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Automotive News & Views How The 35 mpg Law By 2020 Will Affect The Cars We Will Drive
538 messages, Last post on Jul 31, 2008 at 6:28 AM
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Replying to: nippononly (Dec 18, 2007 1:25 pm) From what I have read to meet our standards for air quality they have had to install filter traps in the low sulphur diesels and those traps required service at 20 or 30K. Would that have to be addressed for California? All 3/4 diesels require now is a visual inspection to make sure you still have a diesel. some people were buying old diesels and replacing them with new gas engines to avoid the required smog check.
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Replying to: 1stpik (Dec 15, 2007 7:10 pm) "Better" is a relative term. While there may be more efficent powerplants available, the saving grace of the IC is the inexpensiveness of the powerplant AND its fuel. This inexpensive quality has allowed cars to become widespread. |
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Replying to: boaz47 (Dec 18, 2007 1:47 pm) Yes, that wouldn't do in California. But systems like Honda's which produce their own urea rather than needing a refillable tank like the Mercedes system would be fine, as long as Honda will certify that they will continue to operate without human help for 100K miles. It is the EPA's intent to follow this guideline from California too, but they are considering granting a temporary waiver to Mercedes and others to sell diesels with the traps for a few years. But last I heard, I thought Mercedes and VW had a 50-state diesel ready? So maybe they have gotten around this obstacle? Edit...my mom, who has extensive recent experience driving in Europe, asked me recently what hybrids they might be able to replace their Explorer with next year, because of gas prices and a desire to "do something for the environment". I explained that the hybrid SUVs don't really do that great for gas mileage despite being hybrids, but what about considering some of the fab new diesels that are about to come on the market. Her response? Oh no way, those diesels stink when you go to the gas station, and they don't run well. Apparently her last rental in Europe a couple of years ago was a diesel, and it sucked. I wish I knew the brand. It stalled out a couple of times, wouldn't start properly in cold weather, etc etc. I dunno how well diesels are going to do the second time around here in the States...
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Replying to: nippononly (Dec 18, 2007 3:44 pm) Then her key question. 'Can i get diesel at any station, anywhere, anytime so that I don't have to drive around a dark town looking for a diesel pump with a low fuel light flashing.' When the answer is yes she'll consider a diesel.
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Replying to: kdhspyder (Dec 19, 2007 1:33 pm) I think for regular old passenger cars, diesel is going to have a hard uphill struggle, but despite that it will be the sole response of some automakers to the new CAFE standards. I think they will all speed up development for diesels in their trucks and large SUVs though, places where diesels are a lot more acceptable to the public. |
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" the saving grace of the IC is the inexpensiveness of the powerplant AND its fuel. This inexpensive quality has allowed cars to become widespread." Gasoline engines are only "inexpensive" because all the automakers started using them before our great grandfathers were born. That economy of scale that developed made the engines affordable, not the other way around. If, instead, they chose electric power, it would be cheap, efficient and ubiquitous today. And, as I said, we wouldn't have to buy electricity from the Middle East. . |
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Replying to: 1stpik (Dec 19, 2007 2:57 pm) james |
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Replying to: 1stpik (Dec 19, 2007 2:57 pm) If we were using the exact same gas engines as our grandfathers used,you would be correct. However, each new gas engine has its own R&D and manufacturing costs. Electric power simply isn't sufficent for most peoples needs. Even today. Batteries can only store so much energy,and they take time to recharge. Gasoline is easier to obtain and store,and the refuel time is measured in minutes,not hours. |
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today the EPA refused California its waiver to enforce a strict limit to greenhouse gases from automobiles. This was a law voted in three years ago, and would have reduced automotive CO2 emissions from cars and trucks a lot more than the new CAFE standard, without CAFE's loopholes, and sooner. In 35 years of California enforcing its own emissions standards, this is the first time that I know of when California has been refused the authority to set its own standard more strict than the feds. I really hope they sue over this one. What happened to rights being reserved to the states unless specifically reserved to the federal government? California's clean air laws PREDATE the federal ones. That is why California has always had the authority to enforce stricter standards, which has most often been a necessity because of air pollution problems that were worse here than in most other parts of the country. As of the latest count, SIXTEEN states representing well over 50% of all vehicle sales in the U.S. were set to follow the California standard, yet the EPA chief's explanation of the denial was that he wanted to avoid a patchwork of standards. The California standard would be the majority, hardly a patchwork. I will be encouraging my representatives at the state level to sue the feds over this one, but I don't suppose they will need a lot of encouragement. I hope we prevail.
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Replying to: nippononly (Dec 19, 2007 7:49 pm) Sounds like a suit is coming (and who calls Jerry Brown "Edmund G. Brown Jr."?), |
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