Prius vs 520d... a Comnparison

[RAN]

I thought this article was interesting for a variety of reasons:

http://www.autobloggreen.com/2008/03/17/toyota-prius-is-a-gas-guzzler-compared-to-the-bmw-520d/

[CelticFlyer]

That was interesting. And so were the comments that followed. Thanks for sharing that with us. It would appear that comfort and conservation are not mutually exclusive concepts, eh?

[RAN]

Yes, the comments was one of the interesting things about this article. Just as the Terrestrial Radio Bund is trying to ruin satellite radio, it seems that despite the fact there's no reason for diesel fuel to be rising in price faster than the already ridiculous price of gas, it has been more expensive than gas for months. When you add the higher price of diesel fuel to the price "penalty" for getting a diesel engine in a new car, it's a sure recipe to slow the adoption of diesel in this country. And of course the only diesel engine BMW plans to bring here is the big honkin' "35d", which gets considerably less mileage than the smaller "20d".

Actually, this should benefit companies like VV and Aptera, if they ever get their hybrid models into production; if we're going to be stuck with gas engines, then ones that can get 100mpg or more (with good performance to boot) are certainly going to move to the front of the class. It can't happen soon enough...

[Mark Tomlinson]

Actually, this should benefit companies like VV and Aptera, if they ever get their hybrid models into production; if we're going to be stuck with gas engines, then ones that can get 100mpg or more (with good performance to boot) are certainly going to move to the front of the class. It can't happen soon enough...
(I'd like to point out to those new to the site that although diesel gets far better mileage than gasoline, it is not an option for most hybrids. There are small diesel engines available that would make good generators. But none pass California emissions standards for passenger vehicles. And since California standards predate US standards, states are allowed to adopt the California standards where there is overlap. This is why VW, Chrysler, Volvo, and BMW pulled back their diesels and are reworking them.)

[RAN]

The problem is with the way California calculates emissions from diesels. For some unknown reason, they use emissions per *gallon* when testing diesels instead of emissions per *mile*, the way they rate gasoline engines (could it be because of all the diesel trucks that are left idling for long periods of time?). In the V-1, for example, where the engine only runs about half the time, and is set to run at it's most efficient rpm, it could surely pass any objective emissions test. California really needs to address this issue.