[alfa] RE: In defense of diesel

["Mark Kingsbury" <romanracing@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

>C.M. Smith wrote:
>Why anyone in North America would even consider buying a diesel powered
>passenger vehicle is beyond my understanding. Anything a diesel can do can
>be done better by gasoline in a passenger car application.

Have you driven any of the current diesel passenger cars offered? The new MB
320 CDI actually outperforms its gas powered brother. VW TDI's are quiet,
clean and powerful.  Put a "non-car" person into either of these cars and
I'd bet they'll be hard pressed to recognize it's a diesel.  The VW's only
have 90 hp. ya, but 150 ft/lbs of torque. Want more? Chip it and get over
200 ft/lbs. all below 2000 rpm.  Diesel passenger cars make perfect sense
for the US where a majority of our driving is stoplight to stoplight, using
low down torque to pull away rather than having to zing a motor to 3000 rpm
to get any power and use more gas in the process.

>Benjamin Kaup wrote:
>Yes the Europeans make better Diesel engines, simply because they have more
experience with it.

True, but their big advantage is that the diesel fuel used in Europe is far
better quality than the crap we have here.  It's all about sulfer content.
US Diesel is regulated to 50 ppm of sulfur, which increases emmissions
greatly and hurts smoothness and noise.  Euro diesel is 5 ppm which is
neccessary for the higher technology seen on Euro diesels.  Ultra Low Sulfer
Diesel is slated to make its appearance in the US in 2006.  It should be
interesting to see what crosses the Ocean.

Want a smoother running, cleaner diesel now? Run Bio-diesel made from soy,
rapeseed, canola, etc. oils grown right here in the US of A.  Recent diesels
need no modifications to run Bio-D and older (eighties and older) diesels
only need to replace rubber fuel lines.  It can be mixed with Dino-D  in any
percentage too.

>Kaup again:
>I see the pathetic attempts to fix it with hybrids and then I see the Alfa
GT with a 1.9l JTD engine and I wonder why everybody has to immediately
discount it.

I agree. Hybrids *might* have thier place. Zipping around our suburban
cities and such but these things on NOT for highway use IMHO.  Too light
with skinny tires and get blown around by a passing SUV.  Not to mention,
thier HWY mileage is worse than city milage.  Personally, I rather have 1
car that can get good gas milage hwy or city and can be used in either
situation comfortably.  Not to mention if you are one that puts 100,000 mile
or more on your cars, have fun not only replacing the battery packs on a
hybrid, but also many of their ancillery parts are made of expensive,
lightweight materials, making a nice dent in the wallet when it comes time
to replace.  People will simply start throwing these cars away once they
realize they are cost prohibitive to drive for a long period of time.  Not
much of a gain for conservation of resources then is it.

I don't like having to forgo the awesome sound of an Alfa V6 ripping to 7000
rpm, but today's realities make these considerations necessary. Whether it's
to keep a little more change in our pocket, or just a general concern for
things beyond our own back yard.

Mark Kingsbury
Gainesville, GA
84 GTV6 Maratona
03 VW Jetta Wagon TDI
98.5 Audi A4 1.8T QMS
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