Amazing: the US automobile industry discovers the Diesel engine...

[John Teller]

Chug chug indeed.  I just drove my 1984 300TD (Five cylinders, and uses 
every one of them) to work and back today.  Its only upside is that it 
will run happily on fry oil, biodiesel (soy-based oil disease), chicken 
renderings or whatever else that has a reasonable caloric value and can 
be liquefied into something approaching the viscosity of diesel.  Now 
that pink slime is no longer on the lunch table, someone will figure out 
how to run it on that.

---JST


On 04/25/2012 10:37 PM, Mike O'Dell wrote:
> Indeed i meant "in the US" - although the rest
> of the world is not afflicted by the corn-based
> ethanol disease so there was a hint. (grin)
>
> one advantage Diesels have now they didn't
> back in 1979 when I bought a Diesel Rabbit
> is much more sophisticated gearboxes.
>
> an 8-speed computronic tranny makes it much
> easier to keep a Diesel spinning in its "Max Grunt"
> torque sweet spot with the turbos whizzing smartly.
> that and new materials reduce the weight
> penalty.
>
> the BMW 3 series twin-turbo inline 6-cylinder is
> much snappier than most US gas-burning V6s
> and easily gets twice the mileage. the gearbox
> is a big part of making the most of the turbos.
>
> What I do not miss, however, is my friend's Mercedes 240D -
> the archtype "nasty truck Diesel in a in a big heavy
> passenger car". The noise and smoke had the
> "wife acceptance factor" of being trapped in an elevator
> with a flatulent basset hound. And even a casual drive was always
> excessively exciting because one had to plan so far ahead
> to deal with a 0-60 time best measured with a calendar.
>
> I always thought the 240D did more to harm the
> notion of a civilized automotive Diesel than anything except
> the execrable "Dieselized" gas engines that GM tried foisting
> on an unsuspecting public. That demonstrated malice aforethought.
>
>     -mo
>
>
> On 4/25/12 9:49 PM, Andre Kesteloot wrote:
>> On 4/25/2012 21:10 PM, Mike O'Dell wrote:
>>> [''']
>>>
>>> Maybe the impending popularity of Diesel engines
>>> will finally put a stake through the heart of
>>> the corn-based ethanol madness.
>>>
>> Mike,
>>  let's be specific, whenyou write "the impending popularity of diesel 
>> engines", you mean *_/in the US/_*"
>> Diesel automobiles in Europe have been popular for a quite long time 
>> now.
>> Whenever I travel to Europe, I rent a mid-size car (diesel of course) 
>> and I regulalry get 50 miles to the gallon.
>>
>> 73
>> André
>
>
>
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