America needs to get on the bandwagon

[evilcreamsicle]

I don't really post much on LJ anymore - although I do tend to read it everyday. However, this morning I was reading an article and I needed an outlet to write about it. FB status updates wouldn't quite cut it this time

Comments

[five0xpres]

unpleasant puffs of black smoke to emit from the exhaust pipe

Our neighbor had a fairly new (within the past 5 model years) VW Jetta TDI, which she enjoyed for the mileage. I knew it was a diesel when I spied the black spot on the rear bumper right by the tailpipe. heh Still, they are nice cars and do get great mileage and I've often wondered why diesel hasn't gained as much ground here as it has in a lot of other countries.

Maybe it's linked to our dislike of the metric system, unless it's how many liters of HFCS we can swill while driving the empty-except-for-the-driver V-8 powered SUV around town on errands we could easily have completed by parking and walking instead.

[technocowboy]

In 1993, when I was 19, I bought my first car, a 1978 Volkswagen Rabbit. Gas engine, not diesel. At that point, the car was 15 years old. I was getting something like 55 highway miles to the gallon. In a FIFTEEN-YEAR-OLD car. When it was new, it had to have been getting 60 or so. And about half of those cars were diesel, getting them another 10-15 mpg. The technology was there in the late 70s. Then the oil people got in bed with the car people and the car people rolled over and did what the oil people wanted them to do. That's why I'll never buy an American brand. I would have gone with Saturn if GM hadn't fucked them up.

[eggwards]

The thing that scares me away from Diesel isn't the higher price, or the cars, but the fact that the fuel is simply harder to find. You have fewer stations that carry it. Now, since I'm mostly doing city driving, and there's some stations around the house with diesel, it shouldn't be a problem, but out on the highway, it's hard to find.

Weak excuse, but it doesn't seem like Big Oil is trying to help by providing more stations.

[versakub]

If you think that's impressive, just think of the mpg that today's cars would get if only the auto industry would kick the steel industry out of its bed. Carbon fiber has been proven to be safer than steel for energy absorption (some reports say up to 12x) at about half the weight. Half the weight means less work the engine has to do

Unfortunately the big auto companies have been hesitant to move to them because their entire industry is based on steel. Some of the smaller car companies are starting to use carbon fiber to lighten the weight of their vehicles.