Diesel Cars,....
#1
02-17-18, 09:27 PM
Diesel Cars,....
Diesel Car :
.
Have you ever had Diesel car ?
.
Which Diesel cars are small and giving good MPG ?
.
What is your opinion about the Diesel cars?
Generally, They give very high mileages.
What is the reason, people do not buy n’ drive generally the diesel cars?
.
Do they have cranky / Noisy operations?
Do they fail in passing the Motor Vehicle ( exhaust/OBD test ) earlier ?
Is finding a diesel gas station is a problem ?
Does it create more smoke ?
.
What is your belief and opinions about these cars ? Pl. extend yr thoughts...
.
Have you ever had Diesel car ?
.
Which Diesel cars are small and giving good MPG ?
.
What is your opinion about the Diesel cars?
Generally, They give very high mileages.
What is the reason, people do not buy n’ drive generally the diesel cars?
.
Do they have cranky / Noisy operations?
Do they fail in passing the Motor Vehicle ( exhaust/OBD test ) earlier ?
Is finding a diesel gas station is a problem ?
Does it create more smoke ?
.
What is your belief and opinions about these cars ? Pl. extend yr thoughts...
#2
02-18-18, 04:17 AM
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Wet side of Washington state.
Posts: 16,321
Received 38 Upvotes
on
30 Posts
Yes, I have owned a Diesel-engine automobile. I don't remember the model year but it was one of the early Volkswagen Rabbit models, probably around 1976-78. It was a sub-compact car and under ideal conditions it got 50 miles per gallon or better.
It was also severely under powered compared to most cars. The engine was rated at only 48 horsepower and with four adults going up a not-too-steep hill it was all it could do to maintain 30 miles per hour.
Back some 45 years ago I took some classes in Diesel engine maintenance. The instructor stated emphatically that every dime you saved on fuel costs (for a Diesel engine) would eventually be put back into the engine as routine maintenance. He was of the opinion that Diesel ONLY made sense if you were going to be working the engine, meaning in a dump truck, semi, earth mover or the like. My addition to this opinion would include marine use where the safety factor of Diesel fuel over gasoline is significant.
Even though the Volkswagen Diesel engine was based upon the gasoline model (it had a different cylinder head, manifolds, fuel pump and no distributor or carburetor) maintenance costs were significantly higher than the gasoline model. We bought this car used with about 40,000 miles on it if I remember correctly. Over the two or three years we had it I ended up putting in new glow plugs, new injectors and having the cylinder hear replaced due to cracking. Colonel Turner was right, every dime saved in fuel costs went right back in for maintenance.
Maybe things are different today, I don't know. I do know that Diesel fuel is generally more expensive than gasoline, at least in my area. That VW WAS noisier than a gasoline model. Cold weather starting could under some conditions be problematic. Back then Diesels were exempt from emissions testing, not true today.
In short, this kid would not have a Diesel engine automobile if I were given one.
It was also severely under powered compared to most cars. The engine was rated at only 48 horsepower and with four adults going up a not-too-steep hill it was all it could do to maintain 30 miles per hour.
Back some 45 years ago I took some classes in Diesel engine maintenance. The instructor stated emphatically that every dime you saved on fuel costs (for a Diesel engine) would eventually be put back into the engine as routine maintenance. He was of the opinion that Diesel ONLY made sense if you were going to be working the engine, meaning in a dump truck, semi, earth mover or the like. My addition to this opinion would include marine use where the safety factor of Diesel fuel over gasoline is significant.
Even though the Volkswagen Diesel engine was based upon the gasoline model (it had a different cylinder head, manifolds, fuel pump and no distributor or carburetor) maintenance costs were significantly higher than the gasoline model. We bought this car used with about 40,000 miles on it if I remember correctly. Over the two or three years we had it I ended up putting in new glow plugs, new injectors and having the cylinder hear replaced due to cracking. Colonel Turner was right, every dime saved in fuel costs went right back in for maintenance.
Maybe things are different today, I don't know. I do know that Diesel fuel is generally more expensive than gasoline, at least in my area. That VW WAS noisier than a gasoline model. Cold weather starting could under some conditions be problematic. Back then Diesels were exempt from emissions testing, not true today.
In short, this kid would not have a Diesel engine automobile if I were given one.
#3
02-18-18, 05:19 AM
Group Moderator
Living in the United States I would not have a diesel car. They struggle to meet emissions requirements and also having to fill up the emissions urea tank is a hassle, Diesel is also not as widely available here as not all stations carry it or if they do they may only have one or two pumps so quite often you may be waiting in line while there are gasoline pumps free. And, it n the US availability is more difficult. Many auto makers list having diesel cars but few are made or imported. Years ago when I looked they technically were available but the dealer did not have any.
In other countries I think a diesel can make more sense, especially in Europe. They are much more common and in many areas they do not have the same environmental restrictions as the US. As for driving they drive almost like a gasoline powered car. In Europe it is common for cars to have smaller engines so the diesels are more similarly powered. And the days of diesel being noisy and smokey are gone. Sometimes it can be hard to tell if a care is diesel or gasoline powered.
In other countries I think a diesel can make more sense, especially in Europe. They are much more common and in many areas they do not have the same environmental restrictions as the US. As for driving they drive almost like a gasoline powered car. In Europe it is common for cars to have smaller engines so the diesels are more similarly powered. And the days of diesel being noisy and smokey are gone. Sometimes it can be hard to tell if a care is diesel or gasoline powered.
#4
02-18-18, 05:24 AM
Member
Diesel engines are just a different animal.
They have higher torque so they are fun to drive, they generate noise but not to the extent that it an issue, and they get better mileage.
The down side is there is an initial price premium of being that different animal and the fuel is on par with gas.
Personally I would not be afraid to own one, I just dont see the benefit?
They have higher torque so they are fun to drive, they generate noise but not to the extent that it an issue, and they get better mileage.
The down side is there is an initial price premium of being that different animal and the fuel is on par with gas.
Personally I would not be afraid to own one, I just dont see the benefit?
#5
02-18-18, 05:57 AM
Group Moderator
Used to be a pretty significant savings in fuel cost, but hard to justify now with diesel running .30 - .60 more a gallon than gas. People frequently ask me whether I wouldn't prefer to have a diesel in my wrecker. NO! When it needs a part I stop by the first parts place I come to and they have the part for my Chevy 5.7L gas motor. 
#6
02-18-18, 07:43 AM
Member
If you spill a little diesel while filling the tank and track it into the car you'll never get the stink out.
#7
02-18-18, 12:11 PM
Member
Just a few years ago, experts decided that petrol was fundamentally evil, and that using it to fuel the engine in your car was about the same as running round a town centre in a polar bear suit, stamping on baby bats and shooting passers-by.
As a result, many people decided to sell their petrol-powered car and buy a diesel instead. There were some sacrifices, of course. There was a bit of clatter on start-up and power was lacking at the top end, but, on the upside, trips to the pumps were less frequent, annual running costs were down and, best of all, the Arctic was full once more of smiling polar bears, rolling in the snow and playing with their cublets.
But now, the very same experts who told us to switch to diesel are saying that it is, in fact, the fuel of Lucifer and that anyone who uses it in their car is guilty of murder. “Murder, d’you hear?”
They say that if you stand on a street corner on a sunny day and watch a diesel-powered vehicle pull away, you can see a haze, and that this haze is made up of unburnt particulates which will work their way into our children’s lungs and kill them. They say diesel soot will also cause deformities and death, and that walking down Oxford Street is the same as smoking a thousand cigarettes an hour for two hundred years.
Sensible motor-industry bods point out that a hundred modern diesel cars produce the same amount of polluting elements as just one that was made in the Seventies. They say that modern cars have filters which capture 99 per cent of all particulates and that nitrogen oxide (NOX) emissions from cars were reduced by a whopping 81 per cent between 1990 and 2010.
They say, quite rightly, that science and maths are solving the problem, but it’s no good. These rational arguments are being drowned out by the hysteria of the experts who are whizzing about, waving their arms in the air and shouting “child killer” at anyone who works for a car firm.
They say that taking your children to school in a reasonably priced and eminently sensible Vauxhall Astra diesel, is actually more reprehensible than launching a drone attack on a wedding party.
And guess what? The politicians are now saying that the tax on diesel must be raised. They say that it’s currently set at the same level as petrol and that this must end. They say that it should be a million pounds a litre. And that anyone who asks for it must be stabbed.
And there’s more. Boris Johnson argues that because London keeps breaking pollution barriers laid down by the EU, he will double the Congestion Charge for diesel vehicles by 2020. Other cities are said to be considering similar schemes. This will then raise revenue that can be spent on computer systems for the NHS that don’t work, and trams that go nowhere and unjust wars and more climate experts who can disagree with the last lot.
But where does it leave you and me? We bought diesels because we were told that this was the good and correct thing to do. And now we are being told that unless we sell them, our children will be taken away for medical experiments.
https://www.topgear.com/car-news/jer...rkson-diesel-0
As a result, many people decided to sell their petrol-powered car and buy a diesel instead. There were some sacrifices, of course. There was a bit of clatter on start-up and power was lacking at the top end, but, on the upside, trips to the pumps were less frequent, annual running costs were down and, best of all, the Arctic was full once more of smiling polar bears, rolling in the snow and playing with their cublets.
But now, the very same experts who told us to switch to diesel are saying that it is, in fact, the fuel of Lucifer and that anyone who uses it in their car is guilty of murder. “Murder, d’you hear?”
They say that if you stand on a street corner on a sunny day and watch a diesel-powered vehicle pull away, you can see a haze, and that this haze is made up of unburnt particulates which will work their way into our children’s lungs and kill them. They say diesel soot will also cause deformities and death, and that walking down Oxford Street is the same as smoking a thousand cigarettes an hour for two hundred years.
Sensible motor-industry bods point out that a hundred modern diesel cars produce the same amount of polluting elements as just one that was made in the Seventies. They say that modern cars have filters which capture 99 per cent of all particulates and that nitrogen oxide (NOX) emissions from cars were reduced by a whopping 81 per cent between 1990 and 2010.
They say, quite rightly, that science and maths are solving the problem, but it’s no good. These rational arguments are being drowned out by the hysteria of the experts who are whizzing about, waving their arms in the air and shouting “child killer” at anyone who works for a car firm.
They say that taking your children to school in a reasonably priced and eminently sensible Vauxhall Astra diesel, is actually more reprehensible than launching a drone attack on a wedding party.
And guess what? The politicians are now saying that the tax on diesel must be raised. They say that it’s currently set at the same level as petrol and that this must end. They say that it should be a million pounds a litre. And that anyone who asks for it must be stabbed.
And there’s more. Boris Johnson argues that because London keeps breaking pollution barriers laid down by the EU, he will double the Congestion Charge for diesel vehicles by 2020. Other cities are said to be considering similar schemes. This will then raise revenue that can be spent on computer systems for the NHS that don’t work, and trams that go nowhere and unjust wars and more climate experts who can disagree with the last lot.
But where does it leave you and me? We bought diesels because we were told that this was the good and correct thing to do. And now we are being told that unless we sell them, our children will be taken away for medical experiments.
https://www.topgear.com/car-news/jer...rkson-diesel-0
#8
02-18-18, 12:14 PM
Group Moderator
Just too add my two cents worth.
I bought a 1998 Ford E-350 7.3L diesel supervan. It is my regular everyday vehicle. When I bought it....diesel was much cheaper than gas. My fuel mileage is excellent for the vehicle. I spent 8K extra for the diesel engine over the comparable gas engine. It now has 475k miles on it with nothing done to the engine. Been thru a few transmissions, water pumps and vacuum pumps. Very expensive oil changes..... 15 quarts of synthetic fuel with a large filter.
Would I buy another diesel today. No way. The cost of the engine will no longer be offset by the higher fuel costs.
I bought a 1998 Ford E-350 7.3L diesel supervan. It is my regular everyday vehicle. When I bought it....diesel was much cheaper than gas. My fuel mileage is excellent for the vehicle. I spent 8K extra for the diesel engine over the comparable gas engine. It now has 475k miles on it with nothing done to the engine. Been thru a few transmissions, water pumps and vacuum pumps. Very expensive oil changes..... 15 quarts of synthetic fuel with a large filter.
Would I buy another diesel today. No way. The cost of the engine will no longer be offset by the higher fuel costs.
#9
02-18-18, 12:16 PM
Member
That's Clarkson.
Whatever fuel savings you have with a diesel, THEY offset it jagging fuel price up.
Modern diesels do not really make noises or stink. There is non urea diesel fuel available but the Big Oil won't let it to sell.
Nothing beats diesel engine if you need to haul tons and tow rigs.
That in mind - yes for trucks, maybe for passenger cars. Anything that burns fuel soon will be made illegal anyway, as the world is reloaded into electric everything.
Whatever fuel savings you have with a diesel, THEY offset it jagging fuel price up.
Modern diesels do not really make noises or stink. There is non urea diesel fuel available but the Big Oil won't let it to sell.
Nothing beats diesel engine if you need to haul tons and tow rigs.
That in mind - yes for trucks, maybe for passenger cars. Anything that burns fuel soon will be made illegal anyway, as the world is reloaded into electric everything.
#10
02-18-18, 02:04 PM
Interesting to read and hear these all,….
Btw,..
What kind of maintenance,.. you mean (?) engine related / exhaust related,... like valve setting, gasket covers, piston rings wear and tear,.. cleaning of fuel tank sludge, fuel filters often needs replacing,.. Exhaust pipes more often replacing,... n' that sort of,..?Does cylinders crack so often? Coz in US, no one opens the engine and does inside repair,.. they al just replace the surrounding parts and when either the piston rings totally fails or due to leaks , burns oil,.. motor vehicle will fail it,…. And if Car completes its expected life they salvage and abandon it and never changes piston and its rings and such,…
.
I agree,… in India most larger vehicles,…trucks and buses long ago when I lived,… were Diesel and could be even today,.. So bigger vehicles and driving longer distances, it may be a good idea,..
.
I guess, the price was remaining,. almost parallel to the petrol, ( long ago ) may be slightly less or more,…. This way, that way,.. On and off,…but now it has gone higher,..
.
Recent hybrid cars in the market,.. and due to new inventions perhaps it seems Diesel cars have already turned down the Diesel car’s affinity/attraction,… But I have seen in USA at a every pump station, one green particular nozzle available for diesel…. Thank god, nozzle fits only in related fuel car,… couple times I was stuck in mis-using the wrong nozzles,..
.
IMO,… If German or japans makes,.. does make few good engine, then not bad to buy those diesel ones,… but I would not go for Chevy or Ford,..
.
Also, US Motor Vehicle rules are strict and they can deny easily with OBD / Exhaust tests and can make your Car, waiting towards salvage , may be 5-7 years earlier,… and that may offset the fuel average money saved,.. .
So what I understand is, Car costs more, also they run for 300+K miles very easily and even the Car body and other parts die,.. engine is still good and take more miles,… .
Though now a days competition with hybrid cars, elec. Cars, O2 car technology, the affinity for Diesel car does not remain much,.. Also now a days Diesel is more expensive than Gasoline… Cars mechanics are also at scarce who can work on Diesel engines,.. High price for the same car, Expensive maintenance that annul fuel savings.
.
Most of the Mexican pretentious middle class relate the cranky noise of many
diesel cars with public diesel bus, which for among them is for poors and "nacos", and cars here are reivindicative and aspirational. .
Well, someone said about the stink of Diesel in spilled in car,.. .
Well,....on an off-topic,… Looking around in my street, right now, ....even though the development is 35+ yrs old,.. in many major streets they don't have established yet the Natural gas lines ( pipes dug in the street ) available,..... and all houses have chimney and they still use the oil furnaces for years,... ( oil trucks are coming in the street almost weekly due to hard winters
My house also has an oil tank ( 250 Gal ),...with the house's oil heating furnace and chimney,... and they all run with Diesel, as you know,..
.
Natural Gas and Propane tanks are not that , that often yet
and elec. heat pumps are not efficient is extreme cold weathers,..
.
Hybrid cars, 02 cars, solar and electric vehicles with over-night chargeable powerful batteries,….. will take place after 15-20+ yrs but still it will take at least 2 decades plus, to be that common,.. in general practice, imo .
So what I understand is,…. Diesel cars days have been almost gone, after price rises, new technologies, strict environmental, lack of service techs and such,…
Btw,..
What kind of maintenance,.. you mean (?) engine related / exhaust related,... like valve setting, gasket covers, piston rings wear and tear,.. cleaning of fuel tank sludge, fuel filters often needs replacing,.. Exhaust pipes more often replacing,... n' that sort of,..?Does cylinders crack so often? Coz in US, no one opens the engine and does inside repair,.. they al just replace the surrounding parts and when either the piston rings totally fails or due to leaks , burns oil,.. motor vehicle will fail it,…. And if Car completes its expected life they salvage and abandon it and never changes piston and its rings and such,…
.
I agree,… in India most larger vehicles,…trucks and buses long ago when I lived,… were Diesel and could be even today,.. So bigger vehicles and driving longer distances, it may be a good idea,..
.
I guess, the price was remaining,. almost parallel to the petrol, ( long ago ) may be slightly less or more,…. This way, that way,.. On and off,…but now it has gone higher,..
.
Recent hybrid cars in the market,.. and due to new inventions perhaps it seems Diesel cars have already turned down the Diesel car’s affinity/attraction,… But I have seen in USA at a every pump station, one green particular nozzle available for diesel…. Thank god, nozzle fits only in related fuel car,… couple times I was stuck in mis-using the wrong nozzles,..
.
IMO,… If German or japans makes,.. does make few good engine, then not bad to buy those diesel ones,… but I would not go for Chevy or Ford,..
.
Also, US Motor Vehicle rules are strict and they can deny easily with OBD / Exhaust tests and can make your Car, waiting towards salvage , may be 5-7 years earlier,… and that may offset the fuel average money saved,.. .
So what I understand is, Car costs more, also they run for 300+K miles very easily and even the Car body and other parts die,.. engine is still good and take more miles,… .
Though now a days competition with hybrid cars, elec. Cars, O2 car technology, the affinity for Diesel car does not remain much,.. Also now a days Diesel is more expensive than Gasoline… Cars mechanics are also at scarce who can work on Diesel engines,.. High price for the same car, Expensive maintenance that annul fuel savings.
.
Most of the Mexican pretentious middle class relate the cranky noise of many
diesel cars with public diesel bus, which for among them is for poors and "nacos", and cars here are reivindicative and aspirational. .
Well, someone said about the stink of Diesel in spilled in car,.. .
Well,....on an off-topic,… Looking around in my street, right now, ....even though the development is 35+ yrs old,.. in many major streets they don't have established yet the Natural gas lines ( pipes dug in the street ) available,..... and all houses have chimney and they still use the oil furnaces for years,... ( oil trucks are coming in the street almost weekly due to hard winters
My house also has an oil tank ( 250 Gal ),...with the house's oil heating furnace and chimney,... and they all run with Diesel, as you know,..
.
Natural Gas and Propane tanks are not that , that often yet
and elec. heat pumps are not efficient is extreme cold weathers,..
.
Hybrid cars, 02 cars, solar and electric vehicles with over-night chargeable powerful batteries,….. will take place after 15-20+ yrs but still it will take at least 2 decades plus, to be that common,.. in general practice, imo .
So what I understand is,…. Diesel cars days have been almost gone, after price rises, new technologies, strict environmental, lack of service techs and such,…
#11
02-18-18, 02:22 PM
Group Moderator
Thank god, nozzle fits only in related fuel car,… couple times I was stuck in mis-using the wrong nozzles
#12
02-19-18, 10:46 AM
Once I was struggling with Diesel nozzle in my Gasoline car and it was not inserting
and later realized it was for Diesel and perhaps that's how it was made and meant it,.... I thanked God,..
.
In India/Asia and such nations,... they hire special boys to fill your vehicle and would not even let touch anything, as they know what they are doing,...
.
Once while cutting the loan, I had poured gas into the oil compartment,...( while I was checking oil,.. ) though I was told by Craftsman,,.. no worry,. tilt it,.. empty it out,... and put new fresh oil,....
and later realized it was for Diesel and perhaps that's how it was made and meant it,.... I thanked God,..
.
In India/Asia and such nations,... they hire special boys to fill your vehicle and would not even let touch anything, as they know what they are doing,...
.
Once while cutting the loan, I had poured gas into the oil compartment,...( while I was checking oil,.. ) though I was told by Craftsman,,.. no worry,. tilt it,.. empty it out,... and put new fresh oil,....
#13
03-03-18, 01:59 PM
Re: Diesel Cars !Can anyone suggest few good diesel cars Model and makes,
of small size ( 2 Dr be fine,.. small 4 doors be fine, preferably Japan / Germany make ) but automatic, not very very latest ones, but let sat 5-8+ yrs and older,...
Thx
of small size ( 2 Dr be fine,.. small 4 doors be fine, preferably Japan / Germany make ) but automatic, not very very latest ones, but let sat 5-8+ yrs and older,...
Thx
