How about diesel cars?

I have worked for 15 years on diesel engines for American made cars sold in Europe. Diesel technology has come a long way in those 15 years. The modern diesel powered car is quiet, no smell, outperforms gas cars, and starts well in the winter. On top of that, they get about 30% more miles on a gallon of fuel than gas cars can get. The Eruopeans love them. However, the EPA and CARB have set the NOx emissions rules so stringently that it is almost prohibitively expensive to sell diesel cars in the US market. If we lobbied our lawmakers to accept the same diesel emission limits that the Europeans accept, and if 50% of car buyers chose diesel, we would have a 15% reduction in auto fuel use with current technology. That has to make an impact on fuel prices.

Ken Goss

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Permalink Reply by Ron Alexander on July 18, 2008 at 8:40am: Great Ken, here is article I wrote last year:
The Advantage of the Diesel Engine
And of Biodiesel
Ron Alexander

As a retired yacht captain, I know of many advantages of diesel engines. Any commercial fisherman or captain of a passenger-carrying vessel can relate to these advantages, and hardly any of them would think of using a gasoline-powered boat instead. Matt Ruby, who owns three fishing boats run out of Little River, S. C. and also operates the fish plant there, maintains that diesel engines are “much more efficient, durable and safer than gasoline powered ones.”
Dr. Rudolf Diesel developed the diesel engine in 1895 in Germany to run on peanut oil. Compared to gasoline, the fuel for a diesel engine is almost inflammable. Also, there is hardly any carbon monoxide (as all carbons are reduced significantly) associated with diesel fuel. Being a compression-driven engine, there is no need for electronics that corrode easily such as spark plugs, points, condensers, distributors and wires that connect them making the diesel engines much simpler and easier to repair.
Diesels have not caught on well in the U.S. because of smelly diesel emissions associated with trucks, buses and a poorly built diesels (adapted from gasoline engines) by GM in the 1980’s and the older noisy smelly Mercedes diesel powered vehicles. In addition, poor marketing of diesel power has plagued the U. S. Automobile Manufacturers.
Since Dr. Diesel created the diesel engine to run on peanut oil to start with, biodiesel has been a much more effective biofuel. Many are confused about biofuels. We are told that they can take away from valuable food crops, and lead to more world hunger. If that is true, it does not apply to biodiesel, as it uses only the oil and leaves the nutritious part of plant or animal. Biodiesel can come from either veggie oil or animal fats. And it can be the only recyclable fuel, as this biofuel can be filtered from used cooking veggie oil. It can be blended with petroleum diesel to make a more effective and less polluting fuel. Only 1% biodiesel makes a difference, but the higher percentage the better. The standard definition is "biodiesel is a renewable fuel derived from vegetable oils or animal fats that can be blended with petroleum or used on its own."
Confusion comes from the facts about a different biofuel - ethanol (an alcohol not an oil) that uses a plant feedstock, such as corn, beetroot, sugar beet or sugar cane and then fermenting it. It can be blended with gasoline to make “gasohol.” Reducing the fears of food crops being taken away from the world supply, there is a new technology called “cellulostic ethanol production” which allows the production of ethanol from the leftover straw of the food crop. Brazil is now producing ethanol for over 30% of its fuel production. Biodiesel can also be extracted from cellulose. Algae is now object of intense research in universities all over country as best possible biodiesel source because of its high CO 2 absorption & oxygen producing qualities, plus, very importantly, it reproduces itself overnight.
Already, Europe produces over 52 % diesel-powered autos, and all sizes of biodiesel refineries are popping up everywhere here and Europe. Scientists agree that fossil fuels, whether gasoline or diesel, will probably disappear in 45 years. Every year, the diminished petroleum supply will get even more expensive. Presently, in Europe where petroleum is about $8.00 per gallon, countries are ordering biodiesel from the U.S. Sometime, in the near future, despite the rising cost of vegetable oil and animal fat, biodiesel will be cheaper than fossil fuels here in our country. The final reason for we citizens to embrace the diesel engine, energy security! Diesel and Biodiesel fuel will help reduce importing of fossil fuels.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Ron Alexander on July 22, 2008 at 3:47pm: Have you checked out the new world speed record? On biodiesel (B100) all the way around the world......... earthrace.net "100 % biodiesel & 100% carbon neutral!"; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Jeff Smoley on July 23, 2008 at 6:17pm: I am with you 100%. Even better, a bio-diesel - electric hybrid. Opel had a prototype turbo diesel that got over 100MPG and could do 155 mph.
Then we have to get the price of diesel back to where it should be. I can remember when diesel was cheaper than regular gas. Now we are told that it costs more to manufacture (in the US), but in Europe, it is cheaper than gasoline because there is less tax on it. Someone is lying.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Seth Jones on July 23, 2008 at 6:37pm: Diesel is great and all, but we are still focusing on oil, even if we were to go after biodiesel, we would never be able to keep up with our demands for oil. Diesel is a cleaner fuel, but biofuels are more of a short term temporary fix. We can't get enough used oil to keep up with the supply, and ethanol, well, ethanol just isn't the way to go. Again, we can't grow enough corn to keep up with our fuel demands, and especcially not as a food as well.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Ken Goss on July 25, 2008 at 5:06pm: Seth,

There are two facets of the energy crisis. 1) Long term, we need to find alterantives to fossil fuels. 2) Short term, we need to prop up our economy by finding more fossil fuels and conserving the supply that we already have.

A diesel car gets more miles out of a barrel of crude oil than does a gasoline car, so it qualifies as a means for conservation of fossil fuels. Long term (10 or 20 or 30 years, or however long we might need) diesel cars don't make sense whether they are fuelled by fossil fuels or by bio fuels. However, in the short term, until the better alternatives are widely available, diesel is an available known technology that buys us time.

Ken Goss; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Brently54 on August 8, 2008 at 7:38am: Focusing on oil is a good thing. There is no need for infrastructure, that is why algae oil is the perfect solution.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Brently54 on September 7, 2008 at 5:07pm: Never say never. Algae oil is oil.... so what? Oil is good.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Ron Alexander on August 7, 2008 at 11:58pm: Mostly I promote biodiesel along with the diesel engine. Being a retired Capt., I know the superiority of that engine and that biodiesel can be the superior biofuel if manufactured right.
A great thing about diesels is that they were built originally to run of vegie (peanut) oil, and Europe has discovered this, with over 52 % of their cars now diesel-powered and the EU has mandated up to 5% biodiesel now.
The well-meaning EPA with it's Ultra-low Sulfur diesel has blocked the fine European TDI diesels, since 2006. A minuscule .00016 sulfur emission blocks us from the great TDI diesels in Smart and VW cars.
Mercedes and VW have responded with the much more expensive and high tech. Blue Tec diesel, that meets the EPA standards but that has made the diesel out of the middle-class reach financially.
I have met Canadians here in S.C. with the above TDI (Turbo Direct Injection) diesels and they are steadfast in their devotion with the Jetta TDI getting 60 miles per gallon, and the Smart getting 75 miles per gallon.
The EPA needs to smarten up around this issue, as does the American Public pressuring our auto manufacturers. What do you think? Ron; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Ron Alexander on August 12, 2008 at 5:44pm: I had this letter to the editor published in local paper:

Diesel Engines Were Not Designed to Run on Fossil Fuels
(in response to John Youker's Op. Ed.)

I agree with Mr. Youker's premise that we need to get away from fossil fuels, however he placed diesels in same category as gasoline engines. Rudolpho Diesel built the first diesel engine to run on peanut oil. Biodiesel can come from either veggie oil or animal fats. And it can be a recyclable fuel, as this biofuel can be filtered from used cooking oil (recent article in The Sun News). Biodiesel can also be extracted from cellulose and algae (also recent article in The Sun News), Europe with the leadership of its politicians and car manufacturing CEOs are switching over to the cellulose source. Diesel engines and biodiesel are both proven to be superior to gasoline. Now over fifty-two percent of automobiles manufactured in Europe are diesel/biodiesel powered. BMW has built a hybrid diesel/electric which has outperformed the Prius. I have read they are building same BMW in a new plant in Greer, S.C. I hope so. I have met several Canadians driving Diesel VW's imported from Europe, and they say that they are getting 60 miles per gallon.
The EPA has successfully reduced sulfur output with ultralow sulfur diesel fuel, but by a miniscule amount of sulfur emission, they have prevented the import of the very successful TDI engine in VW's since 2006 and also in the very popular Smart Car. I met a Canadian driver of a Diesel Smart Car who is getting 76 miles per gallon.
Biodiesel is carbon neutral and can be manufactured in this country. In fact, one of the most successful new businesses in this state is Southeast Biodiesel in North Charleston. They have recently added a third shift, and are building a second plant to keep up with supply.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by JT on August 14, 2008 at 12:47am: Now let's take a look at reality. Manufacturing biodiesel is virtually impossible, if we're talking about replacing petroleum-based fuels. That much oil simply can't be grown... and it's still a combustion engine, still inherently destructive. The difference is sublime.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by robert parker on August 13, 2008 at 8:00pm: Volkswagen's clean diesel is to be on the U.S. market this fall and it meets California ARB requirements.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by JT on August 14, 2008 at 12:45am: Ken,

Nice concept. In fact, 3-4 years ago Renault was selling a 1 liter diesel car in Europe that gets nearly 70 mpg without any hybrid or other complex technology. But here's the problem: You're still using fossil fuels. For that matter, here in the States, diesel is now about 20 percent more expensive than gasoline, rendering the savings moot.

Rather, let's look at ditching combustion engines and combustion sources of energy altogether... get free of the leash of fossil fuels forever!; ▶ Reply to This