We're Mad As Hell Cause The FIX Is In. Diesel Cars Will NEVER Make Here If THIS Doesn't Change

The govt doesn't do anything about it for the same reason they don't look into alternative fuels to get us off this oil nonsense.... Someone has them by the balls about gas prices. It's either the oil companies who contribute to their campaigns or the lobbyists or the sheiks are telling us what were going to buy or they won't give us flyover rights anymore. Diesel has always been more expensive than it should be and that's why diesel cars won't work here in the US.

But people want "less" government.

It's not that people want less Government, People want a more effective government and less bureaucracy. We don't need to grow Government larger to fix things. And by the way when will government be big enough? The bigger the Government the smaller the man!

you don't need a bigger government to invest in alternative fuels. The EPA or some existing govt entity could be put in charge of it. We could also do something about these stupid oil speculators on wall street who drive prices up for no reason

It does seem strange that the moment diesel vehicles started to get popular (hello Jetta TDI) diesel fuel went from being $0.20/gallon less than regular gas to $0.20/gallon more than premium. That's a 20% swing that happened almost instantly. Very interesting timing.

Part of the problem with the cost of diesel is simply supply and demand. Generally speaking, you can extract more gasoline from a barrel of petroleum than diesel. That makes some degree of sense. However, take into consideration that I once read that US producers were trading their diesel for gasoline from their European counterparts. That obviously would further lower the amount of diesel on the market, and hence bring up the price. A solution? Well I think the ONLY solution is biodiesel and butanol created from algae. I did some reading about it a few years ago and it seems very promising. It's not feed stock so it won't increase food prices.

Let's also add the extreme costs of EPA certification--the reason you see just a few imported engines such as the 140hp unit shared between VW and Audi for many models. 330d aside, we don't get much in powerful diesels.

The tea party is funded by an oil company, so can you imagine how many oil companies supply the Democrats and Republicans, Its all about the $$ The gov is controlled by the money, oil, drug companies, and many other lobbyists, they are going to get your money no matter what, and if you made a car that ran on water you would be thrown in jail or killed, somehow it would be illegal, if vehicles powered from water exist?

Thanks for the informative post.

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According to fueleconomy.gov a diesel Jetta is still cheaper to fuel and drive than the gas counterpart, even with higher diesel prices.

I remember reading something about diesel prices going up because of additional refining to make it the low sulfur fuel now required by law, which happened to start about the same time the German companies started to bring more or the diesel models to the U.S.

Also the price of gas in Europe is so high that perhaps it is skewed to make diesel cheaper.We complain here about the increased cost of gas but we are still way cheaper then what they pay in Europe.Also as it has already been stated Europe allows more sulfer in their diesel fuel.The US does not. That is an extra refining cost for us.

Before the 2003-2004 timeframe, diesel was ALWAYS priced lower than regular gas. We had some kind of price hiccup in that time frame, and the oil companies never looked back. I don't buy the explanation that removing the sulphur is responsible for all of it. Also, the reason they get more gas than diesel from a barrel of oil is because that's the way the refineries are setup. It can be changed, but that costs money as well.

Still, even at 40 cents more, a VW diesel is still more economical to drive than the gas powered. If you compare cars with similiar levels of equipment, the cost difference to buy the diesel is only around $2000.

With higher resale value and lower cost to drive per mile, diesel really makes sense for the short term. And with future biofuels that will burn in compression ignition engines, it becomes better for the environment for the future.

The fix is certainly not diesel, hence it non renewable, and the oil companies would find a way to charge even more than gasoline.

I think many of you are overlooking a major factor in all this. Diesel fuel is taxed at a higher rate than gasoline because trucks use it and since they cause most of the road damage, the fuel is taxed at a higher rate to help pay for the repairs. Since most of the roads are feceral highways, it's a federal tax. I think I recall last year or the year before when gas went over $4 a gallon the first time, they repealed that tax for a little while. I think since then, it's been put back into place. Anyone else care to chime in on this point?

Only a 5-10 cents difference per gallon from tax differentials. This varies state-by-state. Refer to PDFs here:

http://www.api.org/statistics/fueltaxes/

Besides a very cold winter (where's Ozone Al when you need him...?) pinching supplies, remember that not every type of crude is refined into every type of fuel. Supply and demand for each type of crude is not necessarily floating together.

China continues to consume ever larger supplies of fuel, driving prices up. Get used to it.

Finally, if you were managing a fund that invests heavily in fuel, and every manufacturer announced that the diesels are coming, where would you invest your fund's dollars for the greatest return? The answer is self-evident. My 401k as partly invested in commodities, and I expect the fund management to show me the money at the end of the day. Investors and speculators have far more impact on the cost of fuel than the oil companies.

It is a mistake to attempt to oversimplify this extremely complex issue, as I believe Donald has in the way the question was posed.

Come on guys...US car manufacturers are behind this also. They've been in bed with the fuel companies for decades and they don't have a competitive solution to the amazing German diesels. They put all their eggs in the hybrid and/or electric baskets.

Here in Brazil, the Diesel is subsidized(It's used to transport 80% of the supplies around the Country),so cars are not allowed to use it.
The prices vary, but in general are 20% cheaper than the cheapest gasoline.

"We're Mad As Hell Cause The FIX Is In. Diesel Cars Will NEVER Make Here If THIS Doesn't Change"

Waa? Making money?!!! You are asking waaaaaay too much!! Come on 001, wise up!!!

Ha! 60¢ a gallon difference in my neck of Ohio. $3.35 regular/$3.95 diesel.

Unfortunately, diesel has the commercial trucking industry to thank for an extra 25¢ per gallon tax to pay for all the damage caused to roadways by the heavy trucks.

My next car was going to be a VW Golf TDI, but I'm leaning now towards the Hyundai Sonata Turbo, which only requires regular and still gets better than 600 miles on a tank of gas.