Why not little Diesels to combat GW?

Question

I have been studying all the cars that get good mileage. It seems there are several small diesels that get 50MPG being sold in Europe and other locations. (Toyata Corrola - 50MPG).

There is even a large van (Like a UPS van) sold here that has a little diesel that gets 22MPG, and they are huge. I understand that it takes less energy to make diesel, and these cars can also be for Biodiesel.

The best Hybrid we have only gets 45MPG and costs a lot more. These diesels are available now, and it seems to me they would be much better for the planet. I also understand diesel pollutes less than gasoline, so these cars would be much better for GW than Hybrids, wouldn't they?

Answer 1

Be careful for what you ask, you may get it and realize you made a mistake.

First off, I am a trucker, and I have had bio-deisel forced on me by some states. When I buy that, my fuel mileage goes down, and consumption goes up due to a lack of power.

I realize that cars are lighter vehicles, but the reults are still the same mpg down as well as power. That means spending more money to go the same distance.

Answer 2

All the really big users, like large trucks and trains and even many ships, are diesel. Small cars could be diesel too, but the buyers don't seem to want to buy them all that much. But even if they did, it won't stop the rise in CO2, only slow it. Unless all diesel in the world was bio diesel. So after there is enough bio diesel being made to fuel every single diesel truck, train, ship and car, then you might have an argument to convert small cars too. But you wouldn't need to make an argument because if there was that much bio diesel being made, people would naturally want diesel cars to be able to use it.

So basically it is a complex collection of interrelated causes and effects that are hard to model or predict or control. Just like every environmental problem. Environmental problems are not simple and neither are the fixes. For example we started burning kerosene in oil lamps instead of whale oil, which was good for the whales, right? Then we started burning gasoline in cars and the streets were no longer covered in horse p**p, which was good for the roads, right? And we started burning coal instead of wood, which was good for the forests, right? Now everybody says stop burning coal and oil, forgetting all the problems we solved by starting to burn them. It never will end because every solution brings with it new problems.

Answer 3

yes but detroit is in bed with  big oil

Answer 4

For many reasons.

1) Diesels produce higher levels of other emissions than gasoline engines do.  For this reason, even small diesel engines cannot pass California emissions standards, as the people at Aptera discovered.

http://aptera.com/ask.php

2) Currently the mid-sized Prius gets equal or better mileage than much smaller diesel cars.  The next generation Prius (coming out this year) will get 80 mpg in the city.

http://www.worldcarfans.com/6070119.001/...

And that's still just a regular gas/electric hybrid.  Even better are...

3) Plug-in gas/electric hybrids and fully electric vehicles will soon be available with far better mileage and lower emissions than either small diesels or current hybrids.

I recently asked a question comparing plug-ins and EVs to the Loresmo diesel, which is a small diesel expected to get 118 mpg in 2009.

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;...

While that's very impressive mileage efficiency, it's less than half as efficient as the Aptera plug-in hybrid, just as one example.  Plus the Loresmo will still have the soot/HC/NOx emissions issues that come with diesel engines.

Answer 5

I live in UK and last year bought a 1.8 litre turbo diesel Ford Focus estate.  I get on average about 49 miles per UK gallon, and this includes some driving in very congested London traffic.  I considered a Prius or a Honda Civic hybrid but the Focus is roomier, can carry more, has better performance and is significantly cheaper.  Another factor was reviews that suggested that a diesel more nearly meets test mileage figures in real driving conditions than a hybrid.  Emissions of particulate matter and oxides of nitrogen are higher than in petrol engines but these have improved with newer engines and will be even lower in the future with the incorporation of filters and other measures.  In the UK sales of diesel cars are increasing every year and reached 40% last year.  The specified noise in my Focus diesel is actually 1 decibel lower than the comparable petrol engine although when idling it is no doubt noisier than an idling petrol engine.

I am very happy with the car.

Answer 6

I drive a 1.9 litre diesel, which, if I'm careful, will deliver 50 mpg. My car is fairly quiet as diesel engines go, but I suspect that what puts a lot of people off diesels is the 'tanky' noise they make, and the smaller diesels do sound very tanky, i.e. make the typical diesel noise and are not, to my mind,very fuel efficient ( no car is fuel efficient, even hybrids).

I saw a program on TV only a couple of nights ago where someone actually put vegetable oil into a Landrover, and it  started up OK. and they drove off in it. I would love it if I could produce my own biodiesel, or at best do what they did. One of the reasons why diesels are better for the environment is because they wok on compression, rather than straightforward ignition.

I once hired a small petrol-driven car (1.3 ltr) and I actually got less mpg from that than my own 1.8 litre car, and I base that on the fact that the engine wasn't nearly as efficient as my own engine, and thus burned more fuel. Some would argue otherwise.

A very worthwhile question, and one that will raise some interesting replies.

Answer 7

Diesels are a better choice with the following exceptions: they have poor performance for cars due to slow acceleration, the fuel isn't widely available as gasoline, the fuel tends to congeal in sub zero weather, they do produce more soot levels than gasoline, and they cost more to build and repair! Diesel fuel costs more per gallon than gasoline! They do last longer than gas engines and they can run on bio-diesel fuel which is renewable! With turbos and super chargers they can have better acceleration! You can buy fuel where truck drivers buy theirs! There are ways to handle sub cold conditions for diesels!