Volkswagen America Plans Boost To US Sales -CEO (powered by traditional combustion engines)

[OKIsItJustMe]

http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20091211-707011.html

DECEMBER 11, 2009, 9:49 A.M. ET

Volkswagen America Plans Boost To US Sales -CEO

By Kristina Peterson
Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES

WASHINGTON (Dow Jones)

…

New technology to improve the fuel efficiency of traditional combustion engines is currently the most cost-effective way to develop more environmentally-friendly vehicles, Jacoby said. He predicted that in the next 10 years, Volkswagen would have fuel-efficient cars that would go between 50 and 70 miles per gallon.

"Innovation with traditional engines is as exciting as the technology for hybrids and electric vehicles," he said. Use of clean diesel gasoline, in particular, will become more popular in the United States as Americans grow more comfortable with it, he said.

Jacoby said the infrastructure is not yet present for Americans to drive fully electric vehicles. He stressed taking a "realistic" view about the timeline for converting cars to running on alternative energy.

"The day is coming when we will be liberated from fossil fuels, but that is still years away," he said.

…

[SidDithers]

1. VW diesels get great gas mileage...

Their TDIs go forever.

Why aren't there more diesels available to North American drivers?

Sid

[OKIsItJustMe]

2. “Why aren't there more diesels available to North American drivers?”

http://yosemite1.epa.gov/opa/admpress.nsf/b1ab9f485b098972852562e7004dc686/55a62ce9a72c1b13852565290054c0ec?OpenDocument

Release date: 10/07/97

Contact Information:

FOR RELEASE: TUESDAY, OCTOBER 7, 1997

EPA CUTS DIESEL ENGINE POLLUTION

U.S. EPA Administrator Carol M. Browner today announced two, cost-effective clean air programs that will significantly reduce pollution from diesel engines. The new engine standards will provide substantial, long-term improvements in the nation’s air quality and public health and help the nation meet the EPA’s new air quality standards for smog and fine particles.

The agency said both new diesel programs, one, a final emission reduction standard for all diesel trucks and buses and the other a proposal to phase-in tighter emission limits for non-road diesel engines, like bulldozers, will reduce pollution by 2.7 million tons a year. The reduction is equivalent to taking six million heavy trucks off the road.

Browner said, “Air pollution poses a serious threat to the health and well-being of millions of Americans and diesel engines are a significant source of air pollution nationwide. New cost-effective standards will be a major step forward in reducing threats to public health and the environment from smog and particulate matter.”

Nitrogen oxides from diesel engines are a major contributor to the formation of ground-level ozone and particulate matter. Ozone reduces lung function and aggravates existing respiratory problems such as asthma. It can also cause a breakdown in a person's ability to fight off infectious bacteria. Particulates become lodged in the lungs’ most sensitive tissue and may result in premature death. In addition, ozone, particulate matter and nitrogen oxides cause crop damage, acid rain, and reduction in visibility.

…

http://www.dailydemocrat.com/editorial/ci_13975865

Air board caved on new diesel rules

Published By Daily Democrat
Created: 12/11/2009 02:30:51 AM PST

The California Air Resources Board acted irresponsibly in suppressing the news that one of its lead researchers lied about his credentials. But that dishonesty does not change the fundamental public policy realities: Diesel emissions are a potent health hazard, and California cannot clean up its air without curbing pollution from diesel engines.

The agency needs to provide a full public explanation of why it covered up a researcher's fake degree, to help rebuild public credibility. And the air board will need to take extra care to operate in full public view -- which it should do anyway -- to rebound from this embarrassing misjudgment.

But the board should have resisted calls by critics to suspend diesel regulations when it reviewed the issue. The state simply cannot meet federal air quality standards or adequately protect public health without strict controls on diesel emissions.

Acting Wednesday, the board delayed the nation's toughest diesel emissions rules, allotting truckers wrestling with the economic downturn more time to invest in cleaner trucks.

…

http://www.sustainablebusiness.com/index.cfm/go/news.display/id/19378

12/09/2009 11:38 AM

Fast-Action on Non-CO2 Agents Can Delay Climate Change - Report

SustainableBusiness.com News

At the opening of the UN climate negotiations in Copenhagen, a Special Feature on climate tipping points appearing in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), presents compelling evidence that the world is edging ever closer to passing dangerous thresholds for abrupt and irreversible climate changes.

…

A neglected fast-action strategy presented in the paper is reducing black carbon soot, an aerosol produced largely from the incomplete combustion of diesel fuels and biofuels, and from biomass burning. It is now considered to be the second or third largest contributor to climate change.

“If we reduce black carbon emissions worldwide by 50% by fully deploying all available emissions-control technologies, we could delay the warming effects of CO2 by one to two decades and at the same time greatly improve the health of those living in heavily polluted regions,” said Dr. Ramanathan.

…

Website: www.pnas.org/content/early/2009/12/03/0911106106.full.pdf+html

[Turbineguy]

3. In a way that's the best idea

improving efficiencies (such as raising coolant temps) pays even bigger dividends when converting to hybrids.