The Big 3 and Diesel Engines in Trucks
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I know there are big emissions regulations preventing more diesels on American roads. There is also some sort of international treaty agreement that divvies out the split between jet fuel, #1 diesel, #2 diesel, and gasoline. America has more trucks and jets, so we have less diesel available for cars and trucks. This makes diesel a little more expensive here.In America we tax diesel at the same rate as gasoline (I think). In Yurrup, dieselgets taxed at a lower rate. The fallout is that doesels make less financial sense in the USA. An observation of mine is that diesels sold for passenger car use in America have proven to be unreliable and/or expensive to maintain. Mechanics LOVE the Mercedes 300TD, a great revenue builder.Please don't write me back about your Mercedes 240D that went 500K with no problems. I can match any of those true stories with true stories about Mercedes diesels that eat $10K on a biannual basis...
thousands of units that get and have gotten 10-12 mpg in REAL fuel economy for the same units getting twich the fuel economy. There's a 21% energy tariff in making fuel which puts this way on the plus side in terms of petroleum use reduction.
Think of how much fuel would have been save if every swinging Explorer/Excursion/Navigator/Hummer/and any other rolling consumption machine had a sensible diesel in it.
But the real goal in the US is to sell more oil. Oil is mined for about $10 a barrel, and sold at $60. That's a HUGE profit margin.
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That's what I'm saying. The US auto industry supports so much of the global economy that "they" have to manage it to not impact too much with the side effects. We, still being those with the lion's share of the global pie, are elected to "take the hits" so that the trains stay on time everywhere else.
Naturally, some do profit from the administration of this globally reaching enterprise ..but don't CEO's deserve something for such noble tasks of such importance??
Naturally, some do profit from the administration of this globally reaching enterprise ..but don't CEO's deserve something for such noble tasks of such importance??
Good points all. I am still looking to get a diesel in the next few years. I am going to wait until this truck gives up the ghost before I do anymore car/truck buying. I think that once we get some good diesel mechanic numbers out there and more diesel engines that are more common on our roads, then we will see the maintenance and price of ownership go down.
IMO, you guys should be really careful what you wish for.
In Oz, diesel was always around 80% of the price of petrol. Partly because there was excess of that fraction in the columns, so the price was down.
The people who ran diesels (mostly 4WDers and European imports (although there was an Isuzu Gemini available)) put up with slow, smelly vehicles, and saved enormously in running costs.
Improvements in engines made diesels more attractive, and consumption rose to the point where it was no longer "left-overs", and the prices started to rise. Currently it's 10-20% more than petrol.
I'm still enjoying my diesel, as at 10km/l, it's nearly 50% better economy than my 4Runner (7km/l) still saves me a motza. Plus the turbodiesel can tow three tonnes legally and is far quicker up hills. 75km tank has a range of 750km, meaning a lot less fill-ups.
If you guys get your wish of turbodiesels being common, market forces will quickly drive the fuel price through the roof.
(Oz Govt gives you $2,000 rebate to convert to LPG, another "waste stream" fuel...I wonder how long the people crowing about their low running costs will be doing so.)
In Oz, diesel was always around 80% of the price of petrol. Partly because there was excess of that fraction in the columns, so the price was down.
The people who ran diesels (mostly 4WDers and European imports (although there was an Isuzu Gemini available)) put up with slow, smelly vehicles, and saved enormously in running costs.
Improvements in engines made diesels more attractive, and consumption rose to the point where it was no longer "left-overs", and the prices started to rise. Currently it's 10-20% more than petrol.
I'm still enjoying my diesel, as at 10km/l, it's nearly 50% better economy than my 4Runner (7km/l) still saves me a motza. Plus the turbodiesel can tow three tonnes legally and is far quicker up hills. 75km tank has a range of 750km, meaning a lot less fill-ups.
If you guys get your wish of turbodiesels being common, market forces will quickly drive the fuel price through the roof.
(Oz Govt gives you $2,000 rebate to convert to LPG, another "waste stream" fuel...I wonder how long the people crowing about their low running costs will be doing so.)
Rand:
Yes, the emissions of light/medium duty diesels is quite different than heavy duty diesels. A paper that deals with HD particulate emissions is in press, and the PI hasn't sent me the promised electronic copy yet. PM emissions for the HD diesels is in the 1000 mg/mile range.
Here's some data from a small study that we participateed in that invlolved pulling vehicles out of the parking lot and putting them on a dynamometer under controlled conditions.
Normally operating gasoline: 10 mg/mile
Current tech (1996+) diesel, mix LD/MD: 110 mg/mile
1991 MD diesel, mechanical injection: 330 mg/mile
1999 Honda Accord ULEV: < 3 mg/mile
Based on this study, light/medium diesels emit 11X more than gasoline engines. It looks as if the average HD over the road diesel emits 100X as much as a gasoline engine and 300X-400X more than ULEV gasoline engines.
The 2007 regulations deal with the particulate, 2010 with NOX. Combine that with the lower CO2 emissions of a diesel and the environmental argument goes away by 2010.
Ed
Yes, the emissions of light/medium duty diesels is quite different than heavy duty diesels. A paper that deals with HD particulate emissions is in press, and the PI hasn't sent me the promised electronic copy yet. PM emissions for the HD diesels is in the 1000 mg/mile range.
Here's some data from a small study that we participateed in that invlolved pulling vehicles out of the parking lot and putting them on a dynamometer under controlled conditions.
Normally operating gasoline: 10 mg/mile
Current tech (1996+) diesel, mix LD/MD: 110 mg/mile
1991 MD diesel, mechanical injection: 330 mg/mile
1999 Honda Accord ULEV: < 3 mg/mile
Based on this study, light/medium diesels emit 11X more than gasoline engines. It looks as if the average HD over the road diesel emits 100X as much as a gasoline engine and 300X-400X more than ULEV gasoline engines.
The 2007 regulations deal with the particulate, 2010 with NOX. Combine that with the lower CO2 emissions of a diesel and the environmental argument goes away by 2010.
Ed
The emissions hurdle is extremely difficult to clear. Caterpillar was the first one to do this, but heres how they acheived it: TWO TURBOCHARGERS forcing the recycled exhaust with a boost pressure of 50 PSI. These engines run at 220-240 DEGREES in the middle of winter. I think it may be quite a while until this can be accomplished on a smaller displacement engine as there won't be enough mass to absorb the extreme temps that are created. In a 2000 MACK running at 180 degrees, the oil runs 20-35 degrees hotter. If you look at a new CAT. running at 220 the oil temp. will exceed 260 degrees on a long grade and this is a critical area.
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