Reply #11: Sure, I've got loads of info on that... [View All]

[Turborama]

There's a lot about this in my journal. For easy access,here's the link again: http://journals.democraticunderground.com/Turborama


Here's some more, it's a little dated but still valid...

A cleaner diesel has carmakers revved up for US

Foreign automakers are primed to start selling cars in the United States that produce less carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide and get 20 to 40 percent better mileage than vehicles already on the market.

And they do it by efficiently burning a cleaner type of diesel fuel.

Diesel vehicles have long deserved their reputation as loud, smoky, and dirty. In some states -- including Massachusetts -- new models have been banned for years because their exhaust systems were inefficient and diesel fuel contained too much sulfur to meet emissions standards.

But revised federal pollution rules that took effect in January reduce the allowable sulfur content of diesel fuel from 500 to 15 parts per million, and the new cars are outfitted with sophisticated exhaust and filtering systems that further cut pollution. As a result, they will be allowed for sale in all 50 states by the end of the year. Consumers will pay extra for a diesel, though not as much as the $2,000 to $7,000 tacked on to the price of gas-electric hybrids. For instance, a Mercedes-Benz E320 diesel sedan costs about $1,000 more than a similar gas model. But it gets more than 35 miles per gallon, about 10 miles per gallon better than a comparable gas-fueled Mercedes.

Makers of diesel vehicles say they also are prepared to seek a consumer tax break similar to the one hybrid buyers enjoy, about a $2,000 federal deduction.

Foreign companies sped ahead of of US automakers in introducing hybrids a decade ago, and now plan on being leaders in the diesel market. Chrysler, which is owned by German automaker DaimlerChrysler and also makes Dodge and Jeep brands, will offer diesel-powered passenger cars. But Ford Motor Co. and General Motors Corp. plan to limit their diesel business to trucks until they see how the American market for passenger cars unfolds.

Consumers, however, may not want to wait, especially given the fuel-savings diesel offers. The results of a recent survey by Autobytel Inc., an online auto marketplace, showed 72 percent of Americans would "absolutely" consider buying a diesel vehicle. And the marketing and research firm J.D. Power and Associates forecasts that diesels, which currently account for just 3.4 percent of the cars on the road in the United States, will hit 15 percent within eight years. By comparison, J.D. Power projects that by 2011 hybrids will have only about 3 percent of the market, 11 years after the first one came ashore.

Even the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy, which compiles an annual "greenest" and "meanest" vehicles list and is a long-time critic of diesel, is ready to accept the new cars.

"We would like to have seen them come into the market even sooner," said Therese Langer , the group's transportation program director.

DaimlerChrysler's Mercedes-Benz group, BMW, Audi, and Volkswagen will sell diesel-powered vehicles in the United States that use an elaborate exhaust and filter system, called Bluetec. Other automakers, including Honda, Hyundai, Kia, Nissan, and Mitsubishi, are planning to introduce diesels that use different exhaust and filter systems.

"We're looking heavily at diesel," said Len Hunt, chief operating officer of Kia North America. "I'm a believer in clean diesel because I had such a good experience in Europe with diesel." Hunt previously worked for Audi and Volkswagen.

Diesel cars have long been popular in Europe, largely because they are more powerful and responsive than gas-powered models. "In Europe we have the diesel just for driving pleasure," said Wolfgang Hatz, head of engine development for Audi.

The cars account for 60 to 70 percent of sales in some European markets, said Tom Purvis, chief executive of BMW North America.

Consumers like Beau Schless of Sudbury are already anticipating the arrival of new diesels. Schless, who tows his boats to Ipswich and works on a ski patrol in New Hampshire, needs power and four-wheel-drive. He thinks diesel may be the answer. "If I could find a relatively small, efficient, all-wheel-drive diesel, that's what I'd want," he said.

Diesel fuel and gasoline are produced simultaneously from a barrel of crude oil, and one can be more expensive than the other depending on how they are refined. But unlike gas-powered cars, diesels do not emit high levels of carbon dioxide, a critical greenhouse gas. Diesel pollution has come from nitrous oxide and particulate emissions, which contribute to smog and acid rain. But the new fuel, used with the new filter and exhaust systems, significantly cuts so-called "nox" and particulate emissions.

A four-cylinder diesel engine also can be more powerful than a similar-size six-cylinder gasoline engine, and a six-cylinder diesel can best a gas-guzzling V-8. Diesel-powered eight-cylinder SUVs, such as the line Mercedes-Benz intends to introduce next year, can achieve at least 24 miles per gallon, far better than the 10 to 16 miles per gallon many SUVs get.

Durability is another selling point for diesels, say automakers. Because the engines are so well made, it is not uncommon for them to last 500,000 miles, whereas a gasoline engine that logs 150,000 miles is considered ancient.

But there are complications, at least for models using Bluetec. To meet federal standards, diesel cars with Bluetec will require an additive, called AdBlue, an injection of water-based urea that eliminates nitrous oxides. Urea, a common chemical compound, will have to be periodically replenished by owners, causing the Environmental Protection Agency to worry that some won't properly maintain the system. The urea is stored in a tank much like the kind that holds windshield wiper fluid, and it can be replenished just as easily.

To prevent problems caused by lack of maintenance, the EPA told Bluetec's makers it wants cars to have warning lights that signal when the urea is running low. If ignored, an audible warning would be emitted, and finally if the car is operated without urea, the system would electronically hinder the vehicle's performance, forcing the driver to replenish the supply. The EPA and automakers have not yet worked out the details of such a warning system.

Honda says that because of even better technology it expects to introduce within 2 1/2 years, the Japanese company's diesel engine won't need the "after-treatment" required for Bluetec. Volkswagen, part of the Bluetec group, says it will eventually offer a diesel vehicle without urea.

Manufacturers acknowledge that in addition to its dirty and loud history, diesel still faces some other hurdles. The fuel still emits a stronger smell than gasoline, some consumers wrongly believe they are difficult to start in cold weather, and many believe it is hard to find diesel fuel, even though nearly half of the country's 180,000 fuel stations now offer it.

But BMW's Purvis, like others in the auto industry, is confident diesel is finally ready to go mainstream in the United States. "The people who saw the problems of diesel in the '80s are not the young buyers who will look at them today," he said.
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2007/02/24/a_cleaner_diesel_has_carmakers_revved_up_for_us/