Beam me to Planet Gore !
Posted on 11/09/2008 7:02:49 PM PST by 2ndDivisionVet
If ever there was a car made for the times, this would seem to be it: a sporty subcompact that seats five, offers a navigation system, and gets a whopping 65 miles to the gallon. Oh yes, and the car is made by Ford Motor (F), known widely for lumbering gas hogs.
Ford's 2009 Fiesta ECOnetic goes on sale in November. But here's the catch: Despite the car's potential to transform Ford's image and help it compete with Toyota Motor (TM) and Honda Motor (HMC) in its home market, the company will sell the little fuel sipper only in Europe. "We know it's an awesome vehicle," says Ford America President Mark Fields. "But there are business reasons why we can't sell it in the U.S." The main one: The Fiesta ECOnetic runs on diesel.
Automakers such as Volkswagen (VLKAY) and Mercedes-Benz (DAI) have predicted for years that a technology called "clean diesel" would overcome many Americans' antipathy to a fuel still often thought of as the smelly stuff that powers tractor trailers. Diesel vehicles now hitting the market with pollution-fighting technology are as clean or cleaner than gasoline and at least 30% more fuel-efficient.
Yet while half of all cars sold in Europe last year ran on diesel, the U.S. market remains relatively unfriendly to the fuel. Taxes aimed at commercial trucks mean diesel costs anywhere from 40 cents to $1 more per gallon than gasoline. Add to this the success of the Toyota Prius, and you can see why only 3% of cars in the U.S. use diesel. "Americans see hybrids as the darling," says Global Insight auto analyst Philip Gott, "and diesel as old-tech."
(Excerpt) Read more at businessweek.com ...
My mechanic is a Hispanic gentleman in Dallas who is a former Mercedes Master Mechanic. Somehow, he is able to source parts for me way under what a dealership charges and his labor costs are dimes on the dollar. I buy minor parts at O’Reilly, believe it or not.
It’s another case of the crazies screwing things up in the name of the environment—when, in fact, it wastes more fossil fuels and in the end produces more pollution.
I had a diesel Rabbit back when they sold them here. Great car, even back then before the technology in Europe really improved diesel engines.
Obama will predictably make things worse. It’s part of the Democrat game plan, and most Republicans are too fearful to fight it.
But the oil companies own most all of the commercial bio diesel plants here.
And yes, you can make your own bio diesl, but you have to be very careful making it. Even though these engines can burn it without modification, it has to be made to the right grade standards, or else you WILL destroy the fuel injector, which are extremely expensive on these new diesel engines.
That's why an old VW diesel rabbit engine is so popular, they were much more forgiving with badly made home made diesel.
What a coincidence, I’m also in Dallas.
There are mail order parts houses one can get parts cheaper at, plus WorldPac Foreign Car Parts has their distribution warehouse in Farmers Branch.
With the new California carbon dioxide standards you can forget about having a diesel. California is aiming to ban the internal combustion engine and Obama has promised to remove the blockades President Bush put in place to stop them.
All the 2008 2009 new tech diesel made in Europe surpass California emission standards.
These new diesel engines are like nothing you ever heard. they are very quiet, yet very powerful. You can’t tell they are diesels just by listening to them. I’ve seen quite a few of them in Canada already.
You are correct about Canada’s emission standard though, although they aren’t far off. They just don’t keep up with California’s ever changing EPA standards, always a few years behind.
Not all of them meet the standards, which is why we don’t have a diesel Liberty (though we may soon) any more, and why
The Mercedes BlueTecs do, as do the latest TDIs from VW - but the Peugeots that Ford uses *don’t* yet and neither does anything from VM Motori.
To make diesel out of rapeseed, all you need to do is squeeze it. Anyone can build a plant to do so.http://www.cogeneration.net/rapeseed_biodiesel.htm
Those new diesels have lower carbon specs than gasoline engines.
What makes nme scratch my head however, is why Ford USA, GM doesn’t make an ethanol burning diesel instead. They are even more efficient than those Ero diesels. And extemely powerfull @28:1 compression ratios.
I read an article about this last week. That article included several other fuel efficient cars made by US Auto Companies.
The price tag was the stated reason. These cars cost about $24,000 base price, and are not believed to be competetive against entry level vehicles costing at least 40% less.
But in Obamanation surely we can all just receive a $12,000 or more tax credit so everyone can have an O-car. It could even have that round symbol thingy on it.(sarc)
You can say that again.
And Oprah could give them out to her viewing audience!
makes me want to given a 25B bailout...how bout you??
"Man, did I ever do a stupid thing putting this crap in my gas tank and driving around all day. Now after it sat all night and cooled off, it seems to be siezed..."
Bush could have fixed this years ago the same way.
Old news and previously posted. Nothing to see here, move on.
http://journeytoforever.org/biodiesel_make.html
They’d have to ship the cars over rather than make them here, too - imagine what the UAW would do to those cars instead of making them properly!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.