DIRTY NO MORE ... DIESEL POWER

i guess i should have kept my 1978 rabbit diesel a little longer - perhaps it would be back in style now . it only had 48 hp (!) but would get us halfway to myrtle beach on a tankful of diesel . it always felt a little strange pulling in next to the big rigs for a fill-up - but the truckers didn't seem to mind - always plenty of questions from them and usually a 'thumbs up' .
hbg
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Dirty no more, diesel power is back in action
MICHAEL VAUGHAN AND JEREMY CATO

From Thursday's Globe and Mail

Michael and Jeremy:

Like you, Michael, I own a diesel, a Volkswagen Jetta, our fourth, and I love the economy. Unlike Michael's diesel, repairs have not been a big issue. But I know that when I have to drive long distances, the Jetta is wearing on the driver. The comfort, quiet and safety of our other car, a Volvo wagon, are preferred.

While there is a difference in fuel economy, in my view it's not a quantum difference ?- maybe 7.2 to 5.5 L/100 km. I know some might view any difference as environmentally unconscionable, but wear and tear on the driver and other subjective issues are a reasonable consideration.

I am getting ready for a new car and am ready to step up. I want to stay with a diesel, so what choices do I have now and what's coming next year? Give me some ideas. I'm ready to spend more, but not go crazy.
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Vaughan: Cato, diesel is a game changer for fuel economy. It is the quickest, easiest, simplest way to get a 30-per-cent to 35-per-cent fuel in a gas-swilling SUV.

Cato: Try to persuade U.S. buyers of that. They won't easily forget their old notions of stink-pot oil-burners ?- the noxious spew from the tailpipe, the kerosene odour, filling up next to towering 18-wheelers. The last time we saw a diesel marketing push, the product was just awful. The engines clattered and shook and they refused to start at all on frigid mornings. Diesels even caused cancer. Several studies found the sooty exhaust to be a carcinogen. Not only that, it was linked to asthma, heart attacks and premature deaths.

Vaughan: Cato, you're living in the past. The new diesels are great and this Bluetec E-Class is perfectly clean, not to mention powerful. If all the new ones prove to be this good, diesels are going to grab converts.

Cato: J.D. Power and Associates agrees with you. The researchers there say that by 2010 to 2012, diesel could have a 10-per-cent share of the U.S. market ?- more than triple today's share.

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