I can remember when I first started driving back in the early '80s there were a lot of diesels around. I know there still are, but nowhere near as many. And it seems that today's diesels don't get the same mileage as the old ones. As a matter of fact, I'm pretty sure I remember the VW Diesel Rabbit getting insane mileage (like close to 50 mpg!) Heck, that's nearly as good as the best hybrids today. What happened? Was it stricter emissions standards? Why could we get those numbers back then, but barely break 35mpg today?

 

Theres some conspiracy floating around that the gov't killed the electric car and good mpg in the 80's. But I really dont know the true answer. Good question though. Definantly worth discussion.

 

that would make sense (the conspiracy to kill the electric cars and good mpg) so they can make more money off of gas and oil sales.. of course to fund all the bs their doing..

 

Most people just didnt like the fact they spewed out black clouds with every stomp of the pedal and the acceleration made the xB look like an Indy car.

That is the average Americans view on diesels, and it is wrong today. One look into the European market shows just how far they have come....clean, quiet and super/turbo charged are becoming the norm. Diesel engines are more efficient than gasoline engines, in small part, because diesel fuel contains more energy than gasoline. The regulations aganist them in CA will keep them out of this state unfortunately.

Diesel engines are more efficient than gasoline engines, in small part, because diesel fuel contains more energy than gasoline. Modern diesels have exhaust that, on a mile-to-mile basis, is close to gasoline in terms of smog forming pollution. Already, because they dont need to burn as much fuel, they emit less carbon dioxide than gasoline engines.

Diesels will soon leave hybrids behind : http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortu...0259/index.htm

 

I'm not going to say that it couldn't have been a conspiracy. It certainly could have been i guess. But my point is that they already had the cars. The diesle Rabbit was already in production. My guess is more along the lines of emission problems. Those early diesles were real polluters.

 

heres just a little thing I found.

http://zeroemission.blogspot.com/200...larity-to.html



http://www.autobloggreen.com/ <- heres a site all about alternative fuels. Maybe I think as consumers we'd rather read about gasoline engines than Biodiesel, Diesel, Hybrids, and Electrics. Because this site has a ton of crap in it. I didnt know some of these makers were releasing new diesels.

 

There are state specific laws regarding emissions, not just on diesels.

The specific requirement is LEV II. Interestingly enough, the U.S. emissions laws are much more strict than overseas, which is why they get the diesels and we don't.

However, they're getting better, and with the diesel hybrids coming out, they'll be a huge hit here, I'm sure. Imagine at VW TDI hybrid... that should get well over 65mpg, methinks.

 

LOL...true. That's probably a lot closer to why they lost popularity.

 

With only a few exceptions, the hybrids that are currently on the market are for performance and not gas savings (though that happens too, albeit very little).

For example: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honda_Accord_Hybrid

And this: http://www.egmcartech.com/2007/09/24...cient-hybrids/

I own a 1987 MB 300 Diesel Turbo... it does spew black smoke, but it's a rocket - and I can get from Philadelphia to Albany, NY in half a tank of gas.

 

Oh, I totally agree with you. I was just talking about peoples perceptions.

90% or more of current diesel productions are turbo charged, some supercharged. I have ridden in a few and can say without a doubt that they have serious get-up-and-go to them.

 

Imagine a turbo-diesle xA!

 

okay, the reason for diesels decline in the 80's is this. gasoline was expensive, so car makers sold lots of diesel powered vehicles because diesel was cheaper and was only used by large trucks and tractors.

but now you have all these passenger cars running on diesel, spewing black smoke in the air, and smelling like butt. these old diesel vehicles polluted alot more than regular gasoline powered cars, so the government raised taxes on diesel to make it cost about the same as gasoline so people would go back to using gasoline powered engines.

diesels did get better mpg, lasted longer, but the smelled and were loud and kinda everything, even you, your garage and driveway would reak of diesel. most of that is testimony from my mom.

but over the years, especially in europe, diesel powered passenger vehicles have been getting very advanced and efficient and refined. and i have been saying for years now that the next alternative fuel source should be bio-diesel because america has plenty of waste kitchen oil that can be used for making bio-diesel.

 

I've seen vehicles that were converted to run on used kitchen oil. It's a very interesting concept, but not one that I see as a future for mass-produced cars. There would need to be a huge system implemented for getting that used oil to a gas station near you. After all, we can't exactly show up at the back door of our local McDonalds for a refill. Also, I doubt the supply could keep up with demand. If we had even 10% of our cars converted over to burn used cooking oil, there wouldn't be enough to go around. I think it's great that people are developing this technology, but I just don't see it as a nation-wide answer.

 

behind every single restaurant that uses a deep fryer is a resevoir behind it that they fill with waste kitchen oil. restaurants have to pay for it to be properly disposed of. if you want, you can roll up to a restaurant with a drum and a pump and they'll let you have it, free of charge.

from there, you perform a titration test to see how much lye you need to add to the bio diesel. overal it costs like 70 to 80 cents a gallon to make your own bio diesel.

and really, with all the mcdonalds, popeyes, kfc, taco bell, burger kings, wendys, jack in the box, chinese restaurants and every other restaurant in american that produced waste kitchen oil, i'd be surprised if we can't keep up with supply and demand.

and most cars can run on bio diesel from the factory. like dodge ram diesel pick ups. it works just like regular diesel, the only problem is the hoses and seals have to be synthetic, because bio diesel dissolves rubber.

maybe we don't have enough to make all passenger cars run on biodiesel, but some sort of biodiesel/petroleum diesel combination. it would work better than e85 gas, because e85 only gets 3/4 the mpg that pure gas does.

 

Oh I agree with you that there is a LOT of used cooking oil available. I just don't think that there is anywhere near enough to sustain America's huge consumption needs. I think it's a great idea. I love to see ANY idea that helps lessen our dependance on foreign oil. I think any combination of bio-diesle, hybrid technology, ethanol/flex fuel, or fuel cell tech is well worth looking into.

 

lets start a campaign then.

COME ON AMERICA! EAT FRIED FATTY FOODS TO LESSEN OUR DEPENDENCE ON FOREIGN OIL!!!!

wow, when you ask americans to eat to lessen dependence on foriegn oil, you get a surprisingly great response.

 

lol..we might lessen our dependence on foriegn oil, but it won't matter because we'll all be dead from heart attacks!

 

Yeah I don't understand why fast food companies aren't putting money into research for bio-diesel. I mean in reality their waste would become profit as they could sell their crude waste to get it refined. That and most if not all cities' building codes require that you have a oil interceptor in the sanitary lines of restarunts before it reaches the sanitary main at the street, and that interceptor needs to be emptied routinely by an outside company who could also sell their crude waste.

the is no limit, oh wait yeah there is, our government....

 

I think you're right. They spewed huge amounts of particulates into the air. Detroit was getting hammered by gasoline-powered imports from Japan and need (and was better-equipped) to respond there first.

Today's diesels are much cleaner and I think we'll see many more companies going that way. Even Hybrid/Diesel cars and trucks.

 

They could set it up tight at McDonalds... 10 gallons of biodiesel with every happy meal purchased.