Diesel: The Great Car Con

[#1]

Diesel: The Great Car Con: Channel 4 Dispatches
Mon, Jan 26 · 20:00-20:30 · Channel 4
Several years ago, British motorists were advised that diesel would be the cheap, eco-friendly fuel of the future, and with the added benefit of the tax breaks it offers, the nation now buys more diesel cars than petrol ones.
However, growing concerns about harmful emissions have led to a call to introduce surcharges on motorists driving diesel vehicles in polluted cities - or even ban them altogether.
In particular, the small particulates emitted raise concerns.
If nothing else, I find you can smell a Diesel car from a long way off, especially if it is travelling in front.
Recirculation control of the Air Con is a temporary solution, if travelling in a car anyway.
But what about Pedestrians.
A programme worth watching, with perhaps some Internet searching too......

[#2]

The fuel efficiency compared to petrol counterparts has to be a good thing.
Less fuel used = less pollution whichever way you look at it.
Only now, in the last few years, are fuel efficient petrol engines being made. Would this ever have happened without the example of diesel mpg?
The bottom line is neither petrol or diesel are innocent parties.
Both produces their own raft of pollutants.

The only con I see was when increasing numbers made the government drop any tax breaks and diesel prices were artificially raised above petrol.

[#3]

As I recall diesel was always dearer than petrol in the UK due to the increased processing cost and there wasn't any differential tax unlike continental Europe

[#4]

None of our cars are Diesel.
In fact one is a Hybrid Electric Petrol as some of you may be aware !

[#5]

really? must have passed me by.

[#6]

Quote from: Oldjim

As I recall diesel was always dearer than petrol in the UK

I seem to remember when I bought my first diesel car back in 2001, diesel was cheaper than petrol. As the popularity of diesel increased it became more expensive. In the US the difference between petrol (or gas as they like to say)  and diesel is even bigger than it is here.

[#7]

When I passed my test in 1990 I remember diesel being definitely cheaper than petrol (between 5p and 10p I think).
Back in the 70's and 80's I used to love the sound of a diesel engine especially the London Black Cab.

[#8]

http://www.theaa.com/motoring_advice/fuel/fuel-price-archive.html
Indicates it isn't quite as simple as that - back in 2001 standard unleaded was cheaper than diesel but higher octane or leaded replacement petrol was more expensive
Reading the above post https://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=6&ved=0CEcQFjAF&url=https%3A%2F%2Fww... shows that in 1990 diesel was cheaper
This is perhaps more informative www.ifs.org.uk/bns/bn55.pdf

[#9]

Thanks for the link, Jim.
My price difference above was per ltr and from your link it was about 5p/ltr

[#10]

When I first started driving the various fuel grades were produced by fractional distillation of crude and there were fixed ratios of diesel and petrol so there were market forces where diesel was cheaper because diesel cars were scarce. Now cracking is common as a refining technique and the he old fixed ratio is broken. Also diesel can be made by catalytic conversion of vegetable oils.
So yes I agree that the politicians have been tampering with the market based on bad science and this amounts to a con 
And it happened on Labour's watch, they tend to believe they can legislate for everything and then the scientific advice changes 

[#11]

Quote from: PlusComUK

In fact one is a Hybrid Electric Petrol as some of you may be aware !

Quote from: dvorak

really? must have passed me by.

Hybrid Cars
http://community.plus.net/forum/index.php/topic,125398.0.html
174 posts over 11 pages to date !

[#12]

Somebody missed off the /sarc tag when posting 

[#13]

you think?   

[#14]

Quote from: PlusComUK

However, growing concerns about harmful emissions have led to a call to introduce surcharges on motorists driving diesel vehicles in polluted cities - or even ban them altogether.

I'm sure there are probably some splinter groups somewhere that would like only to allow cars for people on the higher rate of tax.
This would solve the problem of many people being unable to afford the cutting edge of car pollution technology.
Price them out of reach for the ordinary man in the street because that works with booze and is so fair.

[#15]

I've never liked diesel, disgusting rattly noisy annoying things that they are. I hate them.
As for the con, i'm not really sure anyone ever was conned to be honest. Sure, there was a thing about getting more MPG with derv and a lot of people understood that to mean that you get less emissions for it (which is actually not what was said or implied) but the end point is that a diesel engine still burns fuel with a similar rpm to a petrol engine and thus stiull outputs a lot of emissions.
The only difference is that petrol has cleaned up its act with the introduction of the catalytic converter which results in only CO2 being put out (allegedly) whereas diesel is the old 4 star putting out everything possible.
Disgusting stuff quite frankly.