$5/gallon diesel...

[15QuestionsAway]

...has arrived in Los Angeles. I saw it at two different stations along I-5.

$4.80-$4.90 is for now still more typical. Diesel's been increasing much faster than gas the last few days.

Regular's about $3.95-$4.05 and premium's $4.15-$4.25 around me, just for comparison.

[Bob Juch]

...has arrived in Los Angeles. I saw it at two different stations along I-5.

$4.80-$4.90 is for now still more typical. Diesel's been increasing much faster than gas the last few days.

Regular's about $3.95-$4.05 and premium's $4.15-$4.25 around me, just for comparison.

I paid $3.599 last night at my favorite post-NTN station.

[jaybee]

One of the diesel truck forums that I belong to is also reporting $5 diesel in the western states. I filled up this morning in TN, $4.30. At least I wasn't empty, only set me back $120.

This Saturday I leave on a 1,700 mile round trip to Wisconsin and back - pulling a trailer. The biggest single expense of the whole weeks vacation is going to be fuel.

[littlebeast13]

Just saw stations up here in Milwaukee for $4.05 a gallon for Regular!!!!



This is the first time I've ever been up this way and the gas in the Chicago area ($3.95) wasn't significantly higher than in on my side of the STL metro (It was $3.87 when I left this morning, and I'll bet it jumped today)....

lb13

[Ritterskoop]

What kinds of automobiles use diesel? I see it sold everywhere so there must be a lot of car makes using it, but I am wondering what kind. When I was a kid it was only BMWs and Mercedes and like that. Still true, or was that accurate even then? The wikipedia article doesn't help much, and I have promised to go to bed on time so I can't do more research, but I know y'all will know.

[earendel]

What kinds of automobiles use diesel? I see it sold everywhere so there must be a lot of car makes using it, but I am wondering what kind. When I was a kid it was only BMWs and Mercedes and like that. Still true, or was that accurate even then? The wikipedia article doesn't help much, and I have promised to go to bed on time so I can't do more research, but I know y'all will know.

There are Volkswagon models that use diesel (we used to own a diesel Jetta before an unfortunate mishap at an oil change center associated with a big box store that shall remain nameless, but whose initials are K-Mart).

[jaybee]

What kinds of automobiles use diesel? I see it sold everywhere so there must be a lot of car makes using it, but I am wondering what kind. When I was a kid it was only BMWs and Mercedes and like that. Still true, or was that accurate even then? The wikipedia article doesn't help much, and I have promised to go to bed on time so I can't do more research, but I know y'all will know.

Currently, it's mostly pick-up trucks. GM, Ford and Dodge all have heavier-duty trucks, many of which have diesel engines. Now that the diesel fuel has been changed to a lower sulfer content and engine emmision design has eliminated the "diesel smoke", we'll be seeing many more diesels out there. Most are slated to go on sale by 2010 - small pick-ups, small cars, even the Honda Odyssey mini-van will have a V-6 diesel option.

[kayrharris]

My son's Chevy Silverado 2500 pickup uses diesel. I know lots of the trucks do...F250's and larger, maybe even an F150. I suppose other makes as well...Dodge and Toyota's?? I'm not as familiar with them.

My car uses diesel but it does give me better gas mileage than my last car that ran on gasoline. At these prices, I need all the help I can get. Glad I live in a small town and can go about 3 weeks on a tank of fuel.

[littlebeast13]

I miss regular leaded.....

And yes, I am old enough to remember leaded gasoline ... the old Beast family junkers used it as did the lawn mower I got way too familiar with growing up in the late 80's....

lb13

[MarleysGh0st]

I miss regular leaded.....

You miss leaded?

You could always chew on some paint chips, you know!

[gsabc]

I miss regular leaded.....

You miss leaded?

You could always chew on some paint chips, you know!

Don't worry. The residuals of leaded gasoline are still by the sides of every road and are churned up whenever there's repair work done.

It may explain the mental states of some of the older folks around here.

[PlacentiaSoccerMom]

I just filled up for $3.85 a gallon yesterday.

[littlebeast13]

I miss regular leaded.....

You miss leaded?

You could always chew on some paint chips, you know!

You're forgetting where I live!!! Lead doesn't scare me....

The big lead dumping ground in the area was only a few blocks from my house, though my yard wasn't one of the ones that got dug up by the EPA in the 90's when they tried to clean it up (They got the neighbor's yard, though)....

lb13

[andrewjackson]

I think right now the only new diesel passenger cars for sale in the U.S. are from Mercedes and Volkswagen.

Jeep has a diesel Grand Cherokee available in some states and the Big Three all sell diesel pickups and vans.


There are about to be many more diesel models for sale in the U.S. The new low-sulfur diesel fuel means that it is easier to meet emission standards. However, the spike in diesel prices may mean that those models get put on hold or stay in very limited availability.

BMW, Honda, Nissan, and Hyundai are all planning to bring diesel models to the U.S. and Chrysler will have a few more diesel models soon.

[earendel]

I think right now the only new diesel passenger cars for sale in the U.S. are from Mercedes and Volkswagen.

Jeep has a diesel Grand Cherokee available in some states and the Big Three all sell diesel pickups and vans.


There are about to be many more diesel models for sale in the U.S. The new low-sulfur diesel fuel means that it is easier to meet emission standards. However, the spike in diesel prices may mean that those models get put on hold or stay in very limited availability.

BMW, Honda, Nissan, and Hyundai are all planning to bring diesel models to the U.S. and Chrysler will have a few more diesel models soon.

And I believe they are being designed to run on biodiesel as well as petroleum-based diesel.

[Ritterskoop]

So if diesel is more efficient and puts less crap in the air, why aren't all the makes switching to it?

[jaybee]

So if diesel is more efficient and puts less crap in the air, why aren't all the makes switching to it?

1. The change to the cleaner diesel fuel only came about in October of '07.
2. Even with the cleaner diesel fuel (Called ULSD - Ultra Low Sulfer Diesel) there are additional emmisions parts needed. On my truck, there is a diesel particulate filter - much like a second catalitic converter in the exhaust system. It's basically an afterburner for cleaning the exhaust. On cars. like the Mercedes system, they use a urea (yes, you read that right) injection system to neutralize emissions.
3. The perception of diesel for years has been slow and smokey. It takes a while to get over that.
4. Diesel running gear is expensive. Even at lower horsepower, diesel engines develope much more torque than a gas engine. That extra power means that transmissions and drivelines must be stronger to handle the extra possible stress. On my truck for example, the diesel engine combined with the necessary transmission was slightly over a $9,000 option.

[andrewjackson]

I think jaybee got most of the points.

Just because diesels are cleaner than they used to be doesn't mean they are cleaner than gasoline engines. They emit a lot of particulate matter and that has been hard to eliminate. Since diesels combust fuel through compression alone, no spark, they don't tend to burn all the fuel in the chamber especially until they warm up. There are also cold weather difficulties with diesels. We used to have to plug in all our tractors in the winter to keep them warm so they would start in the morning. We also had to switch fuels from winter to summer fuel because the fuel would get sludgy in the winter. You can overcome that with technology in the cars but that adds more price.

Most of the diesels that we will see for a while will be imports because those companies have already invested in the tooling. Europeans had lower taxes on diesel fuel and less stringent emission standards so they have been making diesels for a long time. Plus Europeans aren't as price sensitive to purchase price as Americans. Diesels cost more up-front but pay off over the long haul. That has never been a good selling point in the U.S.

The domestic manufacturers don't currently make diesel engines for passenger cars so it will take them longer to tool up. And it is still questionable about how much future there is for diesels so companies are going to be cautious in investing in the technology and manufacturing capability.

[kayrharris]

My car has a urea?? Who knew?

I stopped to fill up today, even though I still had a 1/2 tank as the price keeps going up daily. Ultra low sulphur diesel was $4.29/gallon. My car holds 26 gallons. The pumped stopped automatically at $48.00, which did not fill the tank completely.

I didn't see any signs posted at the pump, but apparently that's the most you are allowed to put on a credit card purchase at that station. Might be signs inside the store, but it was pouring rain and I didn't bother to go in.