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Automotive News & Views What Would It Take for YOU to buy a diesel car?
1492 messages, Last post on Nov 04, 2009 at 7:37 PM
You are in the Automotive News & Views Forum. Your Hosts are steve_ & claires
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Replying to: steve_ (Jan 06, 2009 9:53 pm)
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Replying to: gagrice (Jan 07, 2009 7:54 am) On the VW (03 5 speed manual anyway) as most folks probably do not know, the system is a so called "drive by wire" system. One spin off: a coasting or no fuel draw situation, does NOT have the engine compression of older diesels. It does result in better overall mpg due to no fuel draw conditions (on longer grade descents). I would imagine the same is true for automatics (to a lesser degree) |
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Replying to: steve_ (Jan 05, 2009 9:53 pm) |
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Replying to: pod (Jan 06, 2009 4:46 pm)
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Replying to: gregg_vw (Jan 07, 2009 9:08 am) |
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Replying to: gagrice (Jan 06, 2009 8:46 pm) Thanks for your response. Here's some follow up questions: Doesn't diesel fuel come first in the refining process. Doesn't it take another step in the refining process to obtain our gasoline? If so, why is diesel more expensive? If 80% of Europe's passenger cars are diesels doesn't that indicate that diesel is pretty efficient? Those folks pay huge taxes on their fuel so they are hyper sensitive to price. Is there still an environmental downside to diesel that I'm missing? Bob
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Replying to: bobny57 (Jan 07, 2009 12:19 pm) And even though diesel cars have not taken off here, we still have plenty of pickups, trucks and buses using it. Not only that, but diesel cars have taken off and taken over in Europe and Asia. Thus there are other buyers clammering for the insufficient diesel fuel that is made in this country (relatively speaking). On top of that, the fuel tax structure in this country (unlike other countries where diesel has a clear tax advantage over gasoline) is biased toward gasoline.
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Replying to: gregg_vw (Jan 07, 2009 1:19 pm) While on a trip to the mountains. We ran into a couple from British Columbia. They were driving a Mercedes B200. The guy told me it is the best car he has ever owned. It was a nice rig. Not available in the USA of course. With the diesel engine in the UK it is rated 62.8 MPG highway, that being 52.3 MPG US. You have to ask yourself if our EPA and CARB are really concerned about fossil fuel usage. If so why do they not allow so many great small cars that get super mileage. For you Mini-Cooper diesel fans. The UK version gets 80 MPG highway. That would be a lousy 67 MPG on our diesel in the US.
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Replying to: gagrice (Jan 07, 2009 2:23 pm) It is hard to be less dependent on "foreign" oil, when we knowingly and willingly continue to ....and, and, and.... IMPORT MORE FOREIGN oil  I just got off a second test drive of the new 2009 BMW 335 D TWIN turbo diesel with 425 # ft of (monster) torque . While it DOES get 36 mpg, which is more than most folks get with the (gasser) Honda Civic economy leader, it is still a fuel guzzler compared to the pantheon of available European diesel models (as per Gagrice's above post). Still, I'd love to run this twin turbo beast in the Rocky Mountains  4000 to 7000 ft altitude and above WOW !! It is a stormer at sea level. As most folks will attest 425 # ft of torque exceeds MANY so called super car metrics!!! ??? Pretty heady stuff for a 3 series BMW !!! The MB 320/350 diesel has a "MERE" 369 # ft of torque as I remember. So it is easy to conclude that 10-20 miles per gal is not only desireable, it is written into the current laws. Certainly the UAW wrote life time contracts around it. It is important enough to receive Congressional bail out monies.
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Replying to: ruking1 (Jan 07, 2009 2:48 pm)  No, seriously. Turbo diesels are great for daily driving. Honestly 95% of the time, other than a freeway on ramp for a few seconds before the light at the end or the slow guy in the lane you have to merge into ruins your fun, people are doing 10-40mph quick speed changes. You don't have the room to wind the car up, nor do you have the speed limits that allow it. Torque is a huge thing in such a situation as long as the vehicle isn't geared like a tractor. That BMW, btw - yes, it pulls like its rear end is on fire. Immediate power with a sense of extreme urgency at pretty much any speed. Gong 25mph and want to go 45? Done. Already wound up and ready to push you in your seat like a typical 911 used to do. Not quite as quickly, mind you, but 25-45mph in 2-3 seconds is quite fast enough for most people's needs. No whining, no down shifting like crazy. It just happens. Like a big V8 in the 70s. Remember them? 120-140HP but wicked torque curves. They weren't very quick, but man they felt like you were really driving a car and not some tin can.
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