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That's a real mystery to me. Seriously, it's baffling. I live in the US and drive a diesel Passat, and I regularly get 40+ mpg without paying attention to how
by pingswept 18y ago
That's a real mystery to me. Seriously, it's baffling.
I live in the US and drive a diesel Passat, and I regularly get 40+ mpg without paying attention to how I drive or particularly close attention to whether my tires are fully inflated.
To address the comparisons you brought up above, some are clearly wrong:
High mass-- irrelevant; gas mileage is higher.
High bulk-- irrelevant; the car is normal sized.
High smog pollution-- not since the introduction of ultra-low sulfur diesel in the US in 2007.
The particulates are still worse, but diesel wins on the rest, mostly through efficiency.
That leaves the causes of the poor market acceptance as
Poor performance.
High cost.
High noise pollution.
Something else we haven't thought of
I can't speak for anyone other than myself, but the performance is great; the acceleration is particularly good above 30 or 40 mph. From a maintenance perspective, I have done literally zero maintenance on the car in the 3 years I've owned it other than to fix a leak from a clogged roof drain.
On cost, I've been saving money on gas on a per-mile basis since I bought it. So far, I think I've saved around $1000 on gas. I don't know about the market price for diesels vs. equivalent gas cars across the market, but I'd be surprised if I lost on this.
The difference in engine noise is not noticeable inside the car; I don't know whether my neighbors hate it or not. I am quite certain that engine noise was not a factor in my purchasing decision at all.
So, I don't know, gravitycop. I'm as mystified as you are. If diesels are this great, why doesn't everyone in the US buy them?
My best guess is that people don't think of it as an option. They remember the loud, smelly diesels of the 70's and think, "Hell, no, I want a nice shiny Honda Accord!"
- gravitycop 18y agohttp://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=424877 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=424877 12 points by demallien 20 days ago | link Hey! Put some carriage returns in there! You're screwing up the page rendering...
- pingswept 18y agoFixed. I was briefly irritated with whoever was screwing up the rendering. Then I realized it was me. Damn! Thanks, gcop.
- gravitycop 18y agoHigh mass-- irrelevant; gas mileage is higher. What about the increased tire-wear and decreased handling that I mentioned? http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=458104 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=458104 How can one make a car's engine heavier without certeris paribus making those two things worse? High bulk-- irrelevant; the car is normal sized. Engineers have to shoehorn engines into engine bays. The larger the engine, the more expensive the shoehorning. Their are myriad examples in the automotive press of automakers running into the engine-bay-size obstacle when trying to fit larger, more-powerful engines into existing car models. High smog pollution-- not since the introduction of ultra-low sulfur diesel in the US in 2007. NOx emissions are not affected by fuel sulfur level. Cleaning up the smog emissions of diesels still requires expensive bandaids that gasoline engines (as long as they operate at low-enough temperatures) do not require. If diesel-level NOx emissions were allowed for gasoline engines, then ceteris paribus gasoline engines would be more powerful and efficient and less costly. Originally (under the EPA's Tier 1 regulation), there was a dual standard (gasoline and diesel) for light-vehicle smog emissions. http://www.dieselnet.com/standards/us/ld.php http://www.dieselnet.com/standards/us/ld.php Now, there is a single standard (Tier 2 regulation). http://www.dieselnet.com/standards/us/ld_t2.php http://www.dieselnet.com/standards/us/ld_t2.php The same emission limits apply to all vehicles regardless of the fuel they use. That is, vehicles fueled by gasoline, diesel, or alternative fuels all must meet the same standards. Since light-duty emission standards are expressed in grams of pollutants per mile, vehicles with large engines (such light trucks or SUVs) have to use more advanced emission control technologies than vehicles with smaller engines in order to meet the standards.