Diesel engines are more
efficient than gasoline engines - Peter Bell
Diesel by its very nature contains 20% more
energy in a gallon of fuel than a gallon of gasoline. Combine this with the diesel engine's higher
compression ratio and therefore efficiency...
...it is not hard to see why
vehicles like the VW Jetta TDI get 40+ miles per gallon on the highway, compared to the US
fleet average of 23mpg.
If you look at the commercial fleet, it is all
diesel and the reason for this preference for diesel engines is that
commerce demands the most fuel efficient way to move from point A to B.
If businesses don't think this way their competitors will and those
competitors will enjoy the higher
profits or larger market share that a more efficient operation enables you
to obtain.
Fuel efficient vehicles don't look very
appealing
Some people might argue that fuel
efficient vehicles are not available or are not very appealing vehicles to
buy, but they forget about the diesel engine.
Chrysler
has launched their Liberty with a diesel engine approved for B5 biodiesel
right out of the factory...
VW have the
Touareg...
If you are
looking for some performance, the new 2008 Mercedes-Benz E320 can zoom from
0 to 60mph in 6.8 seconds with only a 3.2L engine and yet still return
37mpg. That is 10mpg better than the same vehicle powered by a gasoline
engine.
If you like the new BMW Mini,
how
about the
Biodiesel version...click the image for the video
The
BMW 530d goes from 0-60mph in 7 seconds, yet still gets over 40 miles per
gallon in average fuel consumption.
The same car powered by a gasoline engine only manages to get 23 miles per
gallon.
The
interesting thing about the diesel engine is that a large number of the
vehicles made in the the world today have a diesel engine option. The
annoying thing is that these diesel options are not made available in the
USA, due in a large part to the general lack of interest in fuel efficiency
in the US while fuel remains relatively cheap compared to highly taxed
European fuels.
What is the auto industry
capable of producing?
If
you want to go really fast and yet still be miserly
on your fuel use, how about the Opel Eco-Speedster sports
car prototype. The 1.3-litre Ecotec
Diesel engine produces 112 hp, giving the car a maximum speed of over 155
mph and fuel consumption of 94 mpg.
The 2001 VW Ein Liter Auto
demonstration car achieved a stunning 230 miles per gallon and is quite
capable of cruising at over 70 miles per hour.
If you are a motor cycle fan, but want to use Biodiesel in a motor cycle, what is available?
http://dieselmotorcycles.com make a
motor cycle for the US Army and US Marines,
click the link for a bigger picture of the Marines version.
Diesel engines are not as
clean burring as gasoline engines
The mandating of Ultra Low
Sulfur (15 ppm) specifications for all on-road US diesel in October of 2006
enabled all the European engines to become available on the US market. This
reduction in the sulfur content of US diesel enables all the clean diesel
technology available in the European market to now come to the US market.
The adoption of this clean diesel technology means that diesel engines can
be as emission efficient as gasoline engines.
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