If they went at it as hard as they did for the gasoline engines…A diesel could be able to do some scary numbers on the Strip…No?. They could slap BOTH a Turbo AND a Supercharger on a Diesel AT THE SAME TIME…like they do on Pleasure Yachts I have worked on.
Oops a double post… Yeah I think a Turbo and Supercharged Monster Diesel Might surprise some people…Wouldnt be nearly as dramatic or sound as good tho
I would think Diesel will always be more expensive than Gasoline…I mean doesnt it take more crude to produce Diesel than gasoline? I always thought this was true…I think D fuel takes fewer refining steps as well… Is this correct?
Diesel is too expensive and valuable a fuel to have the greatest user of fossil fuels ( the US) play a dominant role in its use in cars. We are too expansive a country with too big a commitment to long haul trucking and merchandise distribution to have our kids in diesel cars wasting the most precious fossil fuel we have. It ain’t going to happen on a scale that rivals gas use unless diesel is made more plentiful and cheaper…Is that ever going to happen ? No.
Your original question/rant was about Honda not letting us buy the diesel Accord in the USA. Unless Honda is putting a dual turbo/supercharger on their Accord, that’s fairly irrelevant 
I know that I was trying to respond to the Diesel drag racing comment…I just saw some scary Diesel racing…I’ve never seen that before…theyre way ahead of me…I didnt know they were developing Diesel drags at all…duh…I’m out of it
Bothers me as well. I hate not being able to buy/import cars that I want.
It comes down to one thing (mainly):
US Govt. regulations that are different from any other country. Manufacturers have to change/re-certify so many things on a vehicle (and then crash test them again) that it is simply not cost effective to do so. Not the mention the crazy California requirements that go way beyond what even the EU requires.
Not that I would expect any change under this current GM car union protectionist regime, but could we please just allow EU or Jap/S.Korea certified vehicle models to be imported/built here without further modifications and testing?
These regulations are a relic of the past, and need to go. We are rarely the leaders on automotive safety anymore, but instead the followers. Shoot, even 20 years ago I replaced my stupid DOT certified crappy headlights with E-Code headlights so I could see where I go at night.
PLEASE Govt - let WE THE PEOPLE decide what we want and consider safe. Most of us will make better/smarter choices than you. And the rest - well they will eventually self expire (Darwin award winners).
What racing do you watch? That is not true.
In ALMS road racing, Audi won all three years the R10 TDI competed - with a diesel.
Audi and Peugeot have battled back and forth in Le Mans (Europe) - with diesels.
If the regulations allow for diesels, and govern power based on volume of fuel used, a diesel will generally be very competitive, since it holds about 50% more power by volume than gasoline.
Unfortunately most cars (here at least) size the diesel at the same volume or smaller than their gas counterparts to meet crazy California diesel emission standards. Put a larger diesel engine in a Jetta, and it will give the 2L turbo a run for it’s money, while still getting better fuel mileage.
Some of that is from the LBJ chicken tax. Thanks a lot! 
Diesel uses a different “cut” from the barrel of crude oil. The old style diesel was cheaper to make than gasoline which needs additional steps, such as “cracking”, to make. The diesel cut competes with heating oil and jet fuel ( middle ditillates). The new super clean diesel costs more to make but probably no more than the best gasolines of today.
Price, as always, is a function of supply and demand. If nobody wanted T bone steaks, they would be the cheapest cut instead of one of the most expensive. Europe has many diesel cars on the road and diesel is expensive, although the low taxes make it desirable in many countries.
Right; I once had lunch with the president of a construction company. He had just bought a top of the line Mercedes diesel, and bragged about the high miles per gallon. This had nothing whatsoever to do with saving money or the environment. Even if this car used no fuel at all, it would still be expensive to operate.
In reality he did save money, since his car was gassed up by the conpany fuel truck dipensing tax-free diesel at wholesale prices.
Cool! I like my minivan even more now!
It’s not our fault that the euros have to deal with such asinine taxation. Road Tax, Carbon Tax, VAT, etc. It is what it is. It still doesn’t change the fact that the Euro Accord is much more expensive than the U.S. TSX.
I’m in the same boat Mike. I commute 100 miles a day, and last year got rid of my Subaru (25mpg) in favor of a TDI (43+mpg). I bought the Jetta used, and figure it will pay for itself in about a year. I only pay 25 cents a gallon more for diesel here in AK, because gas is disproportionately expensive.
The other thing, to me, that nobody is mentioning is that diesels are overall less costly to maintian than gas engines over their lifetime, all else being equal. The engine is more durable, and properly cared for will last twice as many miles as a gas engine. I recently replaced the timing belt which is really the only scheduled maintenance other than oil changes, etc. And with about $1k worth of modifications (ECU and Exhaust) I can get close to 60 mpg. The only gas engined vehicle I ever knew of to approach these numbers was a POS Geo Metro, and after a day driving that, well, I still know how to thumb a ride!
Um… gas is every bit as much a fossil fuel, just a different refining process. It all comes from crude oil, and diesel can be just as cheap and plentiful as gas, depending on how the refinery is set up.
Right now Diesel is about 30 cents more per gallon then High Octane…That’s because we’re in a state of gas flux. When ever this happens diesel for some reason is always higher…in some cases MUCH higher. When gas prices settle down…then diesel is the same as the mid-grades gas.
I would LOVE a high mpg vehicle. But I also have to have something at fits my needs. I not about to give up our camping trips towing the pop-up or winter skiing or our trail hikes for a much higher mpg vehicle. Wife isn’t going to give up a comfortable 5 seat vehicle for 40mpg…Now if they made a SUV that can do what my SUV can do…and give me 30mpg and quality long lasting vehicle…I’m all for it.
Texas you are right on higher gas prices in Japan, but as of ten minutes ago it is $4.24 a gallon, not the six dollar figure you quoted. Maybe it fluctuates that much.
How come Puerto Rico is $1.74 a gallon? Do they get gas from Venezuela where it is 12 cents a gallon? Nigeria is 38 cents.Taiwan $2.84
CNN Global Gas Prices
The Romans bought off their poor citizens with “Panum et Circensus”, Bread and Games. Modern dictators buy off their citizens with cheap, subsidized gas. If Chavez raised the price of gas to it’s actual cost based on $100 per barrel, it would cause an uprising. Similarly in Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, “democratic” Nigeria, and others.
Puerto Rico is a unique case, but spoiled citizens will riot if the spoils are taken away.
If you work it out and assume that a barrel of oil makes about 20 gallons of gas, and 15 % in consumed in the refining process, you would have to charge at least $2.25 for the material and say $$0.04 at least for the refining and handling cost, resulting is $2.29 per a gallon at the refinery.
If, on the other hand you produce oil at $1 per barel, such as in Saudi Arabia, the feedstock is only $0.023 per barrel, and the final cost of the gas is $0.027/gallon.
As Mike says, it’s all about Lowest Life Cycle Cost. And that depends how much you drive, how troublesome and expensive the maintenance is and for a busy man, can I get the car fixed quickly if something goes wrong?
For me, since I drive little, and spend almost as much time in rental cars, a Prius would take 20 years to recoupe the additional cost. A VW diesel would still take 14 years. I did a cash flow analysis between a VW Golf diesel and a Corolla, and with my driving the figures did not add up. Plus the shorter life and higher operating expesne of the Golf just did not justify it.
On the other hand, in the Pacific North West, most new taxis are now Priuses, the ideal vehicle for a mild climate and constant stop and go driving. Our city has bought a fleet of Priuses as well for the administrative personnel in the field who are constantly on the go.