Is the diesel going to end up going the way of the dinosaur?

I am seeing more and more small and mid-size commercial trucks getting away from diesel. I am seeing more and more wreckers, delivery trucks, even ambulances with gas power. I saw an F650 today carrying lumber...it had a gas V10. Ten years ago, the gaggle of bread trucks behind a supermarket might have been 75-80% diesel. Now...other than a few old Entenmann's trucks (elderly GMCs with 6.5s), the vast majority have gas power. (Ford F59s, GM-powered Workhorses, Isuzu NPRs with Chevy power, and Ford and GM cutaway vans.)

Even UPS seems to be switching...I am seeing more and more new package trucks with gas engines.

RobertRyan wrote:

wilber1 wrote:
Audi has discontinued its LeMans program. It is going to concentrate on Formula E and continue with touring car racing.

In a way makes sense as the other make winning outright at Lemans was Porsche, part of the VW group

True, Audi has won LeMans 12 times since 2000 but the last two have been won by Porsche. It makes no sense to have two brands from the same company going head to head in such an expensive sport. Also, Dieselgate has probably meant some realignment of the racing budget at VW.

FishOnOne wrote:

73guna wrote:
Just caught a little something on the radio today about England maybe limiting diesels in city limits because of increasing pollution.
With trains being diesel/electric hybrids and many big rigs going CNG I wouldnt say diesel going by the way side is a stretch.

I drive for UPS and many of the larger city Hubs are going to CNG for the big rigs. Ive heard they will be coming to Omaha eventually.

While I heard they lack the power of diesel they sure do burn clean.

The goal for some European countries is to phase out diesel powered cars and have admitted diesel was a poor choice.

Actually No. They are not phasing them out, but in many cases introducing new diesels.
Google a manufacturer of you choice and put " new Diesel engine" in the search,you will be very very surprised. Most surprising for me was Hyundai introducing a very small 1.2 litre Diesel.It does not have diesels of any sort in the US

73guna wrote:
Just caught a little something on the radio today about England maybe limiting diesels in city limits because of increasing pollution.
With trains being diesel/electric hybrids and many big rigs going CNG I wouldnt say diesel going by the way side is a stretch.

I drive for UPS and many of the larger city Hubs are going to CNG for the big rigs. Ive heard they will be coming to Omaha eventually.

While I heard they lack the power of diesel they sure do burn clean.

Not just diesels, but Gas engines in some cities. They use CNG, but not that much impact to the overall situation.

73guna wrote:
Just caught a little something on the radio today about England maybe limiting diesels in city limits because of increasing pollution.
With trains being diesel/electric hybrids and many big rigs going CNG I wouldnt say diesel going by the way side is a stretch.

I drive for UPS and many of the larger city Hubs are going to CNG for the big rigs. Ive heard they will be coming to Omaha eventually.

While I heard they lack the power of diesel they sure do burn clean.

The goal for some European countries is to phase out diesel powered cars and have admitted diesel was a poor choice.

Just caught a little something on the radio today about England maybe limiting diesels in city limits because of increasing pollution.
With trains being diesel/electric hybrids and many big rigs going CNG I wouldnt say diesel going by the way side is a stretch.

I drive for UPS and many of the larger city Hubs are going to CNG for the big rigs. Ive heard they will be coming to Omaha eventually.

While I heard they lack the power of diesel they sure do burn clean.

This is an interesting story I found on the BBC. It is a system under development in Switzerland that combines diesel trucks and the electric highway concept from the past. Kinda cool. Use the google translator if needed. Fun watching the development of this stuff.

http://www.bbc.com/mundo/noticias-36652534

wilber1 wrote:
Audi has discontinued its LeMans program. It is going to concentrate on Formula E and continue with touring car racing.

In a way makes sense as the other make winning outright at Lemans was Porsche, part of the VW group

Audi has discontinued its LeMans program. It is going to concentrate on Formula E and continue with touring car racing.

RobertRyan wrote:

John & Angela wrote:

wilber1 wrote:
Dieselgate may be expensive for VW but it isn't killing its world wide sales.

VW, worlds #1 car maker

They have big plans for the Electric vehicle market but they are late to the game. They have some catching up to do. The demand is there but the manufacturing facilities take years to ramp up. They are looking at a dealerless business plan as well as there is very little follow up revenue in the electric vehicle world. I think all the manufacturers will have to do this. Tesla has it sort of figured out. They are only producing 80,000 cars a year right but are ramping up to 400,000 once the gigafactory is on line in a few years. VW will have to get at it fast. There will be no shortage of jobs for engineers in the next decade. Less laborers though. Times are a changing.

Not what it seems by VW. China is using more electrical vehicles, and Europeans want more Electrical Delivery vehicles, but small diesel sales are on the up. VW said the Golf Bluemotion which is a hybrid they are releasing in NA is not the same vehicle they are releasing globally. You guessed it , will have Diesel engines instead.

We will still offer small capacity diesel engines in the next Golf because they remain important in many markets, and because for customers who do high mileages they will remain the most economical

A bit more on that by VW explains the strategy better

"We will still offer small capacity diesel engines in the next Golf because they remain important in many markets, and because for customers who do high mileages they will remain the most economical choice," Diess explained. "But 48v allows you to recycle energy more efficiently than 12v and to use it to drive the car with an electric motor of about 10- or 12kW, at a much lower cost than you can with a full hybrid powertrain today. So for those who drive mostly in the city or only cover 6000- to 10,000 miles a year, the new mild hybrid solution should be better."

It would not make business sense for VW to combine such 48v mild hybrid technology with a modern small-capacity diesel engine, however - since doing so would result in a car too costly to appeal at the value end of the Golf model range. "Diesel hybrid is too expensive for this part of the market," Diess explained.

Interesting stuff. I think there is still a market although I suspect some will switch to electric. Diesel will have its place though. Thanks for posting.