patrick.net

The problem is that people watch it and then are all of sudden experts, so I find myself in situations where someone just quotes it and says, why not just get a Golf? To which I logically say why? And then they say, it's better. I'm not sure its even a fair comparison, logically one compares gas to gas diesel to diesel unless one wants to make the point that diesel is a better choice overall or the other way around. Funnily enough though, it seems like the Prius does in fact hold its own when compared to the straight diesel.

That condescending accent is really annoying to me. It's like he speaks that way to make up for a lack of substance.

It is funny how the English glorify the stereotypical redneck though.

Malcolm,

The 69.9MPG diesel+electric from your link is exactly the one I was referring to in my original post yesterday. What an awesome piece of machinery that is.

By the way, I have found another good source for VW TDI information:

www.tdiclub.com

There you can hang out and learn about the awesome mileage people have been getting from their older and not-so-clean diesels, as well as photos and news about the new Clean 2009 Jetta TDI.There are even photos of the demo models, same as the one I drove.yesterday. I took some photos, too, but no need to post hem when they are already available elsewhere :-)

Malcolm,

You know you're NOT a real redneck ..... if you need a British announcer and commentator to add legitimacy to shooting up a car with a caliber 0.50 machine gun. ;-)

Malcolm,

I don't see how people can just fashion themselves as experts on anything from watching taht video.

But there is an underlying point: Diesel is awesome, and now that it can be clean enough to be California legal, it will have a bright future.

Thanks Justme. I'm going to check it out. I guess that is the real develpment that I wasn't aware of that diesels weren't allowed in California. That clears a lot of things up for me because I always found myself at the root issue, if diesel is just plain better, why not just go that way and incorporate hybrid technologies with it?
Like I said, if my primary power is pure clean electric, and I'm only occasionally going to use a fuel backup, I don't think I really care whether it is an efficient gasoline engine/generator or a clean diesel one.

Malcolm,

Do you know anything about these electric cycles?

http://www.evcusa.com/

The performance they claim (acceleration and top speed) looks good. The range is tolerable for city use (75 miles max, but likely a bit less in practice). Cost to operate will undoubtedly be dominated by battery price and lifetime, as the cost of electricity per mile is tiny. How many charge/discharge cycles can one expect from lithium-ion batteries, or is there no way to generalize?

Thanks,

STCM

Funny, I thought the same thing about the redneck. I've never seen a poser wannabe redneck before. It would be funny if the guy is actually a branch manager at a B of A in Dallas.

It still is beyond me how some UCSD students could build a 80mpg diesel hybrid sportcar (several years ago) and the majors still can't get their act together. TDIclubdotcom has been great for dispensing advice on regular (and not so routine) maintenance (finally cleaned my snowscreen!), but they can be rather, uhhh, biased. Malcolm, you should head over there with your 50mpg claims and see how they react.

Malcolm,

I just re-read what you said about Martinique and old diesel. It is very true, just look at any US truck for the same problem. They need to fix truck engines and emissions as well.

I was down on the ground checking the exhaust on the 2009 Jetta TDI, and smoke and smell was absolutely undetectable. But I will admit I didn't inhale ;-)

Upshot: The new California-clean diesel engines, together with the ultra-low sulphur diesel which is now mandatory in 49 states, is the REAL deal. Alaska is joining in 2010,. Yee-ha.

I found also yesterday NYT article about another new diesel that is supposedly coming to 50 states later this year: The Honda Accord 2.2L clean turbodiesel! That could really put a dent in the overall car market. The competition is heating up, and there is more coming.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/18/automobiles/autoreviews/18DRIVE.html?ref=autoreviews

They are claiming 53MPG highway on the test drive, "40MPG if I drove it like a Nascar Yahoo"/

Um, the article says SDSU. Just needed to clarify, I'm a little touchy on that.

If we all shift to diesel, granted in a hybrid form, but even so, would there be enough supply or would it send prices of diesel to $10 per gallon? It's already higher than gasoline where I live.

In that case, some people will shift away from diesel again, sending prices down. Market does wonders.

The Honda Accord 2.2L clean turbodiesel!

A four door vehicle of that size with that fuel economy would have a ready market with Taxi companies. I wonder if an Impala or Taurus will be introduced with similar technology.

Well, 53 is good but then again I actually have gotten close to that in a Prius. So I'm still not entirely sold unless diesel is actually say cleaner, or has some other social benefit like not supporting terrrorism.

Here is the video I put on Youtube to backup my mileage claim.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C7vsIZj8GSc

EBGuy,

I agree, it is a sad state of affairs that GM, Ford and Chrysler have done so little of practical value when much of the technology just needed incremental improvements to become useful and 2x more efficient.

The reason is that energy efficiency ins un-cool and un-manly and does not fit into their testosterone-pandering marketing scheme. They will take short-term profit over doing the right thing ANY time. But look at the world of trouble they are in now. All the oil unnecessary wasted in the last 15 years makes me truly ill.

By the way, when I say "incremental" I do not mean to devalue the excellent effort that some automakers have put into clean diesel. It is incremental, but is far from easy, especially when you also have to be cost-effective. They have done an excellent job, and there is still more coming. Now people just need to buy them, and KEEP them when gas goes back to $3/gallon, which I suspect it will.

HeadSet, I think that is a real problem. The American car makers are now playing catchup because they grossly miscalculated what was going to happen. They are almost as incompetent as the bankers who inflated the housing bubble after being warned. I think what we will see is more small startups of American car makers like Aptera who will operate a lean manufacturing environment and unfortunately we will see the eventual demise of the big three.

The reason is that energy efficiency ins un-cool and un-manly and does not fit into their testosterone-pandering marketing scheme. They will take short-term profit over doing the right thing ANY time.

What are you talking about?

Energy efficiency is a matter of economy. Please do not attach ethical value to it.

All the oil unnecessary wasted in the last 15 years makes me truly ill.

The oil was paid for. Enough said.

Malcolm,

I agree, Prius is a great car. But the diesel does nearly as wellwithout the battery, and that is a BIG deal relative to cost and mass manufacturing. And as we saw, let us combine the two and get even better. I love the synergism of new engine technology and new hybrid+battery technology.

Diesel shortage and cost? There is no fundamental reason it should be like this. Just refine more diesel and less gas. Less work even for the refiners, they do not need the "cracker" units to break uop the heavy oil into gasoline-compatible molecule sizes. The current price differential has a lot to do with refining capacity and product mix, I'm pretty sure it is a solvable problem.

I think that image is changing quickly Justme. I don't know anyone who is saying that stuff anymore. It is mainly males who seem to think the new technologies are cool. Ironically it is the wives of people that I find to be the hardest sell when the topic comes up at a dinner. They love their Explorers and Excursions and as long as the guy is paying the gas bill they don't find the gas prices to be that inconvenient. In fact they wonder what all the fuss is about. :)

I need this answered before I will consider a hybrid vehicle:

1. What is the environmental cost of building the batteries
2. What is the environmental cost of recycling the batteries

I think I'm in agreement with you. I sure wouldn't bet against your prediction. All things being equal you could sell me on it. Like I said, as the secondary source of power I don't believe I really care what it is, I just want it to be clean.

Peter P,

You know damn well that "energy efficiency ins un-cool and un-manly" is not MY position. I find it to be very cool and very manly.

You can lecture all you want about "not attaching ethical value to economic matters". I don't care except to counteract the effect you may have on impressionable young children.

Peter, given the cost of ownership it is much lower to use batteries than buying gasoline the batteries clearly win environmentally. You build a battery, it does its thing, you have to constantly produce gasoline. That right there is a win for electric.

Recycling them is even better. When you research the subject I think you will find that the electrolyte has no environmental impact, and you can just reuse the casings.

The only argument that has any substance is the method of producing the electricity. It is a tradeoff, but I for one am on solar, and charging at night doesn't take any more capacity than daytime energy needs so to me it is a moot point. I put back what I would use by producing clean solar power for the grid during the day.

The Housing Bill is being blocked because of an alternative energy bill:

http://uk.reuters.com/article/marketsNewsUS/idUKN2547060320080625?pageNumber=2

Alternative energy is not OT after all. :)

Anyway, both bills are terrible.

Headset,

Taxicabs: I see a lot of Prius cars used for cabs around the world these days. But something bigger like and Accord Diesel or Taurus or IMpala could also make a dent in that market.

I'm worried, though, that Detroit is going to pervert the concept and build muscle-diesels much as they have built muscle-hybrid-SUV and the like of it. Detroit (and even Japan) has never seen a n ew technology that they can resist perverting into more testosterone.

Cabs are getting smaller. The good idling efficiency of diesel is also good for cabs, police cars and other service vehicles that end to idle extensively.

Malcolm, solar is going to be big. It is big in the Bay Area. I personally know two people working in that industry.

If gas does fall to $3/gal, I'm thinking that a tax should added to raise the price right back up. After a spell of paying $4+/gal, Americans will think $3/gal is an outright bargain and will opt right back to low mileage vehicles.
That is was what happened after the last oil shock. SUV was just a way to get around CAFE.

The un-cool un-manly image that the billybobs keep throwing out has come so full a circle that people that talk like that actually look like idiots. I hate to stoop but objectively I just don't see it. I think the reason why is that the new generations (even of the prius) no longer look like little wimpy cars. How idiotic does it look to go broke driving a Suburban but still knocking your neighbor for driving an Insight? As early adopters, people should expect some criticism but when you know you are right, it is fun to just watch atitudes change on their own.

Peter P Says:
June 25th, 2008 at 11:06 am
"Malcolm, solar is going to be big. It is big in the Bay Area. I personally know two people working in that industry."

You actually know three.

Malcolm,

About the demographic of the Ford Extinction crowd:

I'm afraid you may be right. There is a lot of women who are now addicted to the testosterone-appeal of these cars. Very sad. I could speculate on the deeper psychological and sociological reasons for this fact, but that might turn into a whole other thread.

I share the fear Headset. I think this is a window for people to shift their habbits once and for all. Electrics and hybrids in full production will be so compelling on their own that I can't imagine people wanting to shift back. I imagine that we will see big muscle hybrids, I'm not sure that even bothers me.

I don't even want to open that box because I actually feel we have had a gender role reversal in this country. Women were traditionally the moral compass keeping their men in check and now I meet more and more gen x and y men who seem very enlightened. I don't know if it a generation thing, a California thing, a current political shift, but I know what I am seeing over and over.

Don't get me wrong there are plenty of girls who dig the environmental point of view, but the ones in influencial social circles seem to be the late adopters.

Headset,

You're right, gas *should* be $4/gal.

We can tax it to get there if need be, This will get Peter P's Panties in a twist, but ask me if I care.

My longtime girlfriend seems to really like the image she conveys driving her Prius. She also seems to generate respect in her circles by what I'm doing with my life so maybe it is a subset of women.

Malcolm,

Interesting that the hybrid and advanced diesel is coming out now. It is as if the foreigners predicted the higher US gas prices and saw a way to capture US market share. After all, high gas prices have been the norm in Europe for quite a while, and they coped by building small cars/engines. When I was in England during the mid 90s, it was not uncommon to see cars with sporting a "1.0 Litre" badge..

$4? Premium was at 4.99.

I know a year ago or so I predicted prices would drop with an economic slowdown. I have to say that prediction was wrong but probably irrelevant since those who actually want to take control of their wellbeing are going to make the switch and it will not even matter.

I still think if we really do slowdown there will be a short term glut of oil in production. I believe that the handwriting is on the wall and like any typical industry they are just maxing out the revenues while they can. The world is going to be very different starting next year.

The timing is what is killing our car makers because predicting hybrid market share was counterintuitive.
That's the reward of doing what's right instead of merely following and guessing market trends. Everyone here is richer for not following the housing trend up, and that's what happened in the auto industry. That's why the billybobs will always live a backwards life with a poor quality of life.