Hoarding is exactly what the government is doing right now by filling the SPR, and frankly it's the best thing that could happen. It drives prices up. High prices encourage demand destruction. They also finance new well development. The hoarded oil gives us a buffer to fall back on once shortages become more prevalent. High prices are what we need in order to adapt to what's coming, and the sooner they happen, the better.
Joined: Sep 16, 2004 Posts: 4162 Location: Southwest WI
Posted: Sat Mar 29, 2008 6:58 pm Post subject: Re: Record Diesel engine fuels price thread.
If this in any indicator, they still want an arm + leg for a TDI Jetta on craigslist when i see them from time to time. However, i have seen a LOT of diesel trucks for sale lately around here. I'd still love a TDI Jetta... _________________ "Oil is going up because we use too much oil, and the capacity to replace reserves is dwindling"
-President Bush 11/07/07
Joined: Mar 07, 2007 Posts: 281 Location: Holland, United Kingdom (of the seven Netherlands)
Posted: Sat Mar 29, 2008 11:36 pm Post subject: Re: Record Diesel engine fuels price thread.
The largest trucking company in the Netherlands (one of the largest also in Europe) is switching from diesel to LNG. Also a lot of city distribution companies are now experimenting with CNG. 1 company I know bought a couple of diesel/CNG dual fuel trucks. Also lots of public transport is switching to CNG. We will adapt.
I sometimes add a few bottles of vegetable oil to my tank. Not sure if my next car will be a diesel again though. I don't drive as much as I used to.
Technical facts
Saab 9-3 with an original Saab diesel engine, where combustion chamber, fuel system and engine software have been modified.
- Max power 195 h.p., torque 410 Nm
- Low fuel consumption, road tests show approx. 5 lit/100 km
- 95 % less fossil CO2, minimal dangerous hydrocarbons and nitric oxide exhaust emission and basically complete elimination of particle emission.
What do you guys think? I'm impressed with the low emissions and the elimination of the dangeorus particles. Of course, it is a merketing hyped text, but what I do know about E95 in diesels it doesn't sound completely off the chart.
Joined: May 10, 2007 Posts: 2445 Location: The Entropisphere
Posted: Sun Mar 30, 2008 9:14 pm Post subject: Re: Record Diesel engine fuels price thread.
frankthetank wrote:
If this in any indicator, they still want an arm + leg for a TDI Jetta on craigslist when i see them from time to time. However, i have seen a LOT of diesel trucks for sale lately around here. I'd still love a TDI Jetta...
I've got a TDI Golf and it is great. Mine has had some electrical problems but nothing that could not either be worked around or fixed. 240,000 miles and it has only left me walking once (and that was my fault).
Technical facts
Saab 9-3 with an original Saab diesel engine, where combustion chamber, fuel system and engine software have been modified.
- Max power 195 h.p., torque 410 Nm
- Low fuel consumption, road tests show approx. 5 lit/100 km
- 95 % less fossil CO2, minimal dangerous hydrocarbons and nitric oxide exhaust emission and basically complete elimination of particle emission.
I would have to think that those would be some pretty significant mods to get that to work... but I'm the first to confess that engines are not my forte.
What do you guys think? I'm impressed with the low emissions and the elimination of the dangeorus particles. Of course, it is a merketing hyped text, but what I do know about E95 in diesels it doesn't sound completely off the chart.
Joined: Apr 05, 2007 Posts: 151 Location: Great Britain
Posted: Mon Mar 31, 2008 4:32 am Post subject: Re: Record Diesel engine fuels price thread.
I certainly recommend the VW Polo Bluemotion. I have now had for three months and no complaints. It's not hitting the 70 mpg urban cycle but I do live on top of a hill. It has however given 40 mpg even when driving quite hard. its nippy too.
Joined: Mar 07, 2007 Posts: 281 Location: Holland, United Kingdom (of the seven Netherlands)
Posted: Mon Mar 31, 2008 12:43 pm Post subject: Re: Record Diesel engine fuels price thread.
That E95 Saab looks promising. Diesel technology is efficient. I knew the car manufacturers were working on gasoline powered diesel engines, but this looks even better.
Joined: Apr 28, 2005 Posts: 3278 Location: West shore Lake Eire, MI, USA
Posted: Mon Mar 31, 2008 1:55 pm Post subject: Re: Record Diesel engine fuels price thread.
Diesel at my four local stations is all firmly stuck at $4.29 as it has been for the last three weeks, however I learned yesterday that one of the three stations which also carry Kerosene has it going for $3.99. Now you get around 5% less milage with Kerosene, but it might feel less painful if you fill up from that pump. _________________ Oxygen: - An intensely habit-forming accumulative toxic substance. As little
as one breath is known to produce a life-long addiction to the gas, which addiction invariably ends in death.--Isaac Asimov
Joined: Aug 24, 2005 Posts: 196 Location: Costa Geriatrica, Spain
Posted: Mon Mar 31, 2008 3:26 pm Post subject: Re: Record Diesel engine fuels price thread.
xarkz wrote:
diesel is cheaper in many countries in europe. Is it subsidized there?
There is currently very little spread between Diesel and Gasoline here in Spain. Prices as per February this year translated into $ per US gallon using current exchange rate
Diesel - $6.21 per US gallon
Gasoline - $6.46 per US gallon ( regular unleaded)
Is the huge spread between gas and diesel in the USA something to do with refinery availablity?
tax regime is not constant across the EU - varies from country to country.
Small engined diesel cars are very popular in Spain. I prefer a small diesel to the equivalent petrol engine for the better low end torque (most of my driving is urban and suburban), and much better mileage. My other vehicle, which I use more than the car, is a 125cc 4 stroke Honda scooter - SH125i. Gives 100 to 130mpg (imperial) according to how you drive it. Scooters are very popular in Spain, especially in the larger towns and cities where car parking is a nightmare.
Most Spanish gas stations stock two qualities of diesel - regular truck grade and superdiesel suitable for passenger vehicles (no smelly exhaust and can be used with a with a catalytic converter) plus one grade of petrol, regular unleaded.
Joined: Sep 16, 2004 Posts: 4162 Location: Southwest WI
Posted: Mon Mar 31, 2008 5:48 pm Post subject: Re: Record Diesel engine fuels price thread.
Subaru is suppose to be bringing a diesel out. The numbers looked very good.
Diesel still stuck at 4.10 here. _________________ "Oil is going up because we use too much oil, and the capacity to replace reserves is dwindling"
-President Bush 11/07/07
Posted: Tue Apr 01, 2008 10:53 am Post subject: Re: Record Diesel engine fuels price thread.
wisconsin_cur wrote:
I would have to think that those would be some pretty significant mods to get that to work... but I'm the first to confess that engines are not my forte.
Do you mean the tourqe/power or the emission reductions? The car have been modified by a well known swedish tuning firm, BSR. They are known for their high power engines. They list in a swedish article modifications to the combustion chambers, fuel system and software. The reduction in emissions is almost only due to the fuel E95 (EtamaxD). The company SEKAB makes and sells that fuel here in Sweden. It is about 95% ethanol and the rest is ignition improver and denaturing (MTBE, isobutanol).
Both trucking companies SCANIA and VOLVO have made engines for that fuel in the past, mainly buses and the like. Now they have made new engines tuned for E95 that have close to the same MPG as the diesel ones! Despite that ethanol has less energy per liter. This is impressing IMHO.
BSR have made the same thing with a ordinary diesel car, they state that fuel consumption is almost the same on E95 as on ordinary diesel. I would think the consumption is noticably higher on E95, but it still makes for an impressive improvement in efficiency.
But I'm more impressed by the reduction in emissions. Would make diesels truly clean, as the particle problem on ordinary diesels is quite grave indeed (don't mention NOx or CO2 . I want a small commuter car with a small engine that runs on E95. It would have close to the same milage as a ordinary diesel one, but almost none of the harmful emissions. Fuel availbility is a question, though there are fillings stations planned already. See:
Both Scania and Volvo have developed lorry engines that can operate using
renewable ethanol. The Swedish bioenergy company SEKAB is planning to have
in place an initial network of filling stations for E95 by 2010. E95 is the fuel
used by buses and lorries in place of diesel.
"We already supply E95 to those towns that have ethanol buses and municipal vehicles
like rubbish trucks with ethanol engines," says Per Carstedt, CEO of SEKAB. “The lorries
use the same fuel as buses. This is a different blend compared to the ethanol used for
private cars (E85). Instead they have 95 per cent ethanol and five per cent ignition
improver.”
In the initial phase, there will be 6-10 filling stations for E95 along major highways like
E4 and E6 and at special lorry terminals. In two years, the fist ethanol lorries for long-
distance transports will be available on the market. As the number of long-distant
vehicles with ethanol engines increases, the number of filling stations will gradually be
expanded. Their exact locations have not yet been determined.
"We are assuming that the number will be sufficient to comfortably serve heavy lorry and
buses in national long-distant traffic," says Per Carstedt. “These types of lorries have fue
tanks that can hold about 1000 litres of ethanol. Since the new ethanol engines
developed by Scania have the same energy efficiency of diesel engines, their range will
be more than sufficient.”
SEKAB has previously built a network of filling stations and already supplies ethanol to
over 1000 filling stations for E85. The required investments in each new filling station ar
modest.
"We see no problems with guaranteeing a sufficiently effective distribution system the
day Scania and Volvo begin offering their customers heavy lorries with ethanol engines,"
says Per Carstedt.
For the next stage, SEKAB is planning to also develop E95 distribution on two other
major Scania and Volvo markets – Brazil and Great Britain. After this, the other Nordic
countries are judged to be most promising.
Joined: Dec 02, 2005 Posts: 6239 Location: Oil-addicted Southern Californucopia
Posted: Tue Apr 01, 2008 7:59 pm Post subject: Re: Record Diesel engine fuels price thread.
Costa Mesa, California, this morning. _________________ "Thank you for attending the oil age. We're going to scrape what we can out of these tar pits in Alberta and then shut down the machines and turn out the lights. Goodnight." - seldom_seen
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. I want a small commuter car with a small engine that runs on E95. It would have close to the same milage as a ordinary diesel one, but almost none of the harmful emissions. Fuel availbility is a question, though there are fillings stations planned already. See:
