Is diesel dead

Been reading a lot about this in the press. I must admit when diesel is more costly I wonder about the reasons for having diesel. My reason for having diesel was more to do with longevity especially in 4x4s where the vehicle can last for years. Second was the better economy but if pump price differential eats into this and buying a diesel engined motor is a bit more costly up front then the advantage is lost.

I suspect diesel is about to get a caning in the near future.

Yes. Diesel is dead. In fact the lifeforms that it is ultimately made from died thousands and thousands of years ago

oh... wait...

private penguin said:

Yes. Diesel is dead. In fact the lifeforms that it is ultimately made from died thousands and thousands of years ago

oh... wait...

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Now that's a point. I suppose they meant the diesel engine.

Also I thought diesel fuel was so refined these days that it was almost petrol.

Diesel has a higher specific energy than petrol, so if science can find a way to burn it without particulate emissions the these city bans could be overturned. It grieves me to say that because I really don't like diesels.

In the bigger scheme of things though we could be looking at all cars being electric before that long, so whether petrol or diesel is most popular at that time won't really be relevant from a historical perspective.

None of which helps you choose your next car.

In the good old black & white days the fuel for the diesel engined vehicle I use to drive was called DERV... so there's a question... when did the Diesel engine fuel start being called "Diesel", never driving a Diesel engine vehicle again that change has obviously passed me by

Just been reading about nasty microbes living in and on Diesel fuel in the tank

The particulate problems have already been sorted by filters, ( or will be when most diesels have them) it's the nitroden dioxide they are worrying about now, being some what behind times these politicians, as usual, it was was reported recently that petrol cars now often have higher NO2 due to all the efforts to remove their other pollutants...

TheQ said:

The particulate problems have already been sorted by filters, ( or will be when most diesels have them) it's the nitroden dioxide they are worrying about now, being some what behind times these politicians, as usual, it was was reported recently that petrol cars now often have higher NO2 due to all the efforts to remove their other pollutants...

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I just wish we had gone down the "lean burn" route decades ago. By now we would almost be running on air.

Seeing as how 95% of the worlds goods are transported using it, i think it will be alive and well for a few years yet. Unless someone is developing a 250,000 ton electric powered container ship which would need a bloody big battery or a very long lead.. But i suppose they could always revert to sails.

Every report on the BBC always states the NOx pollution is caused by diesel cars, with no mention of trucks, vans, buses and taxis. So cars will be banned from city exclusion zones, but all these other vehicles will be allowed to continue as normal.

I've run diesel's for years as an everyday proposition, prefer the way they drive being honest as so much more torque. I have a Ford RS which is petrol obviously as is my motorbike but my everyday hack & Defender are both diesel. As above, I can't see diesel being banned just yet....no supermarket deliveries, rail network would stop, nothing coming over from overseas by boat....can't see it can you ?

Mr S1 said:

I can't see diesel being banned just yet....no supermarket deliveries, rail network would stop, nothing coming over from overseas by boat....can't see it can you ?

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I agree with you but for the average motorist it might not be so clear cut. I doubt I will buy another car but I think just from the petrol cost advantage I would look at going petrol. If they hammer diesel in some way such as petrol pump extortionate prices it would deter me and a few others.

I think that in the very near future (like next budget) you will see tax on diesel start to rise, and road tax also will go up for diesels. In due course you will have to pay to take a domestic diesel into towns - big towns at first and then smaller. The pressure to get out of diesels will increase, and the value of a second hand diesel car will go down.

Oldfogey said:

I think that in the very near future (like next budget) you will see tax on diesel start to rise, and road tax also will go up for diesels. In due course you will have to pay to take a domestic diesel into towns - big towns at first and then smaller. The pressure to get out of diesels will increase, and the value of a second hand diesel car will go down.

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I agree - not least because politicians need to be seen to be doing something and it's easier to target the few older diesels than the trains etc. No doubt they'll add a carrot like a scrappage scheme..................
When the LEZ was proposed I picked up a leaflet from my local Merc truck dealer that explained what help was available....................... basically a few % of a brand new sprinter! Not much help to someone struggling to keep an '89 609d on the road!

discool said:

In the good old black & white days the fuel for the diesel engined vehicle I use to drive was called DERV... so there's a question... when did the Diesel engine fuel start being called "Diesel", never driving a Diesel engine vehicle again that change has obviously passed me by

Just been reading about nasty microbes living in and on Diesel fuel in the tank

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Agreed, Diesel is a type of combustion process, named after the guy who invented it. More de-skilling in the modern world. ( Read Labour and Monopoly Capital by Harry Braverman if you want to know more about that ).

Motorists are an easy target, and will no doubt be bulls eyed a few more times in the coming years.
Don't forget the use of Gas oil ("Red Diesel") for agriculture - pretty much essential if you want to eat or drink.

We once had a bacterial infection in the gas oil tank here - cost a bl**dy fortune to clear up, and necessitated a new storage tank, and new fuel tanks on two tractors !!!! I don't want that bill again

discool said:

In the good old black & white days the fuel for the diesel engined vehicle I use to drive was called DERV... so there's a question... when did the Diesel engine fuel start being called "Diesel", never driving a Diesel engine vehicle again that change has obviously passed me by

Just been reading about nasty microbes living in and on Diesel fuel in the tank

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Always. DERV stands for Diesel Engined Road Vehicle!

The modern diesel engine was developed by Rudolph Diesel, along with Robert Bosch, and Charles Anton Vandervell.

Bosch and Vandervell became very rich, Diesel died falling off a ship at sea.

I had diesel bug in the motor boats tanks so I dosed it with diesel bug killer, then built a fuel polisher,
Fuel tank, into demijohn, into filter, into pump, back to tank.
Switch on and wait, first run took out 6 pints of water ( diesel bug grows at the water / diesel interface). Water collects from condensation in the bottom of fuel tanks that sit around.
Second run started taking out the dead black sludge of diesel bug, then I flushed the fuel pipe lines and changed the fuel filters. All was ok after that. Whenever I am working on the boat now, I run the diesel polisher.