The price of diesel is higher than premium gas.....can anyone say “RIP-OFF”?
Even though the price of diesel is higher than gasoline, it’s STILL MORE ECONOMICAL. Do the math............
“The price of diesel is higher than premium gas.....can anyone say “RIP-OFF”?”
Yeah but you’d be getting over twice the MPG of your avg car with a car like this so you’d be back at the pump less often.
Indeed it is.
Recall that in the late '70s, diesel was selling for about 45 cents/gal, while gasoline was about 65 cents/gal. People started buying German diesels, and GM came out with their first diesel cars and light duty trucks.
Then came the Iranian revolution, May of '79.
Ta-da. Overnight, diesel went from 45 cents to 90 cents or so, and gas slid over a dollar.
The oil companies made sure that no one could escape just by purchasing a diesel vehicle.
No no. That would be too easy, dears.
At the time I worked for GM. We were not amused. The power play was so obvious, and the excuses so pathetic (for instance, even then, Iran was only like 3% of our supply, at most. How does the temporary restriction of that tiny amount add up to a doubling of cost?), you could only be angry. People who think this was just "market forces" are fools.
But if diesel hybrids become predominant (and they will in Europe), then the whole scam is going to be a bit difficult to maintain.
But we can all be certain that the OPEC countries and their western enablers will try.
The increased mileage (69 mpg) more than offsets the higer per gallon fuel cost.
Can you say net savings?
Where are the cars that get 69mpg on premium gas?
Rip off is an incorrect expression when only applied to diesel fuel. If diesel fuel prices are a rip off then all fuel derived from crude oil is a rip off. Diesel fuel is basically the cost of home heating oil with the highway taxes added. Of course home heating oil is delivered to the address where it is consumed while diesel is delivered to a distribution center.
Refineries' must produce home heating oil and several blends of gasoline in anticipation of the demand. A 42 gallon barrel of crude oil yields approximately nine gallons of distillate fuel oil, approximately four gallons of jet fuel, and approximately 20 gallons of gasoline.
Ok, so you can get 69 mpg @ $3.50-$3.75/gallon OR 25-30 mpg @ $3.25. You tell me which is the rip off?
Of course, as just about everyone with a calculator or a spreadsheet has already pointed out, the dollars per mile is still better with diesel.
I do recall that diesel used to be considerably cheaper than gasoline, and gasoline was and is more readily available.
It is my understanding (perhaps mistaken) that diesel is inherently cheaper than gasoline in that it requires fewer refining steps. However, a barrel of crude will yeild only a certain number of gallons of crude and a certain number of gallons of gasoline, there is only so much flexibility in adjusting the yeilds of either product. The demand for each product relative to supply will determine price.
That being said, I've been wondering where the diesel hybrids are? Hybrid technology seems to overcome the most obvious disadvantage of diesels, sluggish acceleration. And clearly, they would be unrivaled in mileage, or kilometrage. I suspect that the image of diesels as dirty has slowed market acceptance.
Based on 2008 model year prices, 12,500 miles/year and an eight year economic life and 8%/annum cost of money, you cannot amortize the differential investment cost of a Prius over a Corolla in fuel savings over the life of the vehicles at less than $6.00/Gal. (Assuming maintenance and insurance costs are equal.) The appeal of the Prius is clearly not based on a rational calculation of price. A four cycle Prius might stroke the vanity of the purchaser in a way that a diesel does not.
I can see hybrids and especially diesel hybrids becoming much more widely produced in response to new federal fleet fuel ecomony standards.