how the economy can stand another 6 months of gas price increases before the whole thing comes to a grinding halt.