When Tinie Tempah said, “these haters couldn’t get to where I am with a full tank of petrol,” he must have been driving a diesel car, because range per tank is the only real advantage of a compression ignition engined automobile. You see diesel, despite the warped view of some European “environmentalists,” is slowly killing you. No, it is; the harmful emissions from oil burners are exponentially greater petrol/gasoline engines, which means that the current CO2 scare mongering is making everything much worse for everyone. Major ports around the world are installing high voltage shore-power in order to prevent large vessels from having to run their polluting diesel generators whilst in port, yet the powers that be want more dirty diesels on the roads near our homes? Clearly something is amiss here, and it’s not that marine diesels are that much more polluting than their road-legal counterparts. No, the need for greater MPG ratings and lower CO2 emissions has shockingly come at the expense of our collective health and that of our planet, which is why I truly hate diesel powered cars.
Of course, most them are utter crap anyway, since the French build a disproportionately large number of the polluting little diesel shit-boxes. However, good cars (when equipped with a proper engine) also fall victim to the ills of the much heavier and less versatile diesel. In simple engineering terms, the engine in a petrol/gasoline-powered car can be made much lighter, because it operates at much lower pressure. The same power plant by being internally lighter has a greater RPM range, which makes the car easier to drive and much more responsive, and having less overall weight over the front axle improves handling remarkably. Add to this the facts that diesels require specialized maintenance and have pressurized fuel systems, which makes running out of diesel a very expensive proposition, the slightly better MPG figures seem like a bit of a Faustian bargain.
In the United States, which is the actual home of the environmental movement for those of you completely unaware of modern history, the only diesel passenger cars currently available for sale (VW and Audi has put a sales hold on the TDI) require Urea Injection of their NOx-rich exhaust gasses to meet even minimal (non-CO2) emissions standards. That’s right, there has to be what is basically piss sprayed in to the exhaust, which has already gone through particulate filters and a catalyst. Even then it barely passes, and should you run out of the fluid, the computer has to be programmed to not allow the engine to start. Plus the particulate filters have a knack for clogging in lower (although. really not that slow) speed driving, which also causes the car to shut off. The Americans are also in the process of converting heavy vehicles to run on much cleaner natural gas power. The engine manufacturer, Cummings Diesel plans to make more of these engines than traditional diesels in the coming years, yet the Europeans are pushing for more diesels that produce more harmful nitrous oxide(s) and particulate emissions. These kill people, and with the advent of Socialized Medicine, we all have to pay for the treatment of the unnecessarily effected cancer patients. Therefore, help save lives and the planet by boycotting dirty, foul, and potentially murderous diesels…
Especially the Renault Clio “Eco”!
