Diesel On The Comeback ??
This was in Greenwire today (its an online journal read by folks dealing with EPA and DOE here in DC)
Thought you might be interested
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Diesel -- that '70s fuel -- hopes for a comeback
Alex Kaplun, Greenwire reporter
When gasoline prices skyrocketed during the oil embargo in the late 1970's, Americans turned to diesel as an answer to their energy woes.
Now, as gas prices hover at historic highs, diesel manufacturers and some automakers are hoping history will repeat itself and the fuel that all-but vanished with bellbottom jeans might become the choice of a new generation.
"The consumers that are going to make today's and tomorrow's diesels successful were either not born or were in diapers during the oil embargo," said Allen Schaeffer, the Diesel Technology Forum's executive director.
With diesel producers touting a proven technology and engine power that matches or exceeds that of gas-powered vehicles, sales of both diesel-fueled medium-duty pickup trucks and light-duty passenger vehicles have increased by about 50 percent over the last five years.
The main benefit of a diesel engine is that it can take you 20 to 40 percent farther than you'd go on gasoline. So the diesel industry has attempted to market itself in much the same fashion as hybrid vehicles -- telling consumers that they will be able to travel a lot further on a single tank of gas and fill up less often than traditional automobiles.
Both gasoline and diesel are made largely from crude oil, their pump prices are compatible. The average nationwide price of a gallon of diesel was $2.30 this week, compared to $2.24 for gasoline, the Energy Information Administration reported.
Industry officials also say that diesel engines tend to last longer, providing consumers with additional long-term savings.
But automotive experts question whether consumers will ever embrace diesel engines. Hybrid vehicles -- whose sales have nearly doubled in the last year -- have emerged as the clear favorite of car buyers who want to lower their gas consumption and do a good deed for the environment, experts say. Plus, diesel cars continue to carry a stigma with the American public, which has long perceived them as noisy, unreliable -- and polluting.
Proposed 'clean-diesel' tax credit would boost industry
Diesel engines in passenger cars largely disappeared from the U.S. market in the mid-1980s, as gasoline prices stabilized and consumers disappointed by diesel's performance returned to gasoline. Today, diesel engines are mostly used in buses, construction equipment and trucks.
But some automakers are betting that diesels will re-emerge in the U.S. market. BMW, Volkswagen and Honda have announced plans to reintroduce diesel vehicles into the marketplace. DaimlerChrysler also said it will release 5,000 diesel-powered Jeep Liberty SUVs this year and may dramatically increase production in future years if there is consumer demand. Several other automakers are in the midst of research projects on clean-diesel technology.
Schaeffer and other industry representatives say diesel manufacturers have largely erased many of the problems that bothered car buyers, despite negative stereotypes that they say are being spread by their competitors and the media.
"I don't think its necessarily fair," Schaeffer said. "When we talk about computers, I don't think we talk about the computers 25 years ago. That first Apple was a real piece of junk compared to today."
The industry has already received the support of President Bush who touted diesels as a major part of the country's energy future during a speech last week urging Congress to pass comprehensive energy legislation. In that speech, he asked lawmakers to extend tax credits available on hybrids to "clean-diesel" vehicles.
But industry experts say one major obstacle to diesel's re-emergence is the popularity of hybrids.
While hybrids still make up only a small percentage of total car sales in the United States, their popularity has skyrocketed with consumers who place a premium on reducing gasoline use and emissions. Dealerships in some parts of the country report wait-lists for new hybrids of several months.
"People are lining up around the block [for hybrids], but you don't hear that kind of cry for diesels," said Dan Becker, an automotive expert with the Sierra Club.
And Mark Pauze, an industry analyst with the Michigan-based consulting firm of RL Polk & Co., noted the auto industry is producing more and more hybrid versions of their vehicles, while diesel engines are available on just a handful of models. "There just aren't many choices available on the North American market, at least for passenger cars," he said.
Schaeffer countered that more diesel vehicles will become available if diesel gets the same tax breaks extended to hybrid buyers. And, he said, some consumers will pick diesels because they are a proven technology, while much is still unknown about the long-term reliability of hybrid automobiles.
"At the end of the day this is not diesel versus hybrids by any means," Schaeffer said. "We've got a lot of technologies coming out to reduce the reliance on foreign oil and we ought to give those technologies an equal opportunity."
Dirty diesel exhaust still a major concern
But both diesel industry officials and environmentalists say the biggest single obstacle for diesels in the short-term is their dirty tailpipes. Diesel exhaust includes more smog-forming pollutants and particulate matter than gas engines.
Becker said many of today's diesel engines are not clean enough to be used in California and several other states that have adopted clean air rules that are stricter than the federal government's regulations. "Diesels have gotten better, but it is still the quick and dirty way to improve fuel economy," Becker said.
Over the next five years, the federal government will also phase in regulations that will require diesel-powered passenger cars to meet the same emissions standards as gasoline automobiles.
Diesel industry officials have touted newer incarnations of their automobiles as "clean diesels," saying that improvements in engine construction and the use of lower-sulfur fuel reduce emissions.
Schaeffer admits that diesel technology is not yet fully capable of meeting the looming federal emissions but believes it will be able to reach that target in the next few years.
"That'll determine if we get to come to the party," Schaeffer said. "But I was a betting person, I would bet that we will get there."
and put in a 3.5 V8 auto 
