December22
New U.S. emissions regulations affecting 2007 model year vehicles may force companies like Volkswagen to stop offering cars with TDI in the United States. Leftlane has received a handful of reports from VW dealers in the U.S. regarding this rumor, with each source reporting virtually the same thing. While it’s possible automakers will find a way to meet the new regulations before it begins building MY2007 cars, the current thinking is that there is no economical way to quickly comply with the new rules. Instead, VW will likely have to wait for scheduled redesigns to introduce new technologies, which means the U.S. market could be left without diesels for some time. Some manufacturers will be able to circumvent the new rules by classifying their vehicles as “trucks,” but this loophole would only be applicable to borderline crossover vehicles. Accordingly, diesel variants of vehicles like the VW Touareg are likely to be eligible for sales in the U.S. in 2007.
Good. Diesels suck and stink. No love lost in the Superpower for diesels…plus diesel is always more expensive than premium unleaded. The real answer to sustainable clean energy is hydrogen technology.
Up yours. Diesels pollute in different ways, but are inherently no worse than gas engines. Nothing feasible will be totally pollution free. With this development, there goes any hope of a bio-diesel powered car as well. I suppose we could all drive around in hydrogen bombs (never mind the cost ineffectiveness of that proposition), but why let logic get in the way…
Diesels emit soot which can be very dangerous to health in the long term and causes asthma.
Modern diesels are more powerful and efficient than petrol engines. They are just as refined, and the pollution they produce is different to, not worse than, that produced by petrol. Here in Europe, people have woken up to how good new diesel engines are, with luxury cars in particular benefitting (I believe more than 50% of S-Classes sold last year were diesel). America seems to be lagging behind in its acceptance of diesel, mainly because of foolish stereotypes bandied about by people such as the first poster.
Oh Yeah, in addition to my first post, I forgot to include the horrible rattle sounds that come from diesels. Who wants to hear that when you drive around? Since my Eurotrash friend in the fourth post does not understand the dynamic in America, I’ll explain it. We do not lag behind, we are the technological leaders and innovators of the world. That’s why we are the Superpower. We had a diesel era in the late 1970’s and early 1980’s where diesels demonstrated themselves to be inferior for all the reasons I’ve already pointed to. The only advantage to owning a diesel is that you can sneak onto a construction site in the middle of the night, or maybe your local church bus and siphon off a few gallons. Get over it, deleloping diesel technology is the wrong path and we simply understand that here.
He he.. another hillbilly posting rubish about technological leaders! I hope this story in’t true. Modern European luxury Diesels are as quite as the petrol ones esp the BMW 3.0 d, its a lovely engine which can give a much better MPG than a 3.0 petrol unit! And for the hillbilly, so if you are the technological leaders why is it that most (or shall I say ALL) of your luxury cars come from Europe and Japan?
I must say that a V6 or V8 petrol engine makes a more beautiful sound than any diesel engine. But the European diesel are way more refined than the diesels you find in the GMC, Dodge trucks. Maybe that’s why diesel is associated with noise/smelly/polluting in the US. If Petrol would cost as much as in Europe than I would change my V6 for a diesel in a heartbeat as they consumes about half what my FX35 does. I’ve been told that BMW is preparing it’s diesel engines to meet the 2007 regulation. I hope for the 520d or 535
to come to the US.
[...] Letlanenews reports rumors that new U.S. emission regulations could mean the end of diesel powered cars by 2007 as it would be uneconomical to adapt current cars to comply with the new regulations. [...]
Oh look, a redneck with internet access! Yay. Let’s run down the list, Madcapp, and see how our proud-ass Superpowery selves are doing stacked up against some other “trashy” countries’ technology: 1) imported cars are cheaper; 2) imported cars are much more reliable; 3) imported cars are more fuel-efficient (across the !@#$ing board); 4) diesel produces less pollutants per gallon burned and typical achieves higher miles-per-gallon ratings as well (so, for your math-impaired brain — you burn less fuel to go the same distance in a diesel, thus you produce less pollution overall); 5) what the hell do you think hauls *everything* in the US to where it’s going? Yup, diesel-powered trucks and trains; 6) diesel engines can be easily converted to run on biodiesel, which is cheap to make and very environmentally friendly (and that stench you whine about turns into “exhaust smells like french fries”); 7) we’re not innovating jack !@#$ these days, buddy; even our chip designs get shipped off to singapore for actual manufacture — we won’t be a superpower for very long with idiots like you around flapping those empty jaws of yours.
Wow william ferrell, your ignorance is astounding. One example of how the Superpower is the technology leader is the superbly innovative Volkswagen DSG transmission which truly is a mechanical masterpiece if you are familiar with it. Problem is the Volkswagen DSG is really a Borg Warner Dualtronic, and its do damn innovative, Mercedes-Benz and BMW signed contracts with Borg-Warner over the summer and its gonna be in their cars too, and that’s just a start. Back to diesels, they are fine for Trains and 18 Wheelers, which your stupid white trash ass undobutedly drives. Or why else would you want to drive a stupid diesel. I don’t care about environmental friendliness, I’m not some damn hippie. I just want a stable supply of energy that’s not dependant on the crazy bucketheads in the middle east. And by the way, if you don’t believe we are the Superpower, we can just claim you have weapons of mass destruction, invade your weak 3rd world country and steal all your natural resources. Happy new year - Madcapp.
Mr. Madcapp, are you seriously as stupid as your comments?
It is quite ironic that the “Super Power” you speak of, used to have 4 major American car manufactures in the 1960’s: GM, Ford, Chrysler, and AMC.
Since then,
- AMC has gone out of business,
- Chrsyler is own 57% by Mercedes which makes it a German car company
- GM is on the verge of bankrupcy
- Ford is losing market share also
- and GM will lose it’s title as the largest car company in the world to a foreign brand this year.
This is definitely a sign of a “Super Power” and “Technology Leader”……NOT!!!
Even RCA (Record Corporation of America) has been owned by Thompson (a French company) for a long time. And there are countless other examples of American inferiority which forces them to either sell to a foreign company or go bankrupt.
Have you driven a diesel car lately?
I have. And my next car WILL be a diesel.
Diesels can outperform gasoline versions and get better MPG at the same time!!
Look at the VW Toureg, a 5000+ lb. vehicle, whose diesel engine not only blows away the V-8 gasoline engine by a full second in the quarter mile, but gets 20%+ better MPG!!!
Mercedes also has a diesel model that outperforms the V-8 version, while getting better MPG.
The ONLY reason for the smell of the diesel fuel is because of the inferior American high sulfur diesel (around 500 ppm).
Low sulfur diesel (15 ppm or less), which has been available everywhere else, is finally being required in the US by October 15, 2006 at retail outlets.
Bio-Diesel has many advantages with none of the servere negatives of hybrids and all other alternative fuels.
Bio-Diesel:
- is VERY clean, environmentally safe, and non-toxic.
- has a high flash point making it the SAFEST fuel to handle, distribute, and in crashes!!!
- is inherently an excellent lubricant, making the already durable diesel engine last far past the typical 400,000+ miles.
- can be entirely manufactured in the US and completely eliminate our dependence on foreign supply for our vehicles.
- can be made from many things, including:
- wood chips
- used restaurant grease
- coal waste (which cleans up existing environmental pollution)
- seeds, grains, etc.
- and even from algae (according to MOTOR TREND, Jan 2006, page 42)!
- creates thousands more US jobs
- has NO smell (unless made by used restaurant grease, which accounts for a very small portion of all Bio-Diesel made)
Anyone who claims VW TDIs, and any other diesels, will not be sold after 2007, is totally clueless to the REAL facts.
Every manufacture I’ve talked to tells me that they are just waiting for the US to catch up with the rest of the world and offer low sulfur diesel, which it will, starting October 15, 2006.
Think about it.
- Why would car companies start selling diesels if they are going to have to stop a year later, and then service these vehicles for many years afterward?
- Why is the US government and state governments making bills now to promote Bio-Diesel if diesel cars will be outlawed after 2007?
- Why is VW working with Archer Daniels Midland (an American company), to create Bio-Diesel specs and production, of which the 5% blend (B5) has been approved, and the 20% blend (B20) is almost finalized, if diesel cars won’t be sold in the US??
Mr. Mad-CRAP, it’s the ignorant mindset like yours is why America is becoming a 3rd world country.
Diesel is the near to mid-term future. H2/fuel-cell is long-term.
But the facts remain that increasing regulations may thwrart attempts by the Europeans to bring their new high-technology diesel cars to the US because they cannot justify the economics for a relatively small percentage of diesel powered cars sold in the US.
That’s too bad for US consumers who are then forced to choose from a sea of gasoline powered cars which are all pretty much the same in terms of fuel economy unless hybrids are taken into account. Diesels are superior to gasoline engines in terms of economy of operation but this efficiency comes at a cost: the engines are generally more expensive to make, generally make more noise, are generally heavier and generally pollute in ways that are more harmful to people but less so to the environment. That is, the current levels of CO2 production is less in a diesel than in a gasoline powered car, which contributes to the greenhouse effect but the production of NOX and soot particles is generally higher in a diesel than in a gasoline engine. And while tangible research and development has been aimed at reducing these pollutants this may not be enough to appease US emission regulations for automobiles. One would hope that short term the diesel NOX and particulates could be largely eliminated using particulate traps, oxidation catalysts or post-combustion urea selective catalyst reduction (SCR) so that this technology can be used in other industries which rely heavily on diesels.
Fact is that diesel development in Europe is based on necessity: fuel prices are much higher than in the US and diesel takes about 20% less energy to refine than gasoline meaning that the pump prices equate to taxes rather than the cost of production.
Most American consumers are ignorant of new-technology European diesels: a trend US automakers would like to continue because if US consumers suddenly start clamoring for high-technology diesels US automakers stand to lose ground. And that’s not because they don’t have access to the technology through their partnerships with overseas automakers it is because that technology isn’t generally produced here which means either lost jobs or capital investments necessary to manufacture that technology here in America.
Anyone who’s driven a high-technology diesel such as the Mercedes E320 CDI will no doubt say it’s superior to the gasoline equivalent and not just in terms of fuel economy but also driveability. And that’s not using the newest 3rd generation fuel injection system either. So the facts of diesel versus gasoline engines in terms of performance and economy are academic and pointless - the evidence is quite clear in most cases. What isn’t as clear is how a sudden and massive shift in consumer preference would impact the US economy, who stands to gain and who stands to lose. I’m quite sure the US consumer wouldn’t “lose” if fuel prices are not overly influenced by undue taxes but the US consumer doesn’t have much say in the importation of European/high-tech diesels to the market, do they?
Madcapp, please stop; you are embarrassing yourself. You should not be allowed to speak for Americans - I for one disagree with each of your points. Show some respect for our brothers across the pond.
I have to agree people like the redneck that posted before make us look bad. Rednecks always have to state there openion even though no one cares for it. I drive a VW TDI great MPG and lots of power and the US gets the weak ones at that. I would love to see the Audi A2 here or the late Lupo 3L TDI. People in the US need to stop being so closed minded.
maddcap,, do you know how much a hydrogen powered fuel cell vehicle costs?? I own a 06 TDI… and cant’ wait until you tell me how you had to total “a hybrid because the battery died! a one cylinder diesel now holds the mpg record… and now a racing record at Lemans wondering if you found any fuel cell cars doing that…