Diesel carbon content per gallon: 2,778 grams
Clean Diesel as the “green alternative”
When I was in
The other factor that was different in
The second Diesel that I rented, a VW Golf, was not as positive experience, as I was involved in a crash with it that my have been partially attributed to a lack of punch (and of course my driver judgment). Diesels are simply not that quick from standing start, and I wonder if American drivers will accept these cars because of this. The fact that electrics have such high torque and are so fast from standing start may make them the long-term favorite in the American market. We are a 0-60 nation of drivers.
Another shortcoming of the older Diesels was their difficulties in starting in cold temperatures. European climates are more moderate that that of the most northerly states. However, since the migration of some many Americans to the Sun Belt, I doubt that will be a major issue in marketing these cars. Additionally, Americans still have the memory of Diesel buses and large trucks with their dirty exhaust fumes, and so the German car makers are going to have to overcome a historical legacy. We all remember getting behind a dirty bus.
There is no doubt that since the first auto Diesel was marketed by M-B in 1935 – and especially the importation M-B and VW Diesels beginning in the late 1960s, that there were great advantages to these cars. Above all, they are incredibly rugged engines, and are durable well beyond a comparable ICE. They are relatively simple. But because of the need for thicker cylinder walls, and expensive injection pump mechanisms, they are also more expensive to make.
Finally, for some Americans green means getting away from any fuel combustion system. Even though electricity is a product of fossil fuel burning, electric cars are one step beyond the sight of a consumer. If the pollution is out of sight, perhaps it is also out of mind.
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