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Folks wanted bigger cars with more features, which means more weight, and more power. The manufacturers are only making what the consumers would buy.
Car safety standards played a huge roll in this also. Braces here, reinforcements there, stricter collision standards, roll over standards, driver/passenger air bags, pedestrian collision changes the list goes on and it all adds weight. That and like you said, this country is addicted to XL.
US and European standards on ULSD (Ultra-Low-Sulfur Diesel) fuel are pretty much the same (US: 15 ppm, Europe: 10 ppm). European diesels could meet current EPA requirements with very little modification. I expect to see more diesels in the US in the near future.
BTW, Fed taxes on gasoline = 18¢/gal; Fed taxes on diesel = 24¢/gal. Not much difference there.
The issue isn't sulfur content, its NOx emissions. The U.S. is more stringent about NOx than Europe, and it's a lot harder to control NOx emissions at the higher combustion temperatures of a diesel versus a gasser.
And while 8 cents a gallon may not sound like a lot, over a car's lifetime of fuel consumption it can make or break whether the fuel economy savings of a diesel will offset the higher initial costs. The plain truth of the matter is that consumers are extremely senstiive to fuel prices and our tax structure favors gasoline over diesel, whereas in Europe the incentives are the other way around.
A quick Wikipedia search will tell you that the 2010 320d produces 181hp and 380NM torque.
Not at 6000 rpm.
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I might have phrased myself wrong in saying it keeps peak torque all the way to 6250rpm ...
That is what you said and that is what I called you on.
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what I meant was that it keeps in the power band (there's no notable drop in power pulling all the way to the red line), I suspect the HP is doing some of the high rpm work.
Not sure what you are saying here. You originally said that torque was broadband, not peaky.
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That said, the powerband in this BMW diesel is absolutely astonishing, the fact that you got so much torque so low down in the range, and through so much of it, means passing at highwayspeeds, even in 5th and 6th is a breeze.
The fastest European cars are gasoline driven.
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I would strongly suggest trying one if you're ever in Europe. It blew my mind away.
The issue isn't sulfur content, its NOx emissions. The U.S. is more stringent about NOx than Europe, ...
The point I am trying to make in this thread is that it is not the US government, the EPA, Obama or Nancy Pelosi, that are keeping diesels off American highways. That seems to be a common belief on this thread. It is a major expense for a car company to convert a car line to diesel when American acceptance is questionable, and that is what has been holding back the introduction of diesels. Gasoline prices and concern about mpg have only begun to arise in the last several months.
European environmental standards are as rigorous as those in the states if not more so. A European diesel would pass American standards with little modification. If gasoline prices remain high over the next year, I expect car manufacturers in the US to begin testing the water, tepidly, with a few diesel models.
The point I am trying to make in this thread is that it is not the US government......
In a way it is. Look at the gov'ts of the EU and the cost of gas there. The taxes instead of being meer pennies per gallon are $3-5 dollars per gallon (approx exchange from liters and euros). So even if diesels ever become a large percentage of vehicles in the US, the US will increase the taxes to make up the lost revenue. Just remember: No good deed goes unpunished.
The point I am trying to make in this thread is that it is not the US government, the EPA, Obama or Nancy Pelosi, that are keeping diesels off American highways . . .
. . . but they are making it more difficult; or to be more precise, the tax and regulatory environment overseen by these parties are making it more difficult. And making it more difficult still are the handful of states that feel it's their duty to make sure their own emissions standards are always one step ahead of the federal standards. By making a car 45-state legal instead of 50-state legal, a car company loses out on a 50-million-person market right there -- and soon to be about an 80-million-person market as more states adopt the California standard.
. . . but they are making it more difficult; or to be more precise, the tax and regulatory environment overseen by these parties are making it more difficult.
Do you have a link that compares the European and US regulatory emissions requirements for diesel engines? I'd be interested in seeing that. I'm interested in requirements on particulate matter and NOx emissions. I thought the European and US requirements were pretty much the same.
I'm not sure what you mean by a "tax" overseen by these parties (which parties?) that is making it more difficult. Are you referring to the federal 6¢/gal tax differential between diesel and gasoline?
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And making it more difficult still are the handful of states that feel it's their duty to make sure their own emissions standards are always one step ahead of the federal standards.
And why do you think California adopted tighter regulations on diesel exhaust? Just to be persnickety? Or perhaps they demanded cleaner air. I'd rather look at it as the federal EPA being one step behind. Under the previous administration the EPA was practically asleep.
The point I am trying to make in this thread is that it is not the US government......
In a way it is. Look at the gov'ts of the EU and the cost of gas there.
So you think the government is finding ways to prevent diesels coming to the US so as not to lose money on gasoline taxes? What a clever conspiracy theory. You are the first to have mentioned it. And how is the government going about doing it?
But then why is the government subsidizing buyers of all-electric automobiles, to the tune of about $7000 per car. Perhaps they hope to recoup the subsidy and lost gasoline taxes through taxes on electric power. Oh our Machiavellian government — it makes the mind spin.
Do you have a link that compares the European and US regulatory emissions requirements for diesel engines? I'd be interested in seeing that. I'm interested in requirements on particulate matter and NOx emissions. I thought the European and US requirements were pretty much the same.
I'm not sure what you mean by a "tax" overseen by these parties (which parties?) that is making it more difficult. Are you referring to the federal 6¢/gal tax differential between diesel and gasoline?
And why do you think California adopted tighter regulations on diesel exhaust? Just to be persnickety? Or perhaps they demanded cleaner air. I'd rather look at it as the federal EPA being one step behind. Under the previous administration the EPA was practically asleep.
This article from the Energy Information Agency (EIA) talks about diesels and diesel emission regulations.
Unfortunately, there is no painless way to reduce America's prolific use of petroleum--a reduction that either economics or politics are going to make a necessity. If we insist on maintaining a very structurally inefficient automobile/suburbia-centered lifestyle, then vehicles are going to have to get a lot more energy-efficient. That may mean accepting more lenient standards for exhaust emissions, if relaxing them will improve fuel economy. It may also mean things like lowered speed limits and other measures to improve vehicle fuel efficiency. One thing is certain: Any new energy supplies that we bring on-line are going to be much more expensive than the dwindling supplies that they replace. That means that conservation and improved fuel economy are going to be economically necessary unless we are willing to see our whole transportation system seize up one day. I predict that nobody is going to like what is coming, but come it will--whether we like it or not.
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— it makes the mind spin.
