CNN/Money: Diesel Quickest Way to Reduce Consumption
 

Good CNN/Money article on diesel. States clean diesels are coming soon.

Re: CNN/Money: Diesel Quickest Way to Reduce Consumption
 

I always thought the quickest way to reduce consumption was

a) not drive a machine 10x larger than you need for a daily driver
b) not drive like an a**hole who thinks he/she/it owns the road

But what do I know? I prefer to use my own brain and not by taken in by slick advertising.:confused:

Re: CNN/Money: Diesel Quickest Way to Reduce Consumption
 

Actually, that's an even better idea - it's the first change I'd like to see...

Ever thought about what oil consumption and highway safety would be like if everybody simply thought of vehicles as a way of getting around?

Re: CNN/Money: Diesel Quickest Way to Reduce Consumption
 

Today I walked across my Publix parking lot, right by an idling Ford diesel pick up truck. I had to hold my breath as I unlocked the door of my HCH it stunk so bad. As I hopped into my car and closed the door my eyes began to sting.

I'm sure the owner was completely oblivious of this and would tell you his truck is great. Experiences like this only keeps the diesel stigma going of a dirty vehicle.

Even if they do "get it right" with diesels it may be a long time before they're accepted here.

Re: CNN/Money: Diesel Quickest Way to Reduce Consumption
 

And that doesn't even include the fact that a lot of diesels are a royal pain to drive. They belong in over-the-road tractors but not in passenger vehicles. You need expensive turbo chargers just to make them drivable. Otherwise they are complete slugs. A good friend of mine has a brand new Peterbilt tractor. It has a Caterpillar engine in it with twin turbos. It will fly and it gets about 7 mpg loaded and just a hair better unloaded.

Those turbos, btw, are not cheap to replace. They should be considered as "maintenance" items prone to failure after a number of miles. They tend to squeal first and then to "explode." Better have a fat wallet.

Re: CNN/Money: Diesel Quickest Way to Reduce Consumption
 

Agreed! It seems to me that there are incredibly *few* applications that require 300+ HP, and there's only one state that has an unlimited speed limit. So why the heck does *anybody* need the huge V8 SUVs and trucks that go from 0..60 in 5 seconds and have a top speed of 200 mph??

Realistically, maybe 1 in 30 has a legitimate need for that kind of power (and they *should* have it). The rest is just compensating for the insufficient length/width of a certain male appendage.

Re: CNN/Money: Diesel Quickest Way to Reduce Consumption
 

Yeah... And Missouri Mule had an excellent observation about turbochargers.

My dad's 4th wife had a Mitsubisi Starrion that ate a turbocharger every 10k miles like clockwork. Essentially, it was about every *other* oil change that the whole thing would just go kablooie! Personally, I didn't have too much sympathy, considering this 300 HP sports car was used for her whopping 2.5 mile commute to work!

Re: CNN/Money: Diesel Quickest Way to Reduce Consumption
 

Ashen I think Montana now has a speed limit! kevin

Re: CNN/Money: Diesel Quickest Way to Reduce Consumption
 

I think the story on the Montana speed limit is they set it to 75mph recently after the courts said "safe and reasonable" was constitutionally vague. One officer might think 80mph was OK while another might have a problem with it....

Re: CNN/Money: Diesel Quickest Way to Reduce Consumption
 

It was also the fact that they were going to lose funds from the feds if they didn't.kevin