Clean diesel cars garner top rankings on AAA’s 2014 Green Car Guide

[TDIMeister]

Clean diesel cars garner top rankings on AAA’s 2014 Green Car Guide

 

[Ironman11142]

interesting....

Audi made list, but sister/brother VW didn't?

 

[autdi]

Didn't test a Touareg, but unless the Jetta hybrid and TDI are on different platforms, it's a hack job on the TDI. Lower "ease of entry and exit" score. Is it really harder to get into and out of the TDI compared to the hybrid? A different turning circle? More interior room in the hybrid?

 

[ATR]

Wow, that commenter below the article is soap boxin' like a mad man!

Interesting article though! Pretty sweet what the clean diesels can manage

 

[Scoutx]

What's interesting is that when one considers life cycle pollution the diesel often ends up as the best 'green' vehicle out there. The difference with most 'green' cars is the pollution is produced someplace else and the end user doesn't have to see or bother with it. Further consider where a lot of these pollution intensive items are made. China. Where environmental considers are minimal and thus pollution produced is even higher.

 

[Ironman11142]

Wow, that commenter below the article is soap boxin' like a mad man!

Interesting article though! Pretty sweet what the clean diesels can manage

what is soap boxin'?

 

[ATR]

what is soap boxin'?

Guy that was commenting at the bottom seemed to be preaching all about how dirty diesel cars are as if they are billowing out thick black smoke causing cancer to all the kids of the world who even breahed a small whiff of exhaust from any diesel car/truck.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soapbox

 

[JeffDes4]

He was soap boxin' for sure - example: "You pay a buck more per gallon for your beloved fuel and the rest of us suffer for your emissions."

 

[ATR]

He was soap boxin' for sure - example: "You pay a buck more per gallon for your beloved fuel and the rest of us suffer for your emissions."

Funny considering "our emissions" (at least from 09 onward) are actually much less then a comparable gas car.

 

[wxman]

Funny considering "our emissions" (at least from 09 onward) are actually much less then a comparable gas car.

This is exactly why I wish EPA and CARB would discontinue their "smog scores" for vehicles. They are base on, and solely on, the bin or LEV category to which a vehicle is certified. Those bins do not necessarily reflect the overall emission profile, even based on the certified emissions data.

For example, based on certified emissions data from EPA, the 2014 BMW 535d xDrive and the 2014 Toyota Prius Liftback have very similar emission profiles, but the Prius gets a "smog rating" of "9", while the 535d xDrive gets a "smog rating" of "6" (http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/Find.do?action=sbs&id=34173&id=34489&#tab2).

Here are the calculations for the overall (composite) emissions profile of each vehicle...


Calculation of composite emissions (per EPA 2014 ACTRR values - http://www.epa.gov/oms/crttst.htm)...

(Grams/Mile)

Emission............................535d.........................Prius (AT-PZEV)

NMOG (FTP)......................0.008...........................0.0033
CO (FTP)..........................0.174...........................0.040
NOx (FTP).........................0.025..........................0.003
NOx Hwy...........................0.000..........................0.002
PM (FTP)...........................0.0006........................Not Reported
NMOG+NOx (US06)…..…........0.011..........................0.005*
NMOG+NOx (SC03)..............0.002..........................0.012
CO (US06).........................0.060…........................0.080
CO (SC03).........................0.020...........................0.100

Prius evaporative emissions (Per CARB cert) = 0.004 g/mi ("running loss") + (.01/49.5081 = 0.0003 (ORVR)) + ((0.20 + 0.28)/2 = 0.24/57.5 = 0.004 (diurnal)) = 0.008 @ FTP/SC03

0.002 g/mi ("running loss" @ 21.2 mph/48.4 mph) + (.01/49.5081 = 0.0003 (ORVR)) + ((0.20 + 0.28)/2 = 0.24/57.5 = 0.004 (diurnal)) = 0.006 g/mi @ US06

535d - [(0.008 (FTP NMOG) + 0.025 (FTP NOx)) X 0.35] + [(0.011 (US06 NMOG+NOx)) X 0.28] + [(0.002 (SC03 NMOG+NOx)) X 0.37] = 0.01537 g/mi

Prius - [(0.0033 (FTP NMOG) + 0.003 (FTP NOx) + 0.008 (Total evap)) X 0.35] + [(0.005* (US06 NMOG+NOx) + 0.006 (Total evap)) X 0.28] + [(0.012 (SC03 NMOG+NOx) + 0.008 (Total evap)) X 0.37] = 0.015485 g/mi

Emission.....................2014 535d….......................2014 Prius (AT-PZEV)

NMOG+NOx....................0.015............................0.015 (@ 3 sig figs after decimal)
CO................................0.085...........................0.073
PM...............................0.0006..........................Not Reported

*Used lower value of ARTCC US06 values given


So there's no reason from an air quality perspective why the 535d shouldn't receive the same "smog rating" as the Prius.

 

[kjclow]

I filled in some of "soap box guys" missing facts. He commented on how diesel fuel is a carcinogen. Big news flash, so is gasoline! Bunch of other crap that he had limited to no knowledge on.