Quote:
Originally Posted by Dakster
You can retrofit diesel cars with DPF's which traps soot and particulate. Although it may be cost prohibitive.
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From what I've read, add-on DPFs (Diesel Particulate Filter) were never required on older vehicles, but still had some popularity when new standards were imposed in 2005, not so much in 2011, and now seem unlikely to be able to even meet 2015 EU6 standards, because of reduced permissable NOX levels, requiring more fundamental engineering to the engine to achieve. Fortunately for owners of older cars, they are grandfathered in, and only new registrations have to meet the new rules.
Last year about 1% of the new automobiles sold in the US were diesel, while in France 76% were. Why the huge difference? It seems that differences in government policy are the primary cause. A key factor is that in the US diesel fuel is taxed in such a way that it is more expensive than gasoline, whereas in France gasoline is about $7 a gallon, while diesel is about $6. The effect of this fuel price differential is that even though diesel cars are more expensive to buy, the increase gets paid back in a couple of years, after which the diesel is less expensive to use in France. So it's more popular, and therefore French auto makers focus on manufacturing diesels, etc.
And all of this traces back to the French government deciding on a strategy years ago to reduce dependence on foreign oil imports by encouraging the use of the more fuel efficient diesels. Other European countries have a much more balanced policy, and hence a more equal distribution of gas and diesel cars.
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