i’ve been fascinated with the diesel engine for a while now. here in the U.S. we have an aversion to them that i don’t fully understand. i’m getting old and will probably never own one. i post this mostly because of the worldwide/european nature of this forum. ford came out with a nice small engine,for example, as have several others. guess they (manufacturer’s) think VW covers the odd, like me, in the U.S. just something i have curiosity for. how much do you british blokes really like them? am i just liking something i can’t have?

diesel Rabbits should be easy enough used.

shaman–true enough. the engines usually outlive the car, though.

Really depends on the application to which the engine will be used. the diesel is more efficient at steady speeds. The otto (spark plug start - usually gasoline fueled) is more efficient at changing speeds. So if you plan on a lot of city driving with stop lights and intersections etc, the otto engine is more efficient. If you do almost exclusively long distance highway driving, then go for the diesel. As lunecat says this is really more suited to trains and ships (my forté) but is also good for long haul trucks, which stay at the same speed for hours (or days in the case of ships). Having said that, if you are mechanically inclined you may find the diesel is easier to do self maintenance and repair, which may save you money. Its a brilliant machine and one can learn the basics pretty easily. Having said both those things, nowadays (since technology has moved on quite a bit), if you are looking for efficiency, the hybrids and pure electric cars are really going to surpass both when it comes to efficiency. The true electric will of course require battery swaps if intended to move long haul without recharging.

As soon as I can convince myself that I really don’t need a pickup truck I’m going to get a VW TDI Sportswagen. Been wanting a small station wagon for years.

Dont buy a diesel that isnt common rail injection (TDI is old tech). Much higher pressures and better fuel economy. New diesels are nothing like old diesels. My dad has a new v8 diesel range rover and that thing is a powerhouse. Fantastic to drive. I have the 4.4 petrol and it feels sluggish in comparison. Also note that the latest hybrids are diesel-electric to further improve fuel economy.

The otto (spark plug start - usually gasoline fueled) is more efficient at changing speeds. So if you plan on a lot of city driving with stop lights and intersections etc, the otto engine is more efficient.

Is that why Amercians call them Ottomobiles?

because diesel engines create so much low end torque–why couldn’t some sort of torque conversion be used? am i wandering off the reservation on this one. seems like that would be perfect to run a generator. diesel/hybrid seems perfect to me ford came out with their tdi version that they put in the fiesta (i think) the smart car can be had with a 3 cyl diesel in canada and gets better reviews than the gas version. So the technology isn’t limited to large vehicles, in which common rail is certainly the best. not much of one to see conspiracies–but it seem curious that companies ignore the U.S. for the most part. VW and G.M. cruse the exceptions. immisions are no longer the problem. thanks everyone for humoring me on this fairly “off the wall” topic. the diesel car seems pretty popular in GB. i.e. europe.

I am still waiting on my flying car,they said by the year 2000 they would be available. Well their late

Oddly enough, I believe Audi has won Le Mans 5 or 6 times in the last ten years in their diesel/hybrid engines. Speeds of over 200 mph…

I believe high end Le Mans and F1 cars use kinetic energy stored while braking to accelerate down straight aways. The audi R8 and R10’s are the cars I speak of and they are TDI diesels. Diesels have come a long way since the Rabbit…

I could be somewhat mistaken regarding the facts, though.

@HR_pufnsnuff #-o @bogybill on ships they sometimes do run generators as well as the main drive. Also the exhaust gasses are sometimes used for boilers or turbochargers. I don’t really know much about car engines though.