U.S. passenger car market should open up to more Turbodiesel cars
Diametrically opposite today's gas-guzzling SUVs is a passenger car that gets 50 miles to the gallon. It is not a hybrid gas-electric like the Toyota Prius, it is not a subminiature car like DaimlerChrysler's Smart, it runs on neither natural gas nor vegetable oil. Based on modern refinements of a century-old technology (invented 1893), this car -- and this technology -- are both cheap and reliable. It uses a widely available fuel which costs, for the average gallon, 17 cents less than regular gasoline. And, based on the narrow-mindedness of well-meaning politicians, this particular car --...
Yes yes YES! If other Americans only knew how much fun I was having driving my antiquated 1999 VW TDI, they'd completely change their mind about diesel passenger cars. Detroit really tarnished the concept in the 70s and 80s with their crappy diesel retrofits. Well written article, and I hope others will "see the light". While this doesn't take us off our dependence on fossil fuels, who could argue with L. David Peter's logic, especially concerning hybrid turbodiesels? (Besides, hybrids on their own have so much weight in their massive battery packs; wouldn't you want to counteract that weight with the most fuel efficient engine you could find?) Why can't Detroit market this technology here if they're doing so overseas? Mr. Peters is also right on the money about turbodiesel technology coming into its own in only the past decade or so. A few days ago, a current model year TDI pulled up alongside me and a newer Ford Mustang at a traffic light, and left me and the Mustang in the dust, hands down, game over! Oh, and no black smoke, no indication whatsoever that the engine was turbodiesel other than the TDI emblem. I hear Subaru and Honda are both planning to introduce turbodiesel passenger cars into the North American market in 2010 or so. Not a moment too soon! Meanwhile, Detroit keeps churning out clunky SUV behemoths and effectively telling Americans, "Let them eat cake" while the rest of the world is having their cake and eating it too.