Comments on: With Hybrids in Short Supply, Clean Diesel Cars Gain Traction

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Sat, 17 Mar 2012 17:56:15 +0000

Satisfy both sides and come out with a diesel hybrid. Where is the promise from VW that they will come out with one? I am ready for a 70-80 mpg vehicle with enough torque to scoot around.

By: tapra1

tapra1 — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 13:29:23 +0000

new plug-in electric hybrid vehicles, in addition to clean diesel and conventional gasoline vehicles,” said Allen Schaeffer, executive director of the Diesel Technology Forum. “In this competitive technology field, it is encouraging Web Hosting Reviews

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 14:06:03 +0000

hybrids are pieces of shit! diesel is the answer and they say clean for the obvious comparison to the old diesel engines being dirty. You would know this if you had any interaction with diesels.

By: Rockinon

Rockinon — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 13:30:47 +0000

I was interested to note that your speedometer reads about six percent high. My Jetta speedometer, according to my GPS unit, reads from eight to nine percent high.

By: Dom

Dom — Fri, 01 Jul 2011 12:49:00 +0000

Go diesel!! I really hope other automakers will take note of VW’s success with the TDI and bring their own diesels to the US.

By: wxman

wxman — Sat, 25 Jun 2011 17:53:46 +0000

There are at least two studies which provide support for the perception that the EPA test methodology has a low mpg bias for diesel vehicles.

One is a study by EPA itself ("Final Technical Support Document
Fuel Economy Labeling of Motor Vehicle Revisions to Improve Calculation of Fuel Economy Estimates") in which they admit there was a slight low bias (average of ~4%) for diesel vehicles with their old (1984) test methodology, and that the 2008 revised test methodology would underestimate diesel vehicles' mileage by about 18%. EPA also acknowledge that their 1984 test methodology overestimated hybrid fuel mileage by an average of about 8 percent, which was a major factor in its decision to revise the mileage test methodology.

Another more recent study conducted by the Oak Ridge National Laboratory and presented at this year's SAE conference in May 2011 concluded that the current (2008) EPA test methodology underestimates hybrid vehicles' mileage by about 10% on average, conventional gasoline vehicles by about 20% on average, and diesel vehicles by about 25% on average (Lin, Z., and Greene, D. "Predicting Individual Fuel Economy." SAE Technical Paper #2011-01-0618, © 2011, Oak Ridge National Laboratory).

By: Technogeek

Technogeek — Fri, 24 Jun 2011 17:58:20 +0000

Oh I will get hate mail for this, but…. I have a 10 year old TDI (hate it BTW very unreliable). I drive it 100miles highway commuting, every day it chooses to run. Over that time frame (10 years) I have consistantly attained 61 mpg. I can drive carefully and get 64/65 mpg…imperial mpg that is! I have hypemiled that up to 70 mpg but too much work. I am happy with low 60′s. NOW the bad news. A very close family member bought a 2011 Prius. I love Toyotas for the reliability but it gets now where near the mpg promised on the sticker. On a long trip using the same care I do with my TDI the very best was 59 mpg. not the 70 plus promised by a long shot. I have heard that because of the testing procedures used by the EPA that hybrids usually show higher mpg than they can achieve in the real world…but I have no idea if thats true. What I do know through first hand experience is that my 10 yr old diesel beats the best hybrid soundly. Now don’t start in about special driving techniques for hybrids. We all know most people are never going to grasp those concepts. They want to drive as they always have and get great mileage. Diesel does that for the average Joe. I really wanted to buy a hybrid and a Toyota would have been great but based on this I will buy another diesel. Diesel technology is advancing by leaps and bounds and is a good temporary alternative while we find a long term solution to our addiction to hydrocarbons. And make no mistake we have to end that addiction sooner than later. I’ll be the first in line for a EV or fuel cell or whatever when they become practical for me. They aren’t quite there yet….for me. Let the ranting begin!!

By: Todd Richardson

Todd Richardson — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 15:48:16 +0000

Diesel is my choice for my next car. The new EPA standards (actually not-so-new, 2006) hold diesel and gas light duty vechicles to the same emissions standards.

A hybrid has lower running emissions but the big difference is looking at vehicle and fuel life cycles. Diesel is less energy intensive to produce and since it is more energy dense you need to transport less of it. Diesels do not have the battery banks of a hybrid to contend with, and are mechanically simplier. In the end the net impact of diesel and hybrid about the same.

And assuming we one day get the production of bio-fuels sorted out, bio-diesel is far easier and less toxic to produce.

No car is "clean" and the greenest thing you can do is to use your current vehicle as long as possible (while it runs proper of course)

By: Orphancarguy

Orphancarguy — Mon, 20 Jun 2011 15:55:56 +0000

I drive both gasoline and diesel cars, and each has their place. My favourite would be a diesel-hybrid, or at least having a BlueMotion or GreenLine diesel from the VW group, like a BlueMotion Polo 4dr. I'm sorry now I didn't get a diesel Smart. Of cars I've tracked for a long time--03 Corolla, 03 Jetta TDI wagon and 04 Subaru Forester AWD, just about 55 litres (ie, 12 Imperial gallons, or 16 US gallons) will take me on the highway without hypermiling or other absurd measures as far as 807 km/501 miles in the Toyota Corolla, 1310 km/813 miles in the Jetta, and 736 km / 457 miles in the Subaru, IF its fueled with mid or premium gasoline, not the regular it supposedly takes. This is driving 80-110 kph / 50-68 mph, cars in good tune and tires topped up, driving quite sensibly.
A Prius, for example, is just not right for me because I am always carrying too much stuff or towing something (light) and Prius are just not made to be used that way.

A new 10 VW TDI wagon is in the fleet mix now, and it is cleaner in the tailpipe and to the nose than any gas car I've ever driven.

P.S. CNG/propane cars are just another stop-gap technology because you are STILL burning a fossil fuel and creating greenhouse gases. Only hydrogen is long-range time sensible.

By: wxman

wxman — Thu, 16 Jun 2011 15:00:29 +0000

@ Anonymous – that MAY have been the case before regulations forced DPF on diesels (even then it wasn’t true in the U.S., diesels were a minor source of PM2.5 in the 1970s and 1980s based on monitoring studies; gasoline engines were a larger source by multiple times), it CERTAINLY isn’t true now.

Direct quote from an article that was posted on THIS SITE (hybridcars.com), not really a pro-diesel, anti-hybrid site…

“…and is so clean that it acts like a vacuum cleaner actually removing dangerous particles of pollution from the air as you drive down city roads. You ask, “Is the vehicle some sort of new hybrid?” The salesman replies, “No. It’s a diesel!”…” (first paragraph)

“…And particle emissions coming out of the tailpipe are at or less than ambient….” (first paragraph under subtitle “Excitement When You Hit the Throttle”)

http://www.hybridcars.com/news/experts-identify-obstacles-clean-diesel-future.html

Again, diesel engines are so clean with respect to PM2.5 emissions that they’re actually serving as air filters while running, and again I ask, how clean do you expect them to be?