I'm not political by nature.

[Non Sequitur]

I no longer have the energy to track politicians and their comings and goings. I just let them do their thing until they do something so stupid that I just can't let it go. That being said, who the hell put the ethanol in my gasoline? My vehicle now runs like shit.

[Sullyute]

I no longer have the energy to track politicians and their comings and goings. I just let them do their thing until they do something so stupid that I just can't let it go. That being said, who the hell put the ethanol in my gasoline? My vehicle now runs like shit.

Take aim at any congressman from the bread basket states, but leave Al Gore alone.

[Moliere]

This was just released either yesterday or today.

http://www.cbo.gov/doc.cfm?index=11477

I own a flex fuel vehicle and we don't use E85 in Texas since the it only costs $0.10 less but the decline in fuel efficiency negates the lower price. When I drove through ABQ the price for E85 was about $0.70 less (going off memory so I might be wrong on that) which was low enough for me to use E85.

[BoylenOver]

are you naughty by nature?

[Babs]

are you naughty by nature?

yeah, you know me?

[Uncle Ted]

I no longer have the energy to track politicians and their comings and goings. I just let them do their thing until they do something so stupid that I just can't let it go. That being said, who the hell put the ethanol in my gasoline? My vehicle now runs like shit.

Not only does corn make your car run bad it makes rats fat. I blame those SOB corn huskers and hope they rot in Big Ten hell.

[Babs]

The EPA mandated ethanol blending in 2007, btw. By a year ago it was almost impossible to find ethanol-free fuel where I lived, though there was enough of a backlash that it's easier to find now. I haven't found any ethanol-free gasoline down here yet, but then I haven't looked around much.

[Pheidippides]

Not only does corn make your car run bad it makes rats fat. I blame those SOB corn huskers and hope they rot in Big Ten hell.

As a policy matter, ethanol is so ridiculous it's not funny. As a practical matter, my truck has an E85 engine. I don't foresee using it in the future, so I don't really care, but if the apocalypse hits, look for the giant still in my back yard.

[Babs]

As a policy matter, ethanol is so ridiculous it's not funny.

The word criminal comes to mind.

[Color Me Badd Fan]

Who the hell is keeping all the European diesels out of the US? These things kick the crap out of hybrids on fuel mileage. Are countries like Germany really that far behind the US on environmental regulations? As I mentioned in a another thread, I have a client who makes custom computers for diesel engines (I guess they're called tuners) and they're able to pull an amazing amount of additional HP out of these things. It seems like diesels still have more potential to be even more efficient while efficiency in gas engines seem to crawl up much slower.

I know the VW TDI is available, but aren't there a ton of Euro diesels being kept out of the US?

[statman]

Who the hell is keeping all the European diesels out of the US? These things kick the crap out of hybrids on fuel mileage. Are countries like Germany really that far behind the US on environmental regulations? As I mentioned in a another thread, I have a client who makes custom computers for diesel engines (I guess they're called tuners) and they're able to pull an amazing amount of additional HP out of these things. It seems like diesels still have more potential to be even more efficient while efficiency in gas engines seem to crawl up much slower.

I know the VW TDI is available, but aren't there a ton of Euro diesels being kept out of the US?

There are a lot more over there, for sure. But I think it's more of a demand thing than an issue of someone restricting supply.

We rented a full-sized 8-seat Ford Galaxy minivan in Italy (I don't think Ford even makes minivans in the US anymore, do they?) with a 6-speed (manual) 2.0 liter turbo diesel (~160 hp). Plenty of power and acceleration, but very narrow speed ranges for the gears. It's rated at ~34 mpg. We got 28 mpg driving on backroads of Tuscany - lots of starts and stops. Very little highway driving. On the highway, I'd bet it realistically gets 35+ mpg.

It's basically the same internal size as our Expedition, but literally gets twice the gas mileage. Why they hell don't we sell this thing in the US?

[Jeff Lebowski]

Who the hell is keeping all the European diesels out of the US? These things kick the crap out of hybrids on fuel mileage. Are countries like Germany really that far behind the US on environmental regulations? As I mentioned in a another thread, I have a client who makes custom computers for diesel engines (I guess they're called tuners) and they're able to pull an amazing amount of additional HP out of these things. It seems like diesels still have more potential to be even more efficient while efficiency in gas engines seem to crawl up much slower.

I know the VW TDI is available, but aren't there a ton of Euro diesels being kept out of the US?

We drove a full-size diesel Range Rover all over England and France. The thing weighed as much as a Sherman tank but we got ~25 mpg.

[FMCoug]

Who the hell is keeping all the European diesels out of the US? These things kick the crap out of hybrids on fuel mileage. Are countries like Germany really that far behind the US on environmental regulations? As I mentioned in a another thread, I have a client who makes custom computers for diesel engines (I guess they're called tuners) and they're able to pull an amazing amount of additional HP out of these things. It seems like diesels still have more potential to be even more efficient while efficiency in gas engines seem to crawl up much slower.

I know the VW TDI is available, but aren't there a ton of Euro diesels being kept out of the US?

There are a lot more over there, for sure. But I think it's more of a demand thing than an issue of someone restricting supply.

We rented a full-sized 8-seat Ford Galaxy minivan in Italy (I don't think Ford even makes minivans in the US anymore, do they?) with a 6-speed (manual) 2.0 liter turbo diesel (~160 hp). Plenty of power and acceleration, but very narrow speed ranges for the gears. It's rated at ~34 mpg. We got 28 mpg driving on backroads of Tuscany - lots of starts and stops. Very little highway driving. On the highway, I'd bet it realistically gets 35+ mpg.

It's basically the same internal size as our Expedition, but literally gets twice the gas mileage. Why they hell don't we sell this thing in the US?

I have never understood this either. Diesels are limited to trucks and a very few cars here. And they literally kick the crap out gas cars on so many fronts. Mileage, power, longevity, etc. I don't understand it.

Oh and while we're on the subject. If diesel is so much lower on the totem pole than gasoline (in terms of refning I mean), why the hell does it cost more? It it the all the new ultra low sulfur requirements?

[Pheidippides]

I have never understood this either. Diesels are limited to trucks and a very few cars here. And they literally kick the crap out gas cars on so many fronts. Mileage, power, longevity, etc. I don't understand it.

Oh and while we're on the subject. If diesel is so much lower on the totem pole than gasoline (in terms of refning I mean), why the hell does it cost more? It it the all the new ultra low sulfur requirements?

My guess would be supply and demand, in that the demand profile is more corporate based (trucking industry). Same reason it's more expensive to get airline tickets two days before than two weeks - effective price discrimination isolating, for the most part, corporate customers with deeper pockets and less elasticity of demand.

[FMCoug]

My guess would be supply and demand, in that the demand profile is more corporate based (trucking industry). Same reason it's more expensive to get airline tickets two days before than two weeks - effective price discrimination isolating, for the most part, corporate customers with deeper pockets and less elasticity of demand.

You're probably right. But to my original point, my understanding is that diesel can be refined from lesser oils than light sweet crude and that it is lower on the "stack" than gasoline (i.e. less refnining required). If that is true, and the US fleet was primarily diesel, wouldn't this do a ton in terms of the energy problems?