Now, Lexus Fires Up Diesel Owners

...so, when is Lexus introducting their "new" diesel-powered hybrids?

 

Reminds me of a joke, "I have a diesel. It gets 40mpg, 20 when looking for a station that has diesel."

That joke and Lexus' ad are out of date. I pass 4 stations that I know with diesel on my commute, and I know a fifth one down the street from my house has it too.

 

I've had three diesel vehicles in my life. Have had one continuously since March 99. As I was driving my PIP in EV mode this morning, I passed a gas station. Diesel was selling for forty cents more than regular. I've lost my love for diesel vehicles. The VW Passat TDI (diesel) advertises fuel range of 795 miles on a tank. Impressive, until you fill that almost nineteen gallon tank with the most expensive fuel.

 

I think this ad will be hard on diesel sales. If one thinks about some of the statements. harder to find? true, cost more? true, then you take the time to do a evaluation of both +/- most will avoid diesel cars in the USA. and I doubt lexus will be going with a diesel hybrid in the near future. more likely a rechargeable hybrid with wireless rechargeing in your garage. that is what I think.

 

pulling my fifth wheel with my diesel pickup I have often looked for fuel and found that the station didn't have diesel, but I have never pulled into a gas staion and they didn't have gas

 

The first time I "ever" ran out of fuel was May 1985. After a eight hour trip and only several miles from my destination, I couldn't find a station (open) selling diesel. I was like the two guys in the VW Passant diesel commercial, speaking fluent spanish. My words were fluent, but not in spanish. Availability is much better now.

 

That add wouldn't float here. Every servo has diesel and LPG, no searching required. You only need to search, or rather plan your refills, if you want E85.

 

I have driven many diesels in my lifetime. From 5-speed VW Jetta, MB-300TD, 300SD, 240D, 190D. Diesel if spilled does not just evaporate like gasoline does. An oily mixture. When fueling with a diesel one has to typically wear gloves to keep from getting contaminated with that awful smell. Also fueling with a diesel one has to be very careful as previously spilled diesel can get on your shoes and then become embedded in your floor mats. Just stop at any truck stop and see how much has been previously spilled. A smell that does not go away anytime soon! Nasty.

 

Diesel owners should be more concerned about WHO's classification of diesel exhaust fumes.

 

This is what both my wife and I came to love about plugging in: the fuel station is two feet from the door, doesn't have rude attendants nor undesirables hanging about, no lines, doesn't demand payment before filling up, can leave unattended while filling up, no unpleasant odors on our hands afterwards, and never closes.

 

Aren't most European cities that are heavy diesel users stink badly of diesel? Could be another con for Lexus(Toyota) to use in their campaign

 

Isn't this information based on Diesel and not ULS Diesel?

I just recently purchased a 2013 Jetta TDI from a 2008 Prius. There are +'s and -'s to be sure. But I wanted to try it for a few years and see if the extra torque was worth the higher gas prices. I will say that I love the ride of the Jetta over the Prius. I get around 500-530miles on one tank in the Jetta compared to 350miles in the Prius. But overall, I regret my purchase. I average 34-36mpg with around 8,000 miles on it so far. My 08 Prius was getting 44-46mpg not utilizing hypermiling techniques. People have told me that the mpg's get better the more miles you put into the car. And I'm sure that is true. But when you figure in the cost per gallon, you've lost any savings in that argument. The only way a Diesel vehicle would still make sense is if Diesel #2 prices go down(not likely) or if Petrol prices go up(somewhat likely).

But then there is the problem of CO2 emissions. From what I understand, CO2 emissions in new Diesel vehicles are about the same as new'ish vehicles out today. But they can't compare to hybrid or electric vehicles. I am already shopping for my next Prius. It's a bummer to lose money on a vehicle. But I would just love to get back into a Prius.

Sorry to threadjack here. To comment on the article, very outdated. I've not had any issues with finding diesel in any scenario. I've traveled state-to-state and everytime I pull in to a station there is diesel. The only issue I've had is that some stations carry what's called B5 or B20 which is 5% or 20% biodiesel. I was told that putting this kind of fuel into a TDI would void the warranty. It's a pain to keep track of this.

To comment on the dirtiness or smelliness of the fuel. I've never had issues there either. Yes, Diesel smells and it's noticeably more oily. But both Petrol and Diesel stink and I would not want either on my clothes or skin.

 

The price difference is the big reason they won't take off big in the US. Lower the sulfur content, and now refineries can sell diesel to the world instead of mostly being stuck selling it here.

It is still a question how ULS gasoline will affect the pump price when it starts rolling out in 2017, and US gas specs meet Japan and Europe's.

I've only had to handle it once, but the ULSD is much better in terms of odor than the previous formula.

The smoking gun study from classifying diesel particulates as carcinogen involved miners with diesel equipment without any emission controls. With all but some of the most recent emission control technology on such hypothetical gasoline powered equipment would just leave the miners dead from carbon monoxide poisoning before the end of their shift.

Where most posters live, new road diesels are required to have exhaust filters which reduce their particulate emissions to below that of gasoline cars. Whose particulates aren't worry free. The EU is going to require direct injected petrol cars to have an exhaust filter in the coming years because their particulate levels exceed the limit for diesels. Some port injected ones might even exceed it.

On Europe, they have strongly favored diesel personal cars for decades. While they had ULSD before the US, they didn't have regulation limits in place to take full advantage of it. Euro6 is just starting to take effect, and it brings them up to the levels US diesels had to meet for 5+ years. So a large fleet of diesel cars with a low standard of emission control will cause problems. Try imagining US cities and public health if gasoline emission technology had halted in the early '80s.

The take rate of diesel cars has always been low in the US. So pollution and its problems aren't an issue from older ones compared to the amount from gasoline cars. The numbers are low from the lack of consumer choice. That is changing, but the higher cost of diesel will keep sales lower than that of hybrids. Even if they were to take off for some reason, all diesel cars in the US have to meet the seem emission requirements of a gasoline car plus a particulate one. In short, the problems Europe has with diesel cars will not apply to diesel cars in the US.

 

So, we measure efficiency by how many miles a car can go on a tank?
Tank Size Compare Side-by-Side
2013 Jetta TDI: 14.5 gallons
2008 Prius: 11.9 gallons

 

I think as more and more people are moving into cities/suburbs the benefits of hybrids are becoming quite clear. Maybe if your driveway exits onto a highway that takes you everywhere you want to go at 60mph with no stop lights or traffic then I can see the advantage of driving a diesel, maybe.
My previous car, Honda Fit 2008, saw its best MPG on long distance road trips driving on the highway at a steady speed for a full tank of gas(maybe a couple stops to pee and get snacks). I recall getting 47 MPG on one of these trips! Yet in day to day driving, commuting to work which was still 75% highway the best i ever saw on a tank was 33 mpg.
Now with my v I'm appalled if I'm averaging less than 40 MPG on a tank in 90% city driving.
So my conclusion, if your daily driving involves more than 10% city driving, get a hybrid.

 

Toyota should a larger tank, 20 gal should do it you could drive a very long time in a prius, forever in PIP. Imagine 1100 mile tanks. if you plug in for most of your driving I guess you may fill up every couple of years.