You may not have noticed, but the Germans love their diesels. Actually, most of Europe seems to prefer diesel-powered automobiles, possibly because gasoline is taxed to death.
Convincing Americans that diesel is the answer isn't so easy. Our gas is cheap and diesel-powered vehicles are not. There are advantages though, like more usable torque and fewer fill ups.
In an effort to educate more Americans about the wonders of diesel, Volkswagen has launched a new blog that it says will be an unedited conversation about diesel. Of course, that conversation starts with a tutorial on "clean" diesel so pay attention.
rick8365 says:
10:31 AM, 05/ 4/09
Big diesel fan here and I really want to see more of them here in the US. But, this weekend I was behind the current model Jetta TDI and I have to say the rear of the car had the typical coating of diesel soot on it - and it's not the first one I've seen. They are definitely better/cleaner than they once were, I just don't get the "clean diesel" claims. Maybe I'm expecting too much (or too little :-))?
jkp1187 says:
11:24 AM, 05/ 4/09
Nice effort, and I do love the idea of diesels and all. (BMW are you listening? - I'd buy a 123d coupe tomorrow.) But this ad isn't very convincing. Of course the 20-year-old diesel car is going to be dirty! Why don't they do the comparison of diesel emissions to emissions of a regular gasser?
cwc1 says:
07:22 PM, 05/ 4/09
Rick8365, are you sure you were behind a new one -- the 2009s look the same to me as they have since the 5th generation came out.
I've never noticed the soot covering the rear either; my TDI doesn't get any of that, and it's an older one.
moparbad says:
07:10 AM, 05/ 5/09
No soot at all from the current VW TDI.
oberg says:
07:59 AM, 05/ 7/09
"But in the U.S., many people have a hard time forgetting the image of those old- noisy, smelly, dirty, engines."
Says who? I am right in the target market for these vehicles, but I was not of driving age when the first diesel experiment failed. It is only because of the media telling me, the consumer, that I am supposed to have negative feelings towards diesel that the manufacturers are scared to death to bring them over here.
Stop telling me what I am supposed to remember and let me experience modern diesels for myself!
ruking1 says:
09:18 AM, 05/ 7/09
rick8365 on May 4, 2009 10:31 AM
To address the 1st comment. What you saw in all likeihood is ubiquitous road "dust". This happens to almost all (if not all) passenger vehicles.
I did not get "sooting" using LSD. (low sulfur diesel- up to 500 ppm sulfur)
As you probably are aware, starting in Oct 2006, ULSD (ultra low sulfur diesel- 15 ppm or LESS) has been mandated. (97% LESS)
As a comparison, RUG to PUG (regular to premium unleaded gasoline has 30 ppm sulfur. So as a minimum, RUG to PUG is 2x as dirty as ULSD.
ruking1 says:
09:19 AM, 05/ 7/09
rick8365 on May 4, 2009 10:31 AM
To address the 1st comment. What you saw in all likeihood is ubiquitous road "dust". This happens to almost all (if not all) passenger vehicles.
I did not get "sooting" using LSD. (low sulfur diesel- up to 500 ppm sulfur)
As you probably are aware, starting in Oct 2006, ULSD (ultra low sulfur diesel- 15 ppm or LESS) has been mandated. (97% LESS)
As a comparison, RUG to PUG (regular to premium unleaded gasoline has 30 ppm sulfur. So as a minimum, RUG to PUG is 2x as dirty as ULSD.
thammer62 says:
06:00 AM, 08/ 5/09
No - I know exactly what this guy is talking about. I've seen it on like 4 TDI's in the past 3 months. The exhaust tips are charred and so is the rear bumper plastic directly above the exhaust tips. A very small bit of black but definitely there. I too don't know the year of these vehicles with the soot - either 2006 or 2009 but they had black soot above the tailpipes and it's inarguable. I'll snag a picture next time.