Revving up for diesel

With diesel engines having such a large automotive presence in Europe, and such a small one in the U.S., suppliers vie for the diesel of the future.

Change is a good thing, especially for optimists. It would seem through the flurry of technologies that are vying for their place in the engines that will power the vehicles of the future, change will not come too soon. From diesel engines to fuel cells, a good portion of time and expense has been placed upon replacements for the gasoline engine to include fuel economy and emissions improvements. Industry-expert predictions of the “fuel-cell takeover” in the automotive industry range from five to 10 to 30 years. Because of fuel-cell size, their takeover may first occur in off-highway vehicles, which is now, of course, dominated by diesel engines.

Except for tabloid alarmists, no one is declaring the death of the gasoline engine or denying that they have many advantages, but depending on where one lives, 61% of the cars on the road are powered by diesels (Austria). By contrast, diesel accounted for 0.26% of all new cars sold in the U.S. in 2000. Overall, industry sources cite the existence of 4.9 million vehicles in Europe equipped with diesel engines, about 33% of the market. By 2006, that number is predicted to top 7.3 million vehicles, or 47%. There must be something to the technology that would lead to such large percentages in Europe, and something to the regulations that would lead to such small percentages in the U.S.