Posted on 12/01/2006 5:49:41 AM PST by Red Badger
Toyota Motor Corp. has developed an ultra-clean diesel engine designed to clear stricter emissions standards to be introduced in Japan, the United States and the European Union in the coming years, sources said.
The company plans to install the engine in its European models in the latter half of 2008, and in so doing aims to become the world's first automaker to commercialize a next-generation diesel engine, the sources said.
Germany's BMW AG has said it will roll out a diesel model with comparable emissions levels in 2008 in the United States. Honda Motor Co. announced a plan to introduce a similar model in 2009 in the U.S. market.
In 2005, diesel engine models accounted for 40 percent of Toyota's parent-only unit sales in Europe. With the new engine, the company aims to increase the ratio to more than 50 percent by 2010.
Diesel engines are more fuel-efficient than gasoline engines, but they emit more particulates and nitrogen oxides.
The United States is scheduled to implement diesel-emissions regulations from vehicles marketed as 2007 models. Japan and the EU are considering introducing their new standards in 2009 and 2010, respectively.
Under the three standards, the ceiling for particulate matter will be about 0.005 grams per kilometer of driving for passenger cars.
The figure will be less than a third of the amount allowed under the current regulations in Japan and a fifth of that in Europe.
The U.S. standards will be particularly stringent on nitrogen oxides, while the European rules will call for lower emissions of carbon monoxide than the other two.
Industry officials said regulators in Japan, the United States and Europe are expected to prohibit sales of vehicles if they fail to meet their standards.
Toyota has succeeded in raising the efficiency of fuel combustion through improvements in diesel-injection nozzles, the sources said.
The company has also improved a catalytic converter that reduces both particulates and nitrogen oxides in emissions, the sources said.(IHT/Asahi: December 1,2006)
Rest In Peace, old friend, your work is finished.......
If you want on or off the DIESEL "KNOCK" LIST just FReepmail me........
This is a fairly HIGH VOLUME ping list on some days......
Go Toyota!......
Toyota spends money on engineering. The Big 3 spends money on employee buyouts, executive bonuses, and takeovers.
Need I say more?
Look up these:
http://www.fordmuscle.com/blog/ford-to-build-60-mpg-f150/112114
http://blogs.edmunds.com/Straightline/1209
How MUCH MORE efficient is diesel? I see the price at the pump is higher and wondering if the fuel economy makes enough difference to make a real difference.
Anybody?
I looked at diesels before I bought my truck. They seemed to get about 15% to 25% better mileage (ROUGH estimate) but DF is about that much more expensive than regular unleaded around here. Also, the diesel engine carried a $5,000 or more price tag over the gas motor.
You have two cars with exactly the same equipment except one is a diesel.
The Diesel is rated at 50 mpg and the gas is rated at 40 mpg.
Gasoline is $2.50 per gallon and Diesel is $3.00 per gallon.
Both cars have a 10 gallon tank.
You drive 400 miles in the gasoline car at a cost of $25.00. You drive 500 miles in the Diesel car at a cost of $30.00. The cost per mile in the gasoline car is $0.06 per mile (0.0625) The cost per mile in the Diesel car is $0.06 per mile (0.0600) That is at a cost differential of $0.50 per gallon.
Obviously, the diesel will be much more closer to the price of gasoline and thus will achieve a better cost per mile.......
I have a friend in the UK who has a Volvo with a Turbo diesel and he gets 60 MPG. Car is quick and wish we could get them here in the states!!!!
Diesel is the way to go.
The price of diesel and bio-diesel will come down as more and more bio-d plants start coming on line. They are popping up like mushrooms all over the country. Soon every city will have its own municipal waste turned into biodiesel. All agriwastes will be turned into biodiesel. New technology, ie algae, is starting already.........
They will both reap what they sow...........
Yeah, but you need to run a full TCO (total cost of ownership) model to really tell. How much is the standard maintenance for each type of engine? Will the catalytic converter need to be replaced sooner on one type over the other? And don't forget to account for the initial price differential.
The price of diesel and bio-diesel will come down
xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Your are smoking grass, the diesel price is manipulated by the retailer. Why? because it requires far less energy to refine diesel fuel than it does gasoline. Bio? drop in bucket as far as a solution, besides it thats 3 gallon of diesel fuel to farm, grow harvest enough corn to generate two gallon of bio fuel (ethinal).
do you homework
Thanks for the math work Red but you lost me on you conclusion. Based on your figures it did not look to me like that much difference.
BTW, read your profile. Did you ever see the Oriental woman on JAG with a Southern accent? She was only on for about one season. It was a hoot to hear her talk, and every time she did I fell in love with her all over again.
Also keep in mind that the current high differential between gas and diesel is artificial, related to the change over to ultra low sulfur fuel.
By next year the difference will be much less.
Ping
As someone in the market for a new car sometime in the next year or so, here's my take:
Diesel generally 20%- 30% more efficient, and usually lasts longer.
Now costs about 15% more.
Currently has about 3.4% US marketshare.
Has some serious pollution problems beyond gasoline, to be countered by new fuel standards.
Assuming (best case) increase in US marketshare and higher cost of production due to tougher standards, does mileage advantage improve? Probably not.
Compare this to Camry hybrid with 40mpg city, if this vehicle is otherwise suitable. For those who need something like a minivan or SVU, obviously more needs to be compared.
Except for those piece's of crap GM produced a few years back. The 350 was an under engineered converted 350 olds gas motor and the 6.6 they put in trucks was just a piece of junk.
Most who drive a modern diesel say the same thing. They are awesome cars that are fun to drive and get much better mileage.
I recently bought a Chevy Trailblazer with the LS2 (400hp) engine. It was a toss-up between that and a Chevy pickup with a diesel engine. Without looking it up, I believe the diesel was rated at 350hp and 500ft-lbs of torque.
Went for the Trailblazer as it was a better cruiser, then come to find out with a chip we could have bumped the diesel up to over 450hp and gobs increase in torque! Maybe for the next purchase :-)
I know. GM did itself, the Industry, and America a great disservice by trying to do diesel on the cheap. It left a bad taste in the mouths of American consumers for a generation. But, thankfully, GenX and GenY and GenZ don't have that imprinted on their gray matter. They would consider a diesel on its strong points, not bad memories.......
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.