GTDI4
Veteran Member
Jeremy Cato, 06/10/08 at 11:35 AM EDT
MUNICH, Germany – Last week in Kingston, Ontario, diesel fuel for cars was selling for 13 cents more per litre than regular gasoline. That's according to MJ Ervin & Associates which tracks these things (http://www.mjervin.com/).
In the United States it's a similar story. Ten days ago, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said the average U.S. gasoline price was $3.72 per gallon. For diesel it was $3.96, but in reality, the price disparity varies widely in different parts of the U.S., as it does in Canada where the average price last week was $1.27 a litre.
So diesel fuel in Canada and the U.S. is more expensive than gasoline and that poses a problem for anyone interested in vehicles with better fuel economy. Diesels, advanced, cleaner diesels, offer a short- to medium-term solution here, but if the fuel is too expensive, buyers will be less likely to pay the premium for a diesel-powered vehicle.
Diesels are everywhere in Europe, commanding about 50 per cent of the new car market. They are everywhere because European governments collectively have manipulated fuel taxes to encourage people to buy them.
Why? Diesel engines deliver 20 to 40 per cent better fuel economy than comparable gasoline engines. Less fuel consumption translates into sharply lower greenhouse gas emissions and reduced oil consumption.
On the other hand, diesels – particularly cleaner diesel engines -- cost manufacturers thousands of dollars more to build, and ever-toughening emissions regulations will make them more expensive still in the coming years. The pump price penalty of driving a diesel is exacerbated by environmental regulations aimed at cleaning up dirty diesels.
No one with any sense opposes cleaner diesels; unregulated, they spew out all sorts of horrible things, including particulates that clog up lungs and oxides of nitrogen that cause lung disease. Auto makers know how to clean up diesel emissions to meet tougher standards, but they don't know how to clean them up inexpensively.
Nonetheless, various auto makers – mostly the German ones -- will introduce more than a dozen models with advanced diesels in the coming year. Mercedes-Benz and Volkswagen already sell light-duty diesels that meet the same clean-air standards as gasoline engines, and BMW (headquartered here in Munich), Audi (just up the road in Ingolstadt), Honda and Nissan all have plans to launch new diesels in the coming months and years.
Diesel engines are not the endgame when it comes to better fuel economy, lower emissions and less reliance on fossil fuels. But they are a step in that direction. Governments in Canada and the U.S. could help here by adjusting fuel taxes in the same way Europe's governments have done.
What's wrong with making cleaner diesel fuel for cleaner diesel engines less expensive than gasoline? Such a move by governments would help push buyers into vehicles that use less fuel and that can't be a bad thing, can it?
We've got an election going on in Canada now. What do the candidates have to say about this?
MUNICH, Germany – Last week in Kingston, Ontario, diesel fuel for cars was selling for 13 cents more per litre than regular gasoline. That's according to MJ Ervin & Associates which tracks these things (http://www.mjervin.com/).
In the United States it's a similar story. Ten days ago, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said the average U.S. gasoline price was $3.72 per gallon. For diesel it was $3.96, but in reality, the price disparity varies widely in different parts of the U.S., as it does in Canada where the average price last week was $1.27 a litre.
So diesel fuel in Canada and the U.S. is more expensive than gasoline and that poses a problem for anyone interested in vehicles with better fuel economy. Diesels, advanced, cleaner diesels, offer a short- to medium-term solution here, but if the fuel is too expensive, buyers will be less likely to pay the premium for a diesel-powered vehicle.
Diesels are everywhere in Europe, commanding about 50 per cent of the new car market. They are everywhere because European governments collectively have manipulated fuel taxes to encourage people to buy them.
Why? Diesel engines deliver 20 to 40 per cent better fuel economy than comparable gasoline engines. Less fuel consumption translates into sharply lower greenhouse gas emissions and reduced oil consumption.
On the other hand, diesels – particularly cleaner diesel engines -- cost manufacturers thousands of dollars more to build, and ever-toughening emissions regulations will make them more expensive still in the coming years. The pump price penalty of driving a diesel is exacerbated by environmental regulations aimed at cleaning up dirty diesels.
No one with any sense opposes cleaner diesels; unregulated, they spew out all sorts of horrible things, including particulates that clog up lungs and oxides of nitrogen that cause lung disease. Auto makers know how to clean up diesel emissions to meet tougher standards, but they don't know how to clean them up inexpensively.
Nonetheless, various auto makers – mostly the German ones -- will introduce more than a dozen models with advanced diesels in the coming year. Mercedes-Benz and Volkswagen already sell light-duty diesels that meet the same clean-air standards as gasoline engines, and BMW (headquartered here in Munich), Audi (just up the road in Ingolstadt), Honda and Nissan all have plans to launch new diesels in the coming months and years.
Diesel engines are not the endgame when it comes to better fuel economy, lower emissions and less reliance on fossil fuels. But they are a step in that direction. Governments in Canada and the U.S. could help here by adjusting fuel taxes in the same way Europe's governments have done.
What's wrong with making cleaner diesel fuel for cleaner diesel engines less expensive than gasoline? Such a move by governments would help push buyers into vehicles that use less fuel and that can't be a bad thing, can it?
We've got an election going on in Canada now. What do the candidates have to say about this?
