Why don't we all drive diesel cars? Or at most diesel/electric hybrids?

[nerp]

Yeah, but it's still a Chevy Cruze.

 

[LTC8K6]

I'm just gonna leave this here:

That's the vehicle I looked up to see if modern vehicles still had glow plugs. It does. It also has a 5 gallon DEF tank and a DPF. Base price is $25,695.00, well north of a gasoline powered base model at $18,095.00, and $1K north of an LTZ.

LTZ is 26/38 mpg
Diesel is 27/48 mpg

ECO manual is 28/42 and costs $20,760.00

So, I would still take something other than the diesel for economics.

It also lost to the 2013 Jetta TDI in the comparo. :biggrin:

 

[exdeath]

We should focus on developing fusion power for infrastructure.

Then things that aren't worth it right now like spending more energy to produce hydrogen than you get back won't matter.

Some promising progress at the national ignition facility lately.

Bottom line is if look elsewhere than developing sustainable synthetic liquid fuels for portable transport applications, you are wasting time. Batteries will never have the molecular energy density and range as a liquid fuel. More than 80% of the mass and volume in a battery is dead weight and doesn't even contribute to energy.

And we have to accept that short of finding it free in the ground, that the cost for the convenience of high density mobile fuels is the ineffective conversion factor (more energy to make the fuel than the fuel itself contains). Thus, the bigger picture of infrastructure.

We need a Manhattan Project or put a man on the moon level of national effort to develop fusion power already. It would solve all of our problems.

 

[NYhank79]

Bio diesel...soon enough every diesel engine will be using it. Cleaner than your regular engine, cheaper than gasoline and better mileage at the same time.

 

[zinfamous]

We need trans fat-powered engines. Now that it is being outlawed, the drip bins at Krispy Kreme will be gold mines.

 

[Pulsar]

We have this exact same thread every couple months.

Diesel has tight restrictions on it in the States because of the particulate emissions. If you ever tow a boat behind a diesel truck, you'll find it blacked by soot by the end of your trip.

Those tight restrictions have made it complete uneconomical to make a diesel engine, until very recently. In addition, diesels in the states have a horrible reputation as loud, banging monstrosities. That's because they were, for quite a while.

Now we have better-behaved less polluting diesels. But because of economies of scale they are far more expensive. Those economies of scale are because people don't order many diesels. That's because they've only recently become more widely available. There are still components that make diesels more expensive. High pressure injectors, engineering for higher compression ratios... but please don't suggest that it's because of manufacturer ineffiencies. In terms of machining and building engines, it's no different.

So a combination of all these things have resulted in diesels seeing a much lower adoption rate than in Europe. There are more coming, because of the 'MPG'. But in reality diesel isn't much better than gasoline when it comes to MPG per unit of pollution.

Oh - and in a climate like we have in 1/2 the US, it's an absolute bitch to start diesels in the winter without running a block heater, and that uses even more money.

 

[thedarkwolf]

Oh - and in a climate like we have in 1/2 the US, it's an absolute bitch to start diesels in the winter without running a block heater, and that uses even more money.

Well at least that part is false for any modern diesel. Never had an issue starting mine down into the teens with no block heater and I don't think half the US is getting any colder than that.

 

[Kaido]

To answer the OP...because I like driving my Suburban, Firebird and G8 GXP...I may consider buying a diesel car at some point in the future (Passat TDI), but each of my vehicles serves a different purpose for me...ALL get under 18MPG

New Honda Accord Hybrid gets 50 MPG city, no plugin required :awe:

 

[Pulsar]

Well at least that part is false for any modern diesel. Never had an issue starting mine down into the teens with no block heater and I don't think half the US is getting any colder than that.

I suspect you will find that if you do some research, many diesels engines sold today come with a block heater for this reason. While some may start without it, most people who own diesels need one. Some companies have found ways around that - I believe Mercedes is one of them that doesn't need a heater.

 

[thedarkwolf]

Many gas engines have a block heater as an option too big whoop. A lot of the diesel people that have block heater have them so they have HEAT when they start the car. There are videos of people on youtube just showing how cold they can start their diesel without a block heater, people are bored. Only one I bothered to watch was an 87 ford truck in -2 temps and he just cycled the glow plugs twice and it fired right up. Unless you are talking Alaska temps you should be able to get away without block heaters but they are nice to have.

 

[nerp]

Block heaters are good for giving you instant heat in the winter and drastically reducing engine wear in the winter during those cold starts. It's true that they're not always used to make starting easier. I can slap in an OEM block heater in my car for just about $200 and they can be ordered straight from the factory for a gasoline engine.

 

[LTC8K6]

New Honda Accord Hybrid gets 50 MPG city, no plugin required :awe:

Too expensive, though.

Probably the regular 4 cylinder Accord is a better economic buy at $7K less.

 

[Aldon]

We need trans fat-powered engines.

One way McDonald's can expand on its business model.

 

[LTC8K6]

One way McDonald's can expand on its business model.

They eliminated nearly all of their artificial trans fats a while ago, like most fast food places.

Something like 75% of the artificial trans fats in food disappeared years ago and few people noticed.

Some foods have natural trans fats.

 

[Zodiark1593]

Forget the diesel engines, where are the Turbine engine Hybrids?

 

[chucky2]

There is so much incorrect information in this thread and bad logic it's stunning, given this a tech forum. If geeks can't figure the pros/cons of light duty passenger vehicles out, no wonder the general public has a near impossible time getting it.

 

[COPOHawk]

New Honda Accord Hybrid gets 50 MPG city, no plugin required :awe:

My point is to answer the OP about the thread title. I don't drive them because I don't need or want them right now. The technology is not cost effective (for me) and I would be bored to death driving one...

Realisically, the only potential option I like is the Tesla S...but it is out of my price range...and I am not willing to part with my other vehicles to own one.