Car 123,
Yes, the English experience is being driven by urban pollution. European emissions standards for Diesels control ozone-depleting oxides but ignore particulate matter. Soot is not a big deal with modern Diesels, but when you provide tax incentives for Diesels (road tax is lower on Diesel fuel than on gasoline) you encourage Diesel purchases and the 'not a big deal' particulate emissions begin to become accumulate. The urea injection systems we see in north America are, I believe, largely to control particulate emissions which are regulated here.
I suspect that Europe will see introduction of emissions standards on particulates, but without elimination of tax incentives Diesels will continue to be attractive. Diesel will also continue to be a relatively economic fuel in Europe where home heating is almost universally gas or electric. The downside of the Diesel-fuel fraction of the refining process in Canada is that it is still an important home heating fuel, which makes Diesel more expensive than gasoline in the winter, before tax. Once the heating season is over you can get Diesel for less than gasoline, at least in Nova Scotia. There is no life-cycle cost saving in choosing a Diesel in Canada unless you are a high mileage driver. But I want one...
Another good example of the effect of tax incentives is offered by the Netherlands, where LPG is readily available because of the North Sea gas fields. As a result, LPG road fuel is favourably taxed and a very large number of cars (I forget, but something like 10 per cent) are fuelled by LPG.
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Warren
Isuzu Pickup/SR20DE, +401 COLD frame
Build Log:
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