Do they... I've read a few articles lately stating that manufacturers like Renault and VW are considering phasing diesels out as its becoming to costly to build engines which meet emissions targets. Especially as there is supposedly new legislation coming into force around 2020!
Do diesel cars have a long-term future?
- Thread starter marl
- Start date
Small segment diesel production will decline, with larger segment diesels maintaining similar levels or a slight decline.
There are a number of reasons for this, and the cost of emissions control hardware is one of them. Light turbocharged petrol engines offer similar performance and economy to diesels without as much cost. As consumers typically see petrol as more refined than diesel, when diesels do not have any clear economic advantages the natural choice is petrol.
For larger vehicles the economic benefits are typically more significant. Due to taxation, diesel will likely remain the European Key Account Manager's choice of fuel for some time, at least as long as CO2 is the primary driver of the regimes, and diesel remains cheap compared to petrol on the Continent.
There are a number of reasons for this, and the cost of emissions control hardware is one of them. Light turbocharged petrol engines offer similar performance and economy to diesels without as much cost. As consumers typically see petrol as more refined than diesel, when diesels do not have any clear economic advantages the natural choice is petrol.
For larger vehicles the economic benefits are typically more significant. Due to taxation, diesel will likely remain the European Key Account Manager's choice of fuel for some time, at least as long as CO2 is the primary driver of the regimes, and diesel remains cheap compared to petrol on the Continent.
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I hope they don't.
I've always said that the nano sized particulates that they give out are extremely dangerous and the research shows that these enter lung tissue and remain there for a long time causing damage to cells. I know modern diesel particulate filters are *much* better than they used to be and filter out 99% of particulates, but there are so many modern diesel cars I still see producing ridiculous amounts of black smoke. Either owners have removed them or the filters degrade in their effectiveness as they come to the end of their life. There is also the issue that NOx (which is 20x more damaging than CO2) levels and HC levels from diesels are much higher than petrols, but governments simply overlooked all of these things as they were relentlessly chasing stupid CO2 figures and forgetting about everything else.
Small, 3cyl turbo petrols are going to become big and petrol/electric hybrid technology will be the norm for most new cars in the next 5-10 years.
I've always said that the nano sized particulates that they give out are extremely dangerous and the research shows that these enter lung tissue and remain there for a long time causing damage to cells. I know modern diesel particulate filters are *much* better than they used to be and filter out 99% of particulates, but there are so many modern diesel cars I still see producing ridiculous amounts of black smoke. Either owners have removed them or the filters degrade in their effectiveness as they come to the end of their life. There is also the issue that NOx (which is 20x more damaging than CO2) levels and HC levels from diesels are much higher than petrols, but governments simply overlooked all of these things as they were relentlessly chasing stupid CO2 figures and forgetting about everything else.
Small, 3cyl turbo petrols are going to become big and petrol/electric hybrid technology will be the norm for most new cars in the next 5-10 years.
Soldato
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i'm all for a synthesised methanol future, sure the fuel economy would be atrocious but my how cars would shift 
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Blame the combination of high fuel tax and CO2 emissions based tax. In markets where neither of these things exist you'll find almost no diesel passenger cars.
Until both of these things are dealt with there will continue to be a strong demand for fuel efficient cars. Manufacturers have made great strides for fuel efficiency in small petrol engines but there still isn't much for larger cars unfortunately.
I like the idea of turbo 1L cars! It'd be quite good fun...
Not in a mid to large size car that weights a fair bit it won't be fun..
i'm all for a synthesised methanol future, sure the fuel economy would be atrocious but my how cars would shift
The big problem with methanol is the extreme toxicity. (same problem also applies to the ridiculous idea of using methanol as a feedstock for portable/mobile fuel cells except in the most limited of applications (EG Small portable electronic devices))
But as you say, with a nicely set up supercharger...!
The Mercedes boss thinks so , he says they'll disappear at exactly the same point as the petrol engine. Obviously he may well be simply trying to protect their enormous investment.
http://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/m...mercedes-ceo-killing-diesel-absolutely-stupid
http://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/m...mercedes-ceo-killing-diesel-absolutely-stupid
3cyl engines sound great, they are lighter than 4cyl/6cyl engines, will eventually be cheaper to make, allow engines to be fitted lower down and further back and combined with hybrid type systems like seen in the McLaren P1, you'll have 3cyl 1.5l engines producing 250bhp in no time. You'll also be able to have things like brake steer combined with the hybrid system sending small bursts of power to each corner instantly to allow harder cornering.
Actually, thinking about it, the BMW i8 is the beginning of the future. And for any petrol head, a nice sounding engine, weight saving and instant throttle response will be something to look forward to. It also has the bonus of costing less to run and being better for the environment I'm struggling to see a downside!
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Turbulent Jet Ignition (TJI) should give petrol a nice boost too. Merc F1 team are getting >48% Thermal Efficiency apparently.
Current petrol cars are more like 30% max i believe. The highest mass produced engine is the Totoya Atkins Cycle engine at 38% max.
It would be amazing to see what a 3 cylinder TJI engine could do with a relatively large MGU-H style turbo that can harvest energy and spin back up itself to eliminate turbo lag. All technically possible and proven in F1. I imagine it's a long way off making financial sense though!
Current petrol cars are more like 30% max i believe. The highest mass produced engine is the Totoya Atkins Cycle engine at 38% max.
It would be amazing to see what a 3 cylinder TJI engine could do with a relatively large MGU-H style turbo that can harvest energy and spin back up itself to eliminate turbo lag. All technically possible and proven in F1. I imagine it's a long way off making financial sense though!