| Clean Diesel Invasion! |
| Written by Hank Green | ||
| Tuesday, 17 July 2007 | ||
 In America we still think of diesel cars as loud and stinky, but in the last few years, clean-burning diesel engines have become quite desireable as a fuel-efficient choice for the rest of the world. So guess what, folks are predicting that the larges automobile market in the world (the U.S.) is about to catch up. By 2010, diesels will be burning up American roads. Right now our options are limited to large trucks and some Volkswagon and Mercedes models. But soon we can expect American diesels from every manufacturer in America except Ford. The good news is that diesel cars get better gas mileage than their gasoline counter parts and are only marginally more expensive. The Mercedes BuTec diesel line (pictured above) has already been touted as some of the most fuel efficient luxury cars in America. You can read more about the coming of the diesels at BusinessWeek and AutoBlogGreen.
Comments
(10)
RE:
written by Concerned , July 17, 2007
Honda is beating them to it
written by Steve , July 17, 2007
Honda is releasing a clean diesel Accord in American in September of 2007
http://www.autocar.co.uk/News/NewsArticle/Honda-Accord/225926/
Why not Ford.
written by Rob , July 17, 2007
Why aren't Ford going to produce diesel cars in the USA. They already have a range of proven diesel engines, used in the UK, for cars and vans.
Surely it should be simple matter of shipping the designs back home. My Ford Fiesta does a steady 52mpg and when the petrol/diesel blockade was on a few years ago, I managed well over 60mpg, with a light right foot.
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written by Peeples , July 18, 2007
Yeah, wait until lazy Americans let the urea tank go dry.
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written by Erik , July 18, 2007
Vehicle Diesel has another benefit not quickly noticed. Because biodiesel may be mixed in any ratio and burned in any diesel engine (stand-by generators as well), we can control our own fuel supply safely. Gasoline (and ethanol) are explosive. Diesel and biodiesel are not. They burn, but do not explode like in the action movies.
The real benefit though is that vegetable oil may be used to fuel diesel engines. Straight veg oil (SVO), waste veg oil (WVO),100% biodiesel (B100), 20%biodiesel (B20) .... starting to see a pattern ? This all leads to the point of supply and storage. Petroleum is highly regulated to transport, distribute, transfer, AND store. Vegetable oil is well,... vegetable oil. If it is missing the glycerin, because it's been converted to biodiesel, it's still safe to store at home and can keep us independent at a different level. We must have a diesel engine to consume biodiesel though.
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written by immrlizard , July 18, 2007
@ Concerned
As nice as an electric vehicle would be nice to have, there are many flawed concepts in their wake. One and probably the most relevant is where do we get the electric from? The US has the worst electric grid of any developed country. We are too worried about invading other countries to make a buck to fix what is wrong here. If by some chance they overcome all of the negatives facing them and do manage to create a usable electric vehicle I wouldn't buy one from GM. They have proven their inability to put out a reliable vehicle.
Good for other countries
written by commonjoe , July 18, 2007
Diesel is a better, more fuel efficient engine than gasoline and a step closer to green.
Biodiesel is a good source of cleaner fuel, but unless you start creating it from algae oil then we're in the same boat as Opec oil. Currently the only efficient source is used vegetable oil, as opposed to fresh. You get into ethical issues when you start destroying potential food supply to run cars. However, if we start using desert areas for high yield oil algae farms then we get much closer to greenness and self reliance.
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written by vee , July 20, 2007
I don't know which is worse - the (bio)diesel cult or the PHEV zealots. More annoying than Jehovah's Witnesses or Hare Krishnas.
Biodiesel from chicken fat
written by Andreas , July 22, 2007
> Currently the only efficient source is used vegetable oil, as opposed to fresh.
I've been filling up my Jetta TDI with biodiesel made from chicken fat. We have a lot of chicken farms in Georgia, and some enterprising folks have been turning the trimmings from the butchering process into diesel fuel. It's wonderful stuff compared to standard diesel: no smoke, less smell during start-up, and the engine runs much smoother and quieter. The only downside is that I loose about 2 MPG (39 MPG vs. 41 MPG).
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written by Hassan Tuk , December 10, 2007
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The Chevrolet is the only major company out there with a clue when it comes to this future stuff. Check out the Chevy Volt Concept. Thats what I'm talking about.