Panel Advises Government on Diesel’s Potential Fuel-Savings
A panel of experts advising a federal regulatory committee about available technologies to improve fuel economy has included light-duty diesel engines in its report.
The experts’ report, made public today, said that modern diesels can comply with U.S. clean-air regulations while improving fuel consumption by 30 to 40 percent, according to Automotive News.
The panel working for the National Research Council was asked to update a 2001 report on available fuel-saving technologies by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Neither diesels nor hybrids were included in the 2001 study because diesels were believed to not meet clean-air standards and hybrids were considered a niche technology. How things have changed.
But, now, the panel realized that it must work on improving gas-powered vehicles. The study will not spend considerable time on electric or fuel-cell autos because “the committee does not expect commercialization of fuel cell vehicles or widespread marketing of all-electric vehicles before 2020,
Comments
Dean
Diesel... it's about time America woke up. Better torque, more fuel economy, and it can be made cheaply and safely through waste oil from about anywhere.
Now is the time.
Cicero
I agree with Dean on this one, I love diesels and hope the rest of America catches on
pjstevens77
I'm with you on this one guys, we need to look at our friends over in Europe who have embraced the benefits of diesel for decades. Now that there is decent technology to reduce emissions, the mainstream should shift away from gas and focus on diesels. Hybrids should be what diesels were for years, a smart and slightly more expensive alternative.
chartguy
The problem is that diesels are NOT "slightly more expensive". If you buy a full-size pickup, checking the diesel option box adds $6-7,000 to the sticker. You've got to drive a lot of miles to justify that much of a premium. My hope is that as volume increases, the premium will decrease, but it certainly has not done so yet.
Today, people who buy diesel pickups tend to do it because they need the range, not because of the mileage. The range allows you to operate a snow plow longer without dropping the chains and returning to town for a fill up. You'd probably have to run 100k miles (or more) to recover the increased cost of the engine from fuel savings, and that ignores the time cost of that additional investment.
chuck goolsbee
chartguy, look at Diesel *cars* not trucks. A car can be driven with a much SMALLER displacement Diesel as compared to gasoline, and get better mileage, longer range, longer service life, and at less cost.
When I bought my Jetta TDI in 2002 it was actually LESS expensive than the gasoline version. The only reason why the engine would cost more now is due to the dealers and manufacturers jacking up the price due to demand.
When demand was low for Diesel (pre-Katrina & >$3.00 fuel) the prices were low.
--chuck
http://chuck.goolsbee.org
Trinks
In response to the comment on diesel pick-ups, it doesn't strike me as an issue that a return on investment isn't seen for almost 100k miles if the engine itself lasts beyond 200k miles. I'm not sure but I think Dodge warranties their Cummins for 200k miles with regular maintenance. That's the other thing: associated costs are lower when maintaining a large diesel engine, and I'm sure this applies to light duty diesels as well (since there's less stress on the mechanicals in a passenger car).
erth
diesels rule.
i have a 2006 tdi special edition. lots of power and 52 mpg. (and btw, this is the average mpg). if everyone drove a diesel, we could cut the fuel consumption by a third. tell this to the arabs.
RobSpeed
How much will we really save with diesel? Arounf here diesel fuel is running about 10% more expensive than unleaded, add in the up front premium price on most vehicles and I will have to drive a lot of kilometers to see any benefit.
CARSON44
In fairness to the American public, diesels have never been touted by the auto companies as being the answer. People buy what they are "sold", and no American auto maker had ever "sold" diesels. I'll bet the average Americana's knowledge of this technology is so small, it wouldn't register on a poll. As for the cost, the new Mercedes diesel is $1000.00 more than the gas model in an E series. I'm sure it's nearly the same in a VW. As the above comments show, when you factor in longevity and maintenance costs diesel is far ahead. Diesels have been around for a long time in cars but few knew about them. A friend of mine had a Mercury Linx(think Ford Escort), it had a Japanese diesel and regulary returned 50+ mpg. He paid more for it at purchase and when it was trade in time, there was a $1500.00 deduction because it was a diesel. That's old think, today used diesels are at a premium.
Mena
To be fair to reality, diesels don't sell in the US because they only occasionally meet US emissions regulations. Only recently are they able to meet them. And, YES, diesels, even in cars, cost MORE than gas engines.
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