Today’s car diesel engines aren’t the dirty and noisy vehicles some associate with diesel.
If we were talking about a diesel car form the 1970s or 1980s, I’d strenuously avoid them. They were nothing more than truck engines shoehorned into engine compartments. They ran poorly, and if you wanted them to start on a cold morning, you plugged them into a battery charger or a block heater.
I knew a lawyer who owned a diesel car in the late 1980s, and that old timer had to pop the hood every night when he came home so he could connect the car to an extension cord. Then he had to unplug it in the morning and close the hood. As many would guess, he didn’t keep that car long.
Today’s diesels, however, are much nicer. I hauled some Dodge/Freightliner/BMW Sprinter vans when I drove a truck, and when one of them was idling, the engine was so quiet I couldn’t hear it. The increased diesel refining standards first adopted in Europe, and now adopted here in the USA, along with the popularity of diesel cars in Europe, have made for quiet clean reliable diesel technology that I would love to own in a car.
The issue of the cleanliness of the pumps really depends on how good the vendor is. Good vendors clean their fuel pumps. Since diesel refining standards have been increased, the diesel pumps probably look cleaner than they used to.
Something I have noticed is a significant number of people commenting on the cleanliness of the pump for diesel. Does this somehow effect the performance of the car?
Something I have noticed is a significant number of people commenting on the cleanliness of the pump for diesel. Does this somehow effect the performance of the car?
The cleanliness of the pump does not affect the performance of the car, but it does affect the experience of the driver as he or she dispenses fuel. Professional truck drivers usually wear work gloves when they dispense fuel because of how nasty the pumps can get.
Indirectly, I guess you could make a case that the cleanliness of the fuel does affect the performance of the car. New diesel engines require specialized emissions equipment, and this equipment became necessary when we switched to ultra low sulfur diesel fuel. Trucking companies stocked up on the pre-ULSD trucks to avoid the expensive emissions equipment. Older trucks will run on the new ULSD fuel, much like an old pre-catalytic converter car will run on unleaded gasoline. Much like the first gasoline emissions standards, the new diesel emissions equipment might make newer diesel engines less reliable than the older ones.
This explains why you still see diesel trucks putting out large clouds of black smoke from their exhaust pipes, even though they use ULSD fuel. These are old trucks that don’t have modern diesel emissions equipment.
Back in the 80’s I drove 3 diesels - '74, '80, and '81 Mercs and owned one in the 90’s, an '80 Scout (with the Nissan turbo-diesel). I used to enjoy bathing tailgaters in a huge black cloud. =P
The Mercs were all great cars except the '81 (300D). It had a lot of vacuum hoses that controlled everything and it never seemed to work 100%. They all had decent pickup and were quite reliable. The Scout was also very reliable but it was really slow. On the other hand, it would pull a huge amount of weight.
I think most modern diesels would be more reliable and get better mileage than regular engines BUT you’re going to pay a premium for diesel fuel these days. For some reason it costs more than gasoline now, at least in central NC.
@jtsanders Haha, I used to get that when filling up the Scout!
“They aren’t noticeable because they don’t look, sound, or smell significantly different in operation.”
Unless you are walking, it’s impossible to tell since many (most?) cars in Europe shut down when you stop. I found that unsettling for the 5 days I had a BMW diesel as a rental in Europe. I had no problem distinguishing the sound of my BMW rental from any of our 4 cars at home. It was definitely louder, but not disturbing.
The modern diesel is a civilized beast, but still too dirty for my comfort. I grew up in LA in the sixties and seventies so have already hit my lifetime cap.
Certain vehicles like SUV’s and minivans are GREAT for diesels. You don’t need a lot of acceleration…but you do need good torque.
Nissan sells a Diesel version of their Pathfinder in Europe and south America. It’s a 4 cylinder turbo. Has MORE torque then the V6…almost the same HP. Acceleration is just a bit slower…but it gets 50% BETTER gas mileage then the gas version. I’ve been waiting for it to come to the US for years…Still hasn’t happened.
I’ve always said(for awhile anyway) we dont really have much of a choice-this lack of actual choices about what constitutes the vehicle you buy has driven me away from several makes-If I could sit down and actually order the vehicle I wanted,you would probaly find me buying new quite often.Used to give the Boys at Nissan a rough time about their pickups until the Frontier came out largely as I suggesteed.Mike,I dont know why we cant get our Diesel of choice in this country-Kevin