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I’m wondering if it's more to do with diesel passenger vehicles. You have to work really hard to even find a diesel passenger car in the States. Whereas, at le

I’m wondering if it's more to do with diesel passenger vehicles. You have to work really hard to even find a diesel passenger car in the States. Whereas, at least for right now, they’re ubiquitous in the EU. (I mean an every day consumer vehicle you buy at a car dealership, ranging from a hatchback to an SUV.) Which was ostensibly good for carbon emissions, given the fuel efficiency of contemporary diesel engines. Except, oops, they were lying through their teeth about non-CO2 emissions, and they kick out a godawful amount of pollution.

TedDoesntTalk 6y ago
Right. Diesel is filthy and thankfully never became very popular in the US except for tractor/trailers and railroads. I believe wood burning fires and trash fires also contribute. Hence my comment tying soot to population density.
- perardi 6y ago
  And to check myself… https://www.dieselforum.org/diesel-drivers/clean-diesel-vehicles-available-in-the-u-s https://www.dieselforum.org/diesel-drivers/clean-diesel-vehi... Yup, outside of heavy-duty body-on-frame trucks and SUVs, they are gone now. Although I swore the Mazda CX-5 had a diesel option…
  - chrisseaton 6y ago
    > outside of heavy-duty body-on-frame trucks and SUVs But aren’t the best selling cars in the US exactly heavy-duty body-on-frame trucks and SUVs? The most popular car in the US for the last 30 years is the F-150.
    - perardi 6y ago
      Yes…but even in that class, they sell a teeny, tiny percentage as diesels. https://www.dieselforum.org/vehiclesales/u-s-vehicle-sales-dashboard https://www.dieselforum.org/vehiclesales/u-s-vehicle-sales-d... And though I cannot find a citation, I swear I have heard the best-selling F-150 engine is the turbocharged gasoline V6.
oh_sigh 6y ago
I didn't realize this until 10 years after I started feeling these feelings, but diesel exhaust elicits a strong feeling of nostalgia in me from my travels throughout Europe. I would be occasionally reminded of it in the United States but I never knew what it was until I stood next to an idling 18 wheeler
- perardi 6y ago
  Sigh, oh, that lovely passage in Proust’s In Search of Lost Time when he writes of diesel exhaust…
- cameronh90 6y ago
  Diesel exhaust smells like ice cream to me. I assume it's an association from diesel ice cream vans as a kid.
  - xyzzyz 6y ago
    I have similar association between bottled propane smell and cotton candy — cotton candy vendors around here used gas powered machines, which must have leaked during operation.
- TedDoesntTalk 6y ago
  I have the exact same nostalgia from that smell, although I was fortunate enough to know what it was at the time (“exhaust” not diesel specifically).
barney54 6y ago
Diesel is definitely part of the story. High fuel taxes in the EU help lead to more diesel given their superior fuel efficiency. But more diesels mean more particulate matter.

TedDoesntTalk 6y ago

Right. Diesel is filthy and thankfully never became very popular in the US except for tractor/trailers and railroads. I believe wood burning fires and trash fires also contribute. Hence my comment tying soot to population density.

perardi 6y ago
And to check myself… https://www.dieselforum.org/diesel-drivers/clean-diesel-vehicles-available-in-the-u-s https://www.dieselforum.org/diesel-drivers/clean-diesel-vehi... Yup, outside of heavy-duty body-on-frame trucks and SUVs, they are gone now. Although I swore the Mazda CX-5 had a diesel option…
- chrisseaton 6y ago
  > outside of heavy-duty body-on-frame trucks and SUVs But aren’t the best selling cars in the US exactly heavy-duty body-on-frame trucks and SUVs? The most popular car in the US for the last 30 years is the F-150.
  - perardi 6y ago
    Yes…but even in that class, they sell a teeny, tiny percentage as diesels. https://www.dieselforum.org/vehiclesales/u-s-vehicle-sales-dashboard https://www.dieselforum.org/vehiclesales/u-s-vehicle-sales-d... And though I cannot find a citation, I swear I have heard the best-selling F-150 engine is the turbocharged gasoline V6.

oh_sigh 6y ago

I didn't realize this until 10 years after I started feeling these feelings, but diesel exhaust elicits a strong feeling of nostalgia in me from my travels throughout Europe. I would be occasionally reminded of it in the United States but I never knew what it was until I stood next to an idling 18 wheeler

perardi 6y ago
Sigh, oh, that lovely passage in Proust’s In Search of Lost Time when he writes of diesel exhaust…
cameronh90 6y ago
Diesel exhaust smells like ice cream to me. I assume it's an association from diesel ice cream vans as a kid.
- xyzzyz 6y ago
  I have similar association between bottled propane smell and cotton candy — cotton candy vendors around here used gas powered machines, which must have leaked during operation.
TedDoesntTalk 6y ago
I have the exact same nostalgia from that smell, although I was fortunate enough to know what it was at the time (“exhaust” not diesel specifically).

barney54 6y ago

Diesel is definitely part of the story. High fuel taxes in the EU help lead to more diesel given their superior fuel efficiency. But more diesels mean more particulate matter.