diesel cars

There was a segment on NPR this morning about diesel cars and how they actually can get better mileage than hybrids. NO KIDDING? They also spoke about how Europe has really high gas prices and how that's pushing European auto manufacturers to produce more diesel powered cars. NO KIDDING! We don't have them here in California in nearly the same quantities because of the state's emissions restrictions, which cause the manufacturers that sell cars here to hesitate pumping research dollars into the design of cars which will meet those standards, which is incredibly unfortunate because, particulates aside, pound for pound a diesel will pump out more torque (see raw car moving effort) than a comparable gasoline engine, and do it while getting 30% (or more) better gas mileage. And really, most people drive short trips involving a lot of stop and go, so it's torque you need and not engine speed (which, incidently, is why hybrids are great...their electric motors LOVE to generate torque at low speeds, and so do quite efficiently...now if it weren't for the need to burn fuel to generate the charge they need to spin...). In fact, even at higher speeds, you still need torque to quickly speed up and pass someone, so torque is king in regular cars!

Anyway, the few of you that read this probably already agree with me, or just don't care about this issue, but it was just super, super irritating to hear this story in the context of "hey, gas prices are on the rise again as we settle into the summer, which is making people look at diesel". IDIOTS! Why haven't we been looking at diesel for years and years? Why does it take a rise in gasoline prices to make people look at alternateives? It's the same old crap...auto manufacturers push what people will buy, which is why big ugly SUVs got so popular, despite the fact that they were terrible gas consumers. It's just like people buying cheap crap mortgages and the realtors / lenders that were responsible for originating them. Put some thought into your decisions and take some damn responsibility for your actions people! Think ahead!

Anyway, whatever. I'm just irritated because Honda still hasn't released their diesel Accord in the states. I'm very happy with my Accord, but I'd love to be getting 50+ mpg with a diesel and a 5-speed. When the current car rolls over some high mileage value, maybe I'll have to look at Audi or VW.