End of Diesel cars is Nigh?

[kaanage]

Hmm. Given the recent discussions worldwide about the 6R Polo TDi, it would seem Mr Lexus may have a point if the DPF designs / implementations aren't improved.

When dealers won't recommend a diesel car for city use, it greatly limits its appeal

[Greg Roles]

To be fair DPF technology is evolving rapidly, and the MK6 Golf DPF is quite different to the MKV one, both in size ( bigger ), layout ( split cat / particle filter ) and contents ( more pre and post volumes to aid flow ). I'd guess the Polo, as always, is stuck with the hand me down MKV version, and it's no suprise that has problems. Need to do some research.....

[Preen59]

I lurve my pre-DPF Caddy. hahaha.

[Buller_Scott]

I lurve my pre-DPF Caddy. hahaha.

tell me about it.

i didnt know isht about cars before i got the polo (still learning all the time).

how lucky am i to have stumbled across an engine that is tried, tested, and bombproof, without a dpf.

i just wish i'd warmed it up properly before driving hard (for the first year or so i only used to warm it up for a few km's before booting it), and i wish i'd started putting 2 stroke in the tank from the get-go.

oh well. still kicks orse.

[kaanage]

oh well. still kicks orse.

Yeah, I couldn't shake you off last Saturday in my vastly superior vehicle

[kaanage]

And now the battery life needs to be considered...
Woman takes unique road to sue Honda over mileage - Yahoo! News
Dont Settle With Honda - Other stories

[wai]

The thing is that when you look at things, it takes a given amount of energy to move a given mass a given distance at a given speed, no matter how that energy is derived.

Hybrid technology that uses regenerative braking is really suited to inner city stop-start driving, and even here, coasting to a stop gains you very little. You actually have to be quite aggressive in you braking to recover kinetic energy. On the open road, depending on the design of a regenerative system, you can recover some energy when going downhill, however most systems are designed to freewheel down hill, as to harvest kinetic energy would mean you reduce speed and so have to spend energy regaining it.

What catches buyers out is the figures they see when doing a test drive. What they do not realise is that the dealer will ensure that the batteries are fully charged. It would be rare that you can simply roll up to a dealer and test drive a hybrid. You will have to book ahead and then the dealer will make sure that the batteies are fully charged.

The other issue is the replacement of the batteries. Batteries have a finite life, and when they deteriorate they have to be replaced. No battery is immune from this as when a battery is recharged, the internal structure is not returned to the previous state. You end up with material being returned to different parts of the battery and this causes "dendrites" to form which eventually grow and short parts of the cell out.

Most of the first version of hybrids wil be coming up for battery replacement very soon, so there will be a flood of hybrids on the market. Once again, it will be the buyer who thinks they are doing the right thing who get caught out.

All of this does not consider the huge amount of energy used to mine the materials for the batteries, make them, transport them to the car manufacturer and then ship the cars around the world. Then there is the collection, recovery and disposal of the materials from the spent batteries.

Yes, there are other cells that can generate the electricity needed, however they have not been shown to work in mass produced vehicles. The City of Sydney has been promoting the Mitsibushi Miev and the concept of "solar trees" where the leaves are solar cells, only where are these "trees" to be planted? I mean, you would be hard pressed to find a space in the CBD where you would get enough sunlight to recharge even one car, let alone hundreds as they hope. These "trees" will displace real trees and while solar trees will help charge batteries, they will do nothing to break down carbon dioxide...a bit like growing fuel oil crops and then realising you have no space for food crops.

[russellwrx]

Rtfttttttttytyyy

[Frankenstrat]

if its true there would be incredible consequences on the trucking industry.

And the mining industry, earth moving, and establishments that requires a stand-by diesel generator.