[emersonbiggins]

And, as a result, my 06 Jetta TDI has yet to drop off appreciably on its blue book value, even with 13k miles.

How do you like that car? I've come close more than once over the last few years to buying one, but every time I get close somebody I know buys one new and the CEL comes on, or something else breaks, or the turbo goes. I talked my insurance agent into buying one, and its caused him all kinds of trouble with MAF sensors, time and again. I test drove one and DARN I want one but the reliability for some of them just isn't quite there yet. Other times, people run the wheels off those things with nary an issue. Hows yours?

So far, I've had the front strut bearings go out *TWICE* and the sunroof gasket failed on me, and then an airbag sensor went on the fritz. Compounding the sunroof problem was the fact that it took the dealer FOUR tries to replace the headliner in my car, primarily because proper hand-washing was a foreign concept to the interior installation guys. No problems to speak of for the last several months, though. To compare it to a previous Ford that I didn't have any problems with is a little bit of a sore spot with me, though.

The engine runs like a champ, but oil changes are like $70 (synthetic), but on the upside they only occur every 10,000 miles. I'm still happy with the purchase overall, but the dealer service stinks. Get an extended warranty if you get one - mine lasts for 5 yrs/80k miles.

[Ebyss]

I was wondering if someone could answer a question for me :

Given the higher demand for petrol over diesel, is it possible/probable that as petrol becomes scarcer due to refinery problems, diesel will be manufactured in lesser quantities in order to put the majority of the shitty crude we're getting into petrol production? Or will it not matter either way? Is diesel likely to get more expensive than petrol given the high demand for petrol (and thus the likelihood of refineries wanting to focus on this over diesel).....

Come to think of it, what is the difference between refining for diesel and petrol? I haven't a clue :blush:

[whereagles]

I must add there are some chemical tricks to transform gasoline into diesel. That's important in Europe because most vehicles here are diesels.

[TommyJefferson]

> in Europe because most vehicles here are diesels.

Really?

[Kingcoal]

All of the distillates are equally in demand, nothing is wasted. Switching from gasoline to diesel doesn't make much sense outside of efficiency improvement because when you refine oil, you get both along with a lot of other products. I believe that distillates in the diesel "family" account for the biggest demand. You've got trucks, trains, ships, aircraft, home heating oil, etc.

[Olle]

They will simply produce the stuff they believe will get them most money, It's that simple...

[Ebyss]

Thank you all very much, that is exactly what I needed to know.

[highlander]

Diesel is a mix of longer chain hydrocarbons. You can "crack" these to make lighter distillates (eg gasoline) Sweet crude has a higher percentage of the lighter distillates than the heavy crudes (and less sulfur), so you get more gasoline and diesel without resorting to more complicated processing.

From Wikipedia

The bulk of a typical gasoline consists of hydrocarbons with between 5 and 12 carbon atoms per molecule.

The average chemical formula for common diesel fuel is C12H26, ranging from approx. C10H22 to C15H32

[whereagles]

> in Europe because most vehicles here are diesels.

Really?

Indeed. It's about 70% diesel, 30% gasoline. European diesel fuel is low on sulphur, though.

[MrBill]

I must add there are some chemical tricks to transform gasoline into diesel. That's important in Europe because most vehicles here are diesels.

Your typical oil barrel contains

10% LPGs used to make ethene, propane & butane

35% Light Ends used to make gasoline & napthas

35% Middle Distillates used to make diesel, heating/gasoil & jet kerosene

20% Residual Fuel used for cracked fuel oil, asphalt, bitumens, coke & sulfur

The ratios may vary with light & sweet versus heavy & sour, and therefore require more or less refining to remove impurities or reach the required grade.

One of the reasons that Europe does export gasoline to the USA is that Europeans do use more diesel, so they have excess gasoline/benzene left-over after they are finished refining their own crude.

Europeans would use even more diesel (including bio-diesel), but governments like Germany conspire to keep gasoline more competitive with diesel by imposing higher taxes on diesel engines, and taxing bio-diesel to make it less competitive against benzine.

The bottom line is the governments are addicted to the tax revenue and are afraid of clean alternatives on one hand, and on the other hand Green party politicians want to punish drivers through higher eco-taxes, so they resist making driving cheaper.

Ironically, some of the Green's policies actually end up using more fuel. In one case near Frankfurt, they opposed building an overpass near the airport, so thousands of drivers have to make a 10-15 km extra round trip everyday as they commute to work, and this stretch is famous for its staus (traffic jams) which are another big polluter and user of fuel. Oops!

But it also ensures EU energy security up to a point if less gasoline has to be exported, and therefore less crude imported.

[Blacksmith]

For those of you living in Eastern Canada (spit, spit, spit) you can use heating oil in you desiel car or truck and avoid paying road tax. Oh I forgot you don't like to cheat the government (Quebecers excluded).

[Dukat_Reloaded]

If it's light sweet oil, it probably could run straight in a diesel engine although the engine wouldn't last long.

[Blacksmith]

#2 heating oil is diesel

[NTBKtrader]

need your thoughts. I have two vehicles one is gasoline and the other runs on diesel. All else being equal which vehicle would i want during post peak?

[strider3700]

I'd go with the diesel. It's possible to grow your own oil producing crop which you could then turn into biodiesel to run on. It will be far from easy but it's not impossible given a large enough farm and some relatively simple equipment.

Refining Gasoline is close to impossible on a backyard scale.

Of course if you don't have a farm to grow your own crop to turn into fuel then both come down to availability issues. I expect there will be more diesel around but non critical use access may be really limited.

If you ignore the availability of fuel issue then on a pure life expectancy level I'd also go diesel.

[canis_lupus]

Diesels last longer.

Also, Strider is correct. In a world without fuel, you'd need some acreage for corn and an oilseed press.

Can you recarburate your gasser for ethanol?

I make my own bd and you never realize how much fuel you use when you put the time and effort into making your own. Depending on where you live, there may be a coop. Join the coop and see if it is something you can/would like to do.

[joeltrout]

need your thoughts. I have two vehicles one is gasoline and the other runs on diesel. All else being equal which vehicle would i want during post peak?

If they are the same vehicle (which "all else being equal" tells me they are the same) then it is clear diesel would be better.

Obviously if your gasoline vehicle is a small two-door 4 banger and your diesel is a 4 door dually then the 4 cylinder would be better.

joeltrout

[wisconsin_cur]

A gasoline engine WITH A CARB can be modified to run on ethanol, which is easier to make then bio-diesel. Of course that puts you into 1982 or earlier... A Geo Metro would be a good choice, depending on what you want to use the vehicle for.

I must confess, I understand the theory but have not been able to attack this project yet so I have no real life experience. I'm guessing you would want to keep a few extra carbs on hand.

[skiptamali]

Diesel engine advancements may increase efficiency of currently existing systems, especially when coupled with the use of low-sulfur diesel or biodiesel.
According to this article from Matter Network, new diesel engines are quieter and get better fuel economy- some up to 50 mpg!
This article from AutoBlogGreen highlights the winners of Challenge X- Mississippi State University powered a Chevrolet Equinox to a win by coupling a hybrid electric system and a diesel engine (which ran on biodiesel). With a 38% efficiency gain, they demonstrated that this match may just be one worth looking into.

[JPL]

Diesels are traditionally very complicated to fix and modern ones are much further along the curve. Also if you are looking at a future of variable grade fuel expect the modern stuff to get gummed up very quickly.

Having said which, you can also run them on domestic heating oil; which gives anyone who has a diesel car & an oil heating tank the option to hoard a lot of motor fuel very quickly (grin).

Personally my ideal PO car would be a 1972 VW Beetle, a serious tool-kit, a large bottle of lead additive, some jerry cans & if all else fails, spare copper sheeting so you can quickly shim out the head gaskets & run a lower compression ratio & a petrol/diesel mix (or anything you can find to put in the tank, basically).

JP