- Nov 12, 2004
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Getting near another automobile purchase, and I'm evaluating various options.
Some say that legislation by the Bush administration over the last few years has effectively killed any good foreign diesel import cars while protecting gas-guzzling Detroit trucks (yay American jobs and crappy quality, boo natural resources and world stability).
Others champion the Bush EPA mandate of Ultra-Low Sulfur Diesel, which reduces the previous Low Sulfur Diesel 500 ppm to ULSD 15 ppm, and goes into effect for all new diesel engines in 2006-2007 time frame. They say this will encourage the adoption of European diesel technology in the US and invigorate the consumer diesel car market.
While I was initially excited about hybrid technology, the newness has worn off and reality has arrived. Gas-hybrid is not the magic bullet I had hoped, based on local environmental and economic factors:
* long commutes to work through mixed highway and street conditions, with variable high speed sections and bumper-to-bumper traffic
* very hot summer, unbearable without an air conditioner
* cold winter, unbearable without a heater
* higher cost compared to conventional 30+mpg gas vehicles
So here's the rub. Will diesel be the killer fuel technology, providing both the horsepower we know and love, while increasing fuel efficiency and reducing emissions? Or is it just another oil trap, designed to perpetuate 100 more years of OPEC dominance?
Some say that legislation by the Bush administration over the last few years has effectively killed any good foreign diesel import cars while protecting gas-guzzling Detroit trucks (yay American jobs and crappy quality, boo natural resources and world stability).
Others champion the Bush EPA mandate of Ultra-Low Sulfur Diesel, which reduces the previous Low Sulfur Diesel 500 ppm to ULSD 15 ppm, and goes into effect for all new diesel engines in 2006-2007 time frame. They say this will encourage the adoption of European diesel technology in the US and invigorate the consumer diesel car market.
While I was initially excited about hybrid technology, the newness has worn off and reality has arrived. Gas-hybrid is not the magic bullet I had hoped, based on local environmental and economic factors:
* long commutes to work through mixed highway and street conditions, with variable high speed sections and bumper-to-bumper traffic
* very hot summer, unbearable without an air conditioner
* cold winter, unbearable without a heater
* higher cost compared to conventional 30+mpg gas vehicles
So here's the rub. Will diesel be the killer fuel technology, providing both the horsepower we know and love, while increasing fuel efficiency and reducing emissions? Or is it just another oil trap, designed to perpetuate 100 more years of OPEC dominance?