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shallowdeep -> RE: Ford's 65mpg vehicle... but... (9/22/2008 11:00:51 PM)
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quote:
ORIGINAL: Vendaval
I attempt to reference back to the original story from the OP so that in the discussion, we are literally on the same page.
I would guess the OP's inspiration was this piece in BusinessWeek, although probably only indirectly through one of the many sites that have picked it up.
The original post has some factual errors. The Fiesta ECOnetic is not a hybrid and, at 0-100 kph (62.1 mph) in 12.3 seconds, calling it sporty is generous. Ford's own press cites a $26,600 price tag and the BusinessWeek article claims the hypothetical US cost would be $25,700. The Prius has a $22,000 MSRP.
Diesel engine's don't need to worry about autoignition during compression, so they can more than overcome an actually inferior thermodynamic cycle with higher compression ratios. The claim of 30% improved thermal efficiency is in the right ballpark, if a little high, but the claim that they are cleaner than most gasoline engines is false. Modern diesels bear little resemblance in terms of emissions to those of decades past, and they can even best older gasoline engines, but they don't compete with modern gasoline engine designs on emissions. The Mercedes-Benz E320 Bluetec, one of only two diesel cars meeting California emissions requirements, goes to some lengths to be "clean," even utilizing a high maintenance system to inject urea into the exhaust to reduce emissions. Even so, it still only manages a Federal emission certification placing it in Bin 8, the highest allowed in California. That's well below average and allows emissions of NOx and other smog causing gases more than ten times greater than those allowed from so-called partial zero-emissions vehicles like the Prius.
I can't find a link at the moment, but I'm pretty sure I read that the Fiesta ECOnetic did not meet even those minimal California Air Resource Board requirements. Selling a car domestically without access to the markets in California and other states, like New York, that have adopted California's standards makes it much harder to turn a nice profit and, with the given prices and specs, I think Ford is actually right - it wouldn't do that well here.
In urban areas and other regions affected by smog, diesels are a big step back, not forward - at least from an environmental standpoint. I would love to see more cars in the US adopting aspects of the Fiesta ECOnetic - including a smaller and lighter vehicle, smaller engine, and low drag coefficients but, as far as I'm concerned, Europe can keep the "clean" diesels. Gasoline-electric hybrids generally offer a better solution.
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