Diesel Engines: The "Black" Sheep of Automotive

Recent changes in energy prices have brought the magnifying glass back to fuel efficiency technologies. Such is the normal cycle, as seen during previous oil embargoes and perceived shortages. This latest examination, however, also illustrates what we can only consider two very different "marketing campaigns." Not that these two campaigns have different objectives -- they are both aimed at selling vehicles -- yet one has garnered all the fanfare and focus of the "good son," while the other seems to attract little attention, choosing rather to sit off in the corner.

When you boil it down, it's really about a contest between Toyota (Hybrids), with all the success of its brand over the last several years, combined with all the marketing clout and ad dollars that come with it, against a small band of merry "oil burners."

Playing the role of Robin Hood is the VW Golf/Jetta platform, which is the best selling diesel (car) in North America, leaving the pickup workhorses (Big John) aside for the moment.

If you think this looks like a very lopsided affair, well, you're right. Here, hybrid technology is brand new and has backing from those automotive and environmental experts: Leonardo DiCaprio and Ted Danson. Meanwhile, diesels live with the same legacy of that one Uncle in the family who still smokes. And trust me, all that soot has some real staying power (how do you think that one black sheep got its infamous hue? He drove a diesel).

When one considers the traditional combustion engine vs. hybrid vs. diesel question, a person’s underlying motive for driving must first be addressed, as it is often comprised of several different factors including financial, environmental, practical, and social (trendy) concerns. Each technology has its advantages and disadvantages, as well as overlaps in performance. So which is really best?

As there are so many factors involved, I won’t even try to answer this question; besides, I find the PR machine that labels these systems cool, un-cool, practical, impractical, etc. much more fascinating. Specifically, why hasn’t diesel technology taken off more than it has?

In reality, new diesel technology bares only a slight resemblance to the smokers of old. Developments on both sides of the pump have lead to a technology that offers the majority (if slightly different) of performance benefits of traditional engines. And if there are any lingering questions as to whether or not diesels are more pollutant, the full introduction of low sulfur diesel over the next year or so will definitively answer them.

If you care, diesel fuel is refined from crude oil the same way that gasoline, kerosene, jet fuel, and other fuels are, with the difference that diesel refining is simpler (read cheaper) than the other processes. The fact that diesel prices rise with crude prices is understandable, however why diesel pricing has recently begun to mirror gasoline prices is a very interesting question for Dubya and the rest of his Big Oil cronies.

The low-sulfur diesel being phased in will cut down on additional air born contaminants, which have traditionally given diesels the black-eye image they continue to carry today. On the vehicle side, common rail technology and Urea-laden particulate filters both increase performance while substantially lowering nitrogen oxide pollution.

Incidentally, the common rail technology is essentially the use of multiple, controlled injections of fuel during the combustion cycle versus what is essentially a short stream. Technology aside, though, some other very interesting points to consider are as follows:

Diesel technology is widely used for passenger vehicles around the rest of the world, but here in the U.S., it's raison d'être is primarily heavy duty and industrial use (Canada and Mexico both use considerably more diesel for passenger cars on a percentage basis). In 2004, you could count the number of available passenger diesel models for sale in the U.S. on one hand.

In addition to the fuel being cheaper to refine and offering up to 40% more fuel efficiency than traditional engines, the premium on a diesel vehicle is generally nominal over the gas-burning versions, unlike other current alternatives.

Performance of newer vehicles matches and even exceeds that of some gasoline models. Additionally, the low-end torque provided by a diesel is arguably the most appropriate delivery of power for North American driving conditions, which is a combination of "stop-and-go" versus highway cruising.

Finally, diesel fuel is readily available with a complete infrastructure, and -- barring politics -- consistent pricing. Also, diesel engines generally can run on bio-diesel, which while still in its infancy as a consumer product (due to limited availability and scale) offers a local source of energy with even fewer environmental and political concerns.

With all of these advantages, still only a small percentage of total U.S. auto sales are of the non-spark variety. It must come down to marketing, which brings up another very interesting point. GM, for example, has missed the boat entirely on hybrid technology and goes as far as to mock hybrids with its recent Charger campaign. This is partially due to pride, but more importantly, the company made one critical assumption that is the basis for most economic theory: People always act logically.

All of the marketing and social pressure can easily push people out of a sound decision for one reason or another. Even if the information that hybrid technologies don’t make financial sense is widely available and that it may simply transfer environmental impacts from operation to production, it doesn’t stop people from lining up to buy a Prius or RX 400h. That's not logic.

Diesel technology is no more perfect that hybrid technology. Engineers claim that they can still wring a few more miles out of traditional combustion engines, but that's nowhere near perfect, either. From what we have seen, it may not matter which one is best anyway, but rather which marketing scheme you happen to buy into. At the end of the day, you must live with the car day in and day out. Your perception is your reality. If it works for you, then the rest really doesn’t matter.

Until that diesel hybrid comes out, that is. 

Comments

[theautoprophet]

Grant,

CARB and EPA will be the reason that Diesels will not take off. To meet the Tier II Federal emissions standards, and the ARB's emissions standards, diesel engines need expensive and complicated aftertreatment systems. Add that to the already expensive base engine and high pressure direct injection system, and you have something that is as bad an economic equation as an HEV.