Short Commute and Diesel

[capngrouch]

Sorry, did not mean to offend anyone. One of my weekends can see more travel miles than 2 weeks of daily commute.

I would love to be somewhere I can take public transportation to work, but here in Texas, the SUV culture and Toll roads rule.

Not to change the subject, but I am all for being green, but why does it cost so much more? Example: went to buy aluminum pan at grocery store and noticed recycled aluminum pan for sale. The recylced version was .80 cents more than the virgin pan.

[StumpyPete]

The pan probably had a BMW logo on it!

[motordavid]

capngrouch,
No offense taken, and I reiterate that the CarJones is insidious, but pleasing, and few of us can avoid it,
or else we would all be on the tree hugger, econo box boards.

I have a friend that drives his Turbo PCar a few miles every day to our golf course; I don't really have any
legit rationale on what one should buy for whatever reason...
just felt that that car, for a short daily commute, was sort of like a nuclear powered chain saw for trimming
branches around the yard. Drive what one wants. The oil clock is ticking, but other than price/cost, it will probably
still be ticking for a couple more decades. I won't much "care", at that time, I suppose...
GL, mD

[admranger]

Originally Posted by motordavid

capngrouch,
No offense taken, and I reiterate that the CarJones is insidious, but pleasing, and few of us can avoid it,
or else we would all be on the tree hugger, econo box boards.

I have a friend that drives his Turbo PCar a few miles every day to our golf course; I don't really have any
legit rationale on what one should buy for whatever reason...
just felt that that car, for a short daily commute, was sort of like a nuclear powered chain saw for trimming
branches around the yard. Drive what one wants. The oil clock is ticking, but other than price/cost, it will probably
still be ticking for a couple more decades. I won't much "care", at that time, I suppose...
GL, mD

I so want one of these, and I currently live in an apartment building!

[Fraser]

Originally Posted by JCL

Vehicles like the diesel X5 are getting lots of attention right now. But they are reported by the US federal government to consume more barrels of oil at the wellhead (due to diesel fuel production issues) than their gasoline counterparts.

Does this take into account the relative on-road consumption of diesel vs petrol X5s?

Wholly agree that supplying a wealthy market (ie, North America) with cheap fuel is a recipe for misuse and potentially disaster but I'd prefer, and feel better about, driving something like an X3 20d rather than something like an Lexus RX400h, anyday. A petrol-electric hybrid from Toyota etc creates more enviro problems than it solves.

[JCL]

Originally Posted by Fraser

Does this take into account the relative on-road consumption of diesel vs petrol X5s?

Wholly agree that supplying a wealthy market (ie, North America) with cheap fuel is a recipe for misuse and potentially disaster but I'd prefer, and feel better about, driving something like an X3 20d rather than something like an Lexus RX400h, anyday. A petrol-electric hybrid from Toyota etc creates more enviro problems than it solves.

Yes, it takes into account the on-road consumption (which is shown in the same report).

I agree that the 20d makes a lot of sense in a vehicle like the X3. The problem I see is that diesels are seen by some as a cure-all that will allow us to keep buying large, heavy, inefficient vehicles when in fact we need to address the problem on all fronts, with more efficient engines, lighter vehicles, and less driving.

[Penguin]

Originally Posted by JCL

...we need to address the problem on all fronts, with more efficient engines, lighter vehicles, and less driving.

Or quit just nibbling at the edges of the problem and do as I did... decide to not have any children.

By purposely not having any children, I could drive a caterpillar D-10 to work and back and still have a smaller carbon footprint than a family of four driving a Prius.

[admranger]

Originally Posted by Penguin

Or quit just nibbling at the edges of the problem and do as I did... decide to not have any children.

By purposely not having any children, I could drive a caterpillar D-10 to work and back and still have a smaller carbon footprint than a family of four driving a Prius.

A D-10 would make a fine commuter vehicle. Add a ripper bar and you're golden!

BTW: go ahead and have some kids, someone needs to pay for my social security and health care.

[JCL]

The D10 was downsized years ago, which presumably reduced its carbon footprint. You need a D11 now, preferably with a U-blade to clear the road for you.

Or you could go with the new D7 hybrid. Nothing like a green tractor (as long as it isn't a Deere....)

[Fraser]

Originally Posted by JCL

The problem I see is that diesels are seen by some as a cure-all that will allow us to keep buying large, heavy, inefficient vehicles when in fact we need to address the problem on all fronts, with more efficient engines, lighter vehicles, and less driving.

Diesels certainly aren't a cure all and especially not an excuse to keep on building big, heavy and over-powered machines. We certainly do not need a 2.4-tonne Audi Q7 with a 368kW/1000Nm 6.0-litre V12 twin-turbo diesel that Audi sells here. I presume it's also in North America. However, small and mid-capacity (turbo) diesels have a place to play in the short to medium term future, as do small to medium capacity petrol engines (probably turbo and/or supercharged as well).
The problem I see is that petrol-electric hybrids are seen as cure-all that will allow people to keep buying vehicles much heavier and bigger than they need. Doesn't Toyota sell some monster V8 petrol-electric hybrid pick-up truck in NA?