A Diesel?

[dgruis]

Should we tell the Europeans that the diesels they keep driving, and driving and driving, and driving and driving are actually junk?
The prototype VW Up Diesel-Electric Hybrid is rated at 1.1 liters of diesel per 100 km or 213 mpg.
If the VW Up goes into production, I guess that 213 mpg joke is on them. ha-ha

http://carsrelease2014-2015.com/volkswagen-twin-diesel-electric-hybrid/

Because they are built heavier diesels will never be the low-cost engine, but down the road I could see hyper-milers loving an Elio diesel option like the VW Up. It could cost double the cost of a gas Elio, and still cost less than virtually all other cars.

Growing up on a farm, I have been a diesel-lover all of my life.

• When I graduated from college my first car was a used Monte Carlo Diesel. A great V6 diesel, built ground up as a diesel, not a converted gaser.
• My dad bought an '83 Ford Ranger diesel, and drove it over 200,000 miles when he retired and sold it.
• My mom drove an "83 Malibu diesel, the junk 5.7, but drove it to nearly 200,000 before traded it for a new car.

Mercedes has sold lots of diesels that run forever, if treated like diesels, that joke is also on them.

 

[Snick]

Should we tell the Europeans that the diesels they keep driving, and driving and driving, and driving and driving are actually junk?
The prototype VW Up Diesel-Electric Hybrid is rated at 1.1 liters of diesel per 100 km or 213 mpg.
If the VW Up goes into production, I guess that 213 mpg joke is on them. ha-ha

http://carsrelease2014-2015.com/volkswagen-twin-diesel-electric-hybrid/

Because they are built heavier diesels will never be the low-cost engine, but down the road I could see hyper-milers loving an Elio diesel option like the VW Up. It could cost double the cost of a gas Elio, and still cost less than virtually all other cars.

Growing up on a farm, I have been a diesel-lover all of my life.

• When I graduated from college my first car was a used Monte Carlo Diesel. A great V6 diesel, built ground up as a diesel, not a converted gaser.
• My dad bought an '83 Ford Ranger diesel, and drove it over 200,000 miles when he retired and sold it.
• My mom drove an "83 Malibu diesel, the junk 5.7, but drove it to nearly 200,000 before traded it for a new car.

Mercedes has sold lots of diesels that run forever, if treated like diesels, that joke is also on them.

No, they're not junk at all. I love diesel passenger cars. I've owned 2 and my father in law has 2 currently (BlueTech SUV and BlueTech sedan). I also moderate one of the world's largest diesel forums.

But you should consider the bigger picture. It isn't fair to compare European market passenger diesels to USA market.

1. diesel fuel is more heavily taxed in USA. In Europe it's opposite.
2. Some European countries even have cheaper registration costs for diesel passenger vehicles.
3. European markets don't regulate passenger car diesel emissions as strictly as the USA does.
4. USA is basically trying to regulate diesel passenger cars out of existence. Current technology selected to overcome the emissions hurdles has ended in a dead end: HPFP's that explode expensively, "late injection" NOx killing strategies that throw away valuable fuel (can you say: "retarded"?), and urea tanks that add one more cost, one more thing to track, and take up interior space.

 

[Smitty901]

No, they're not junk at all. I love diesel passenger cars. I've owned 2 and my father in law has 2 currently (BlueTech SUV and BlueTech sedan). I also moderate one of the world's largest diesel forums.

But you should consider the bigger picture. It isn't fair to compare European market passenger diesels to USA market.

1. diesel fuel is more heavily taxed in USA. In Europe it's opposite.
2. Some European countries even have cheaper registration costs for diesel passenger vehicles.
3. European markets don't regulate passenger car diesel emissions as strictly as the USA does.
4. USA is basically trying to regulate diesel passenger cars out of existence. Current technology selected to overcome the emissions hurdles has ended in a dead end: HPFP's that explode expensively, "late injection" NOx killing strategies that throw away valuable fuel (can you say: "retarded"?), and urea tanks that add one more cost, one more thing to track, and take up interior space.

You will find no disagreement from me
Number one reason line 4

 

[CheeseheadEarl]

You will find no disagreement from me
Number one reason line 4

Me neither. The EPA is full of people who only see diesels as black smoke belching monsters a la the movie Duel.

I'd happily check the option box for a European spec diesel, but not a retarded POS the US rules have created.

Farmer, former trucker, and hater of most any diesel built since 2003.

 

[RKing]

But what are the diesel regs for a Motorcycle??? I think the fact that 3 wheels makes it a Motorcycle from a reg standpoint was a basic premiss for Elio design. I too would love a diesel triple ,and withut the current US required nonsense. Found Elio while oing reasearch into putting a Kubota deisel into a MGB

 

[wheaters]

Snick, your statement about diesel prices is incorrect. In UK, Diesel is more heavily taxed than gasoline. Despite being a cheaper fuel to produce, it's about 5 pence a litre more expensive at the pump.

I own a BMW 330D M Sport Auto. It's a very quick car and handles as well as any other Beemer. I went to buy a Z4 but wasn't over-impressed and to my wife's surprise I came away with the oil burner instead!

 

[Smitty901]

Me neither. The EPA is full of people who only see diesels as black smoke belching monsters a la the movie Duel.

I'd happily check the option box for a European spec diesel, but not a retarded POS the US rules have created.

Farmer, former trucker, and hater of most any diesel built since 2003.

It goes much farther than that the EPA and eco nuts want all forms of transportation not deem public gone. Their stated mission is to put everyone on the peoples bus.

 

[Ty]

I love my Diesel truck but in the Elio, it would never make sense... you just can't save enough money.

Fuel costs for 100,000 miles / 84mpg * $3.19(gas in Albuquerque) = $3,797
100,000 miles / 120mpg * $3.49(diesel in Albuquerque) = $2,908

You'd save $888 in the course of 100,000 miles IF the diesel version returned 120mpg. Running 15,000 miles a year, it would take you just over 6 and a half years to save that $888. (I didn't count the DEF or the anti-gel or the more expensive oil changes. Actually, I'm not sure if my oil change experience applies to a smaller diesel anyway)

If the Elio diesel "option" was $888, and you had 6 years to wait it out, it could make sense (how much money can you make off that same $888 invested in something other than a diesel motor?)

 

[dgruis]

On second thought, maybe I want a pedals-pop-out-of-the-floor option. I would sip diesel while I foot-pedal-assist the gaser.

 

[Newworld]

It seems many assume 120 mpg is the common denominator for determining mileage/dollar/motor value. Wrong. A car that supposedly costs $6800 could recoup it's cost far faster if 200 mpg were possible. Current turbo diesel 3 cylinder engines, with aerodynamics, change the equation dramatically. I have exceeded 54 mpg in a VW Jetta (2003 4 cylinders at twice the weight). Ultimately, the issue is a matter of choice: either one loves or hates the diesel, but its economy can not be disputed. Otherwise, millions of Europeans are somehow ignorant and wrong; which I seriously doubt. I love diesel engines and should the need ever arrive, biodiesel could be substituted for fuel in a crisis, which can never be said for gasoline.