By Justin Berkowitz
March 24, 2008 - 14,477 Views
During our recent audience with GM Car Czar Bob Lutz, Maximum Bob proclaimed "diesels are not the answer." While cynics might say that even a stopped clock is right twice a day, props to Bob for doing the math. Reuters reports the average price for a gallon of diesel has hit $4.06. It's as high as $4.60/gallon in places. As MB pointed out, "asking people to pay a 20 percent premium for a diesel engine and a 20 percent premium at the pump makes no sense at all." True dat. Without huge gains in fuel economy over regular gasoline counterparts, manufacturers are going to have a hard time getting people to switch to diesel-powered propulsion. The next step: the feds intercede to drive down the cost of diesel and diesel cars, as they are doing with ethanol and E85-compatible vehicles. And then high mileage U.S. oil burners will fly off the showroom floor. [Note to Bob: will GM be ready?] Lest we forget, $4.00/gallon diesel has a huge impact on our truck-based shipping infrastructure. And that could be a BIG problem… News of an April first trucker's strike to follow.
Subscribe to Newsletter38 Responses to “ Lutz is Right: “Diesels are Not the Answer” ”
Pages: « 1 [2] 3 4 » Show All Reverse Order
Pages: « 1 [2] 3 4 » Show All Reverse Order
Leave a Reply 
Back to Top
You must be logged in to post a comment.
Digg
del.icio.us
Blinklist
Furl
Netscape
Google
NewsVine
Reddit
StumbleUpon
Technorati
YahooMyWeb
Windows Live
POWERED
March 24th, 2008 at 12:50 pm
M1EK - current truck diesels stink and bellow out particles b/c they are not regulated very well as they are “commerical” loopholes for CAFE.
Have you ever driven an Audi diesel or the upcoming Honda diesel - they don’t stink or smell or belch out black sooty exhaust - the 50 state standard will also make a difference in tailpipe emissions with the urea or the Honda patented catalytic convertible.
A BMW 520d (a 5 series) gets 2 mpg greater fuel economy at highway and only 3 mpg less in city. Trucks and the Olds diesel basically ruined diesels reputation here in America. But with the foreign competition who have properly built their engines are a major improvement and definitely worth a second look.
March 24th, 2008 at 12:53 pm
The price of Diesel seems to be determined by taxes rather than markets. Back in the 80s it was less than half the cost of gasoline. I remember paying 60¢ a gallon for Diesel when gasoline was about $1.30.
Diesel is the most efficient internal combustion engine yet developed, and seems to be the logical choice for combining with electrical motors to make a hybrid drive. Why dismiss it off-hand because Oldsmobile built a crap Diesel V-8 30 years ago?
–chuck
http://chuck.goolsbee.org
March 24th, 2008 at 12:57 pm
jaje, I’ll believe it when I see it - recent (not 2007, but not 1970s era either) diesel cars are just as stinky and almost as noisy. Wishful thinking abounds.
March 24th, 2008 at 1:26 pm
Just saw the news that Hyundai has jumped from the diesel band-wagon to the hybrid band-wagon. Their US head honcho (which ever one it was I can’t recall because they are moving in and out so fast, they need a revolving door on the corner office) was saying diesel - he wanted Hyundai to send over diesels.
Now the South Korean head honcho is saying no, it’s hybrids. And fuel cells down the road.
http://www.autobloggreen.com/2008/03/24/hyundai-to-go-hi-tech-with-hybrids-and-fuel-cells/
March 24th, 2008 at 1:30 pm
I’ll be a contrarrian on this one. Diesel isn’t the answer, but it’s part of the answer to meeting forthcoming efficiency regs.
VW, BMW, Mercedes, et al sell cars with TDI diesel engine almost worldwide. The low end torque allows a small displacement to have good pulling power at low rpm. The low end grunt allows the driver to cruise at lower revs and save fuel provided that engine is coupled to decent transmission.
I said almost worldwide, because Congress allows the Republic of California and states like New York to set the regulatory environment.
Congress could change that and have the Federal EPA set one standard. This would give the domestic auto industry some breathing room, if they’ll use it, on the approaching efficiency regs. Are they still referred them as CAFE?
March 24th, 2008 at 1:50 pm
Hmmm…a diesel Grand Cherokee gets 25% better mileage than it’s 4.7 and 5.7 counterparts.
Diesel is the answer. A diesel 5-series gets better gas mileage than a Prius.
The problem is our governments deep hatred for diesel. They would much rather you use MORE GAS…as long as it is made from corn.
Take the Ford Escape Hybrid for example. That “SUV” can only tow 1000 pounds. Thats it. So, if I want to pull two PWCs or a 16′ fishing boat, I am SOL…but I am getting good gas mileage. Now, with a diesel Jeep Liberty, I can tow up to 5000 pounds and still get 35 MPG on the highway.
With the puny Escape Hybrid, I am forced to buy another vehicle to tow my tows…but with the Libery Diesel…all I need is one.
March 24th, 2008 at 2:22 pm
I do credit Max Bob for almost singlehandedly refocusing the big blue square on its core business of making cars people actually want to buy. I do however disagree with Mr. Global-warming-is-a-crock-of-shit pretty regularly, and this is one of those times.
A few simple misconceptions:
Ever seen a gas powered old clunker that was noisy and didn’t run well. ALL poorly maintained vehicles are noisy and dirty.
Diesel actually emits LESS green house gas than gasoline, period. Diesel combustion does produce more heavy particulates (soot), but modern system are all but eliminating that as well.
To misquote Max Bob, Ethanol-is-a-crock-of… For the simple fact that in real world studies vehicles get significantly reduced mileage when burning Crisco.
This is like the old riddle, what’s heavier a pound of feathers or a pound of rocks. Whether simple minded do-gooders’ realize it or not, a 520D gets better gas mileage than a Prius. Therefore, it is better for the environment than a Prius. Never mind the enviromental impact of a 400 pound ni-hd battery at the end of the life cycle.
Please, please, please would everybody stop talking about Olds diesels from the 70’s. The whole problem with that lump was that GM tried to strengthen an existing gas-engine block to save money. Ka-blammo!
Finally, Bio-diesel, need a diesel, veggie oil from the local McD’s, need a diesel, hell you can run a diesel on anything. Never mind that the fact that it will last twice as long as a comparable gas engine.
All the thousands of trucking companies across great USofA must have the whole total cost of operation wrong. Yeah, that’s it.
March 24th, 2008 at 2:23 pm
“A diesel 5-series gets better gas mileage than a Prius.”
The other reason to be skeptical of diesel: it apparently causes brain damage.
March 24th, 2008 at 3:05 pm
And the fuel mileage will decrease for diesels even more just to meet EPA Tier 2, Bin 5 which will wipe out diesels MPG advantage.
March 24th, 2008 at 3:15 pm
OK, short and sweet
Better mileage, check 502d > Prius
Better emissions, check (yep boys and girls, do some home work here, while diesels produce more heavy particulates, aka soot, they produce fewer green house gases)
Longer service life, check
Run on bio-diesel, vegtable oil, vodka, etc. check
But I’m sure all the naysayers are right.