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I heard during the oil embargo in the '70's that (a.) you can get much less Diesel fuel from a gallon of crude than you can gasoline, and (b.) that you can refine very little useful stuff from what's left over, making the long term economic advantages of Diesel actually less overall than a gasoline-based economy. The same source said that mass conversion to Deisel cars would therefore be more of a problem than the small percentage that's currently out there because of its adverse effect on fuel supplies and costs for trucking and train transportation. For anyone out there with some petrochemical savvy, is this true or is it so much hooey?

GC wrote: I heard during the oil embargo in the '70's that (a.) you can get much less Diesel fuel from a gallon of crude than you can gasoline, and (b.) that you can refine very little useful stuff from what's left over, making the long term economic advantages of Diesel actually less overall than a gasoline-based economy. The same source said that mass conversion to Deisel cars would therefore be more of a problem than the small percentage that's currently out there because of its adverse effect on fuel supplies and costs for trucking and train transportation. For anyone out there with some petrochemical savvy, is this true or is it so much hooey?

No chemist me, but I do know that diesel fuel is much less refined than gasoline, so I'd be quite surprised if it took more crude to make a given amount of diesel than gasoline.

But while diesel creates fewer gaseous emissions than gasoline, what it does create is more objectionable to most people. The soot created by diesel can be pervasive and also contributes to particulate-matter pollution which is a big problem in some cities.

Diesel is also less volatile, meaning that everything it touches immediately becomes nearly permanently dirty. A city with all diesel vehicles would become noticeably grimy in a short time, I suspect.

Rick "who avoids pumps with diesel dispensers to keep from standing in an oily puddle" Denney

wnazzaro wrote:Still, I'd like someone to mass produce a diesel hybrid, just to see what kind of gas mileage it could get. If a diesel can get 50, and a hybrid gets 40-45, what would the environmental impact of the diesel be compared to the same car using unleaded? This is something that needs to be tested.

They've been making them for over 50 years--it's called a diesel electric locomotive.

wnazzaro wrote:And that would put the Hummer to shame.

Now can I get it with bucket seats that fold into the floor to fit flight cases?

Dunno about that, but the manufacturer says it'll run 8 days of continuous operation on a tank of diesel. There's also plenty of room for you 66/4 CCCC.