Thursday, February 22, 2007

Finally, some diesel advertising!

Well, when I came across this site, I just had to post it. In my opinion, the only reason diesels have not taken off in the US is because we rely so heavily on what we're fed by the media in this country. The advertising (about diesels) that comes from manufacturers of diesel cars is nearly non-existent which does not help the situation. The US public is not informed about the cleanliness, power, longevity, and sheer fun of driving an economical diesel-engined car. When compared to gasoline engines, you can look at diesels in two different lights. The first is that because they get 30-50% better fuel economy, you will immediately use 30-50% less fuel while maintaining the same power and torque as a gasoline car. The second way to look at it is that you get 30-50% more power from a diesel engine that gets the same mileage as a gasoline engine. Either way you look at it, it's beneficial to drive a diesel car. Then throw BIODIESEL into the mix and you have a very powerful car that is also running off of a completely renewable, green energy source. There's a statistic that has been quoted stating that if only one in three light trucks (i.e. sport utilities and light-duty pickups) had a diesel engine, we could stop importing oil completely from Saudi Arabia!! Why doesn't the American public realize this? I don't know. In part I think it is because the car manufacturers don't advertise or push the technology enough. The other part is that other technologies (e.g. hybrid) have been put in the limelight and have been falsely praised. They do not get near the MPG that they're rated at (whereas diesels always do) and they're so complex that they're expensive to purchase and build.

It would be so simple for the US manufacturers to start putting more diesels in the cars offered here. In fact, most US manufacturers already offer diesel engines in the same cars in other countries, just not here! The rest of the world is driving around in SUV's that are getting 25 MPG and cars that get over 50 MPG thanks to diesel engines which are not offered here. Everybody says we're addicted to oil, but we are offered no alternatives in this country.

Finally, auto manufacturers are beginning to see the value of diesel technology (just as Europe has for decades) and we're getting some diesel technology offered to us. Many manufacturers are releasing diesel engines in certain models in 2008 that are as clean as gasoline engines! Thanks to brands like Mercedes Benz, VW, and Audi, this is becoming a reality in the US.