Diesel breakthrough!
 

Looks like diesel is safe again, thankfully. All this anti diesel propaganda has been getting a little tiring for me personally, and is harming the reputation of a superb technology. Who knew, all it needed was better management, a bit like VW perhaps ;)

https://www.ft.com/content/95d990c8-...8-cae73aab7ccb

Nice if true.

Sounds too good to be so, however I came across the same article published on around 12 different Web sources. Yet to see it arrive on the BBCs news website though.

From the new UK MOT which came into force last Sunday:-
Section 2. (Diesel vehicles)
Your vehicle will get a major fault if the MOT tester: can see smoke of any colour coming from the exhaust

That would stop me from buying a diesel. If resale prices drop, as they are doing, new car buyers start to weigh up their options and lots will steer clear. And manufacturers who see their customers drifting away will tell you anything!

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/m...es-20-may-2018

I can't read the site without paying but hope it's good news long term.

I'm driving my first diesel, a 2015 Audi Q5 AWD SUV with a 3.0 L V6. I'm sold, and I never want to go back to gasoline (petrol)! The engine is a dream with great fuel economy (see my numbers in my sig). A 5,000 km round trip from Oakville Ontario to Colorado delivered a genuine average fuel economy of 5.1 L/100 km (=46.12 US MPG = 55.4 Imp MPG). You can't get that from an equivalent gasoline engine or gas/electric hybrid (in real life).

Also, where I live, diesel fuel costs less than regular gas (Diesel=CAD$1.229/L, RUG=$1.274). My meticulous calculations tell me I'd be paying about 54% more ($CAD900) annually for fuel if I ran an equivalent gasoline engine. So for me, my diesel is a huge win-win. I'm all in favor of genuine clean(er) diesel technologies.

There are a number of promising diesel technologies on the horizon. I hope they prove to deliver dramatically (genuine) better emissions. I'd love to own a diesel Porsche Cayenne, but they don't sell those in Canada because of the Dieselgate scandal (er... because Volkswagen/Audi Group, Mercedes, and others, can't build diesel engines that pass the emissions regulations without trickery and fraud).

Diesel, here in the UK, is dearer than petrol, increased legislation and stricter testing of diesels is putting people off, and in Germany some cities are banning diesel cars.
https://www.express.co.uk/life-style...el-Europe-cars
So, despite the tremendous mpg benefits, diesel is definitely the "Ugly Sister" this side of the pond. Dealers are begging buyers to choose diesel but with reducing success. Personally I would love a diesel, with its economy and pulling ability, but UK legislation means I will never have one.

Snap. I Googled the FT heading and ended up here.
https://www.express.co.uk/life-style...engine-UK-fuel

This is a classic case of being misled and influenced by the media. The auto industry is really annoyed that people are being discouraged from buying new clean diesels, and sadly, C02 emissions have risen for the first time in the UK for decades as a result.

Here's an interesting fact for you, discovered after real world testing just after the emissions scandal :

If you take the 10% cleanest diesels and compare them to the 10% dirtiest petrols, the N0X emissions of the petrol cars are double that of the diesels. There are no winners or loosers, if you don't like pollution, stop driving a fossil fueled car, and stop blaming diesel for pollution.

I am not blaming diesel for pollution. What I am saying is, as long as there is a future risk I am going to be penalised, financially or by restrictions on where I can drive, I am not going to opt for a diesel car. I drove diesel buses and diesel vans for a living. Diesel itself is not an issue with me. My brother drives a BMW 320D and it is a lovely car.
Regarding giving up fossil fueled vehicles. In a short time I will be moving to a house with a drive and a garage with power and then I will buy an electric car. Not for any ecological reasons but because it will be convenient and suit my lifestyle. I have always loved automatics and an EV is the ultimate automatic, in my book.