Happy Birthday Diesel Engine!

120 years of thick black smoke. no wonder we have climate change.

 

You'd like the UK Auris Hybrid TV commercial then. Taking a pop at Europes love of diesel and the problem it causes our cities.

 

Seemed like a good idea at the time. The good news, diesel fuel prices are finally below premium unleaded here in Virginia.

 

thanks gc! reminds me of when some friends went to eastern europe a few years back and were shocked at how all the buidings were covered in black soot.

 

I believe that was due to coal fires. Same applied here until the early 1960's. Since then most buildings have been cleaned up. Quite concerning that coal heating caused such damage to buildings on the outside, but you could never see the damage it did to your lungs.

I do like the following though;

York introduces green taxi incentive | Next Green Car

Not least because I was instrumental in it a few years ago.

 

Diesels have their issues, but, lest we forget, it wasn't that long ago when gasoline cars didn't have any emission controls either. When I was a little kid, the snow banks on the side of the road would be black. Gasoline vehicles were still majority back then.

 

Time for Diesel to retire

 

Indeed. I remember our cities smelling when the majority fuel was leaded petrol. Then emission controls came in in the late 1980's and the air became clearer. Then someone decided that reducing CO2 was a good thing and increased the tax on petrol and encouraged diesel cars. Then the air became dirtier, much dirtier and still is.

Diesel has a use on trucks, trains and SUV's but it doesn't belong in the city. I do think our American friend don't realise quite how bad diesel pollution can be. You've had cleaner emission levels than us and would ban dirty diesels. The French and German car industry decided that diesel some live on despite poisoning city dwellers.

 

I have no delusions on how bad diesel emissions can be. It's just that the offending vehicles here are pre-emission controls. It sucks that people can purposely have their vehicle ran dirtier, but the numbers of such vehicles are only go down in time. Of course, not every county in Pennsylvania requires emission testing on gasoline cars. So people can get away with blocking the EGR port or knocking out the guts of the cat.

 

Diesels are essential for transportation. Cleaning them up is pretty much in its infancy, so I can see it getting better as more is learned. Happy Birthday!