Blog posts. Various topics.

[Damn True]

You are partly correct about the EPA regulation contributing to the additional costs of diesel power-trains but you are to a degree oversimplifying it. A diesel engine simply costs more to produce than a gasoline engine of similar displacement & power. More robust structure to deal with increased cyl pressures, turbo systems on all of them, more complex fuel systems with costlier ultra high pressure componentry etc etc. The automaker, if they wish to succeed in this market needs to provide a diesel powerplant that is not appreciably different to the consumer in terms of the users experience. That demands that it is reasonably quiet, not smokey and doesn't emit foul odors which requires additional cost in reduction of NVH, additional complexity in electronics vs a gas burner and complex and costly exhaust scrubbing technologies such as the urea injection systems on the blue-tech diesels or VW/Audi's particulate filtration/regen system.

Then you add in the EPA's diesel fuel regulations and the automaker is forced to engineer a system that is compatible with the fuels in the US AND those of the global market. It's a bit of a chicken/egg thing but there is a lot more to it than simply stating that EPA regs are all that stand in the way. The EPA changed the restrictions on diesel sulfur content to allow the big-3 to do just that. Yet nothing has happened. They backed it up by publishing an estimate that if only 20% of the US vehicle fleet were running diesel rather than gasoline we'd reduce our crude oil consumption by something like 500,000 barrels per day. (working from scotch addled memory on those numbers, so allow for an appreciable + please.

A diesel powertrain, is more complex and more expensive than an equivalent gas burner even without the additional engineering required to attain compatibility US EPA regs. The EPA regs are a contributing factor, but by no means the only one, nor are they the largest of the contributing factors.

The sales figures don't lie. VW, Audi, BMW & Mercedes have a lower demand in the US for their diesel models than for their gas powered versions of the same car. Certainly, a portion of the resistance is the premium in cost but the lions share is the lack of comfort with diesel technology.

But you ask a valid question...why don't the US/Asian manufacturers increase their marketing efforts and push for more diesel? IMO much of it is economic. It's a costly proposition at a time when margins (particularly for the US automakers) are razor thin. But a portion of it is market related as well. Typically, the US car buyer is less apt to be an "early adopter" of new technology than those in the market for a European car. Similarly, the US & Asian manufacturers tend to be a bit more risk averse than European manufacturers. The push from the Asian automakers around Hybrids was a very uncharacteristic gamble for Honda/Toyota. It paid off. They have a lot of capital wrapped up in those technologies and they aren't likely to change horses mid stream. Particularly now that the economy of scale has shifted such that Toyota is projected to break even on the program sometime next year. The Prius is Toyota's first program that has taken longer than 5yrs to break even....this will be a 17 + year turn with 3 model revs before that point is reached. It probably would have never broken even w/o the significant subsidies from the Japanese government to reduce their development costs and the tax subsidies on the US side to get the product off the ground. People wouldn't have paid the premium when gas was under $2 unless they were getting a chunk back on their taxes. All of them have brilliant little cars on the road in Europe, but how would it look if Toyota had a 50mpg diesel yaris (which exists already) parked on the lot next to a Prius that costs $15k more. Ford has a fantastic catalog of diesel cars as well....no dice.

Increasing our diesel fleet would be a tremendous help. They fuel costs more because our refineries are and the price of diesel is artificially high. It has risen because the refineries have their capacity toward gasoline production so the supply of diesel is reduced, the demand is the same so the cost goes up. If there are fewer gasoline engines on the road and more diesel engines the supply/demand curve swings, and the refineries will change their production to reflect the demand.

Gasoline requires more steps of refining than diesel does and it is made from a more expensive raw material. Light-sweet crude vs any old cheap stuff like PA crude or Bakersfield crude that can easily be made into diesel and at much higher yields. Which is more expensive per pound, Corn meal or corn flakes? Same with diesel vs gasoline. It's more expensive to make and transport gasoline therefore the margins per gallon are less. Furthermore, as above, nearly 20% of the gas we use comes into the country already refined. Again, far more expensive. The ships used for this are more expensive, the transfer equipment is more expensive, docking & port entry fees are greater, transferring is more dangerous so you have to pay the companies that do it more, the insurance costs are greater etc etc.

...and all we get is corn (more accurately, the cob, dry, without a kiss, and no reach-around). Which is an absolute joke. Take away the federal subsidy (which should have been done years ago) and there is no profit in it, the barrel:acre yield is horrific, and there simply isn't enough arable land on which to grow enough of it to make a dent without driving food costs through the roof and causing food shortages in other countries....oh wait, that's already happened, and if that isn't enough.....cars get worse mileage on it. Great idea!

[Damn True]

Amending a previous comment:

Audi just shot out a press release stating that the A4 won't get diesel until they release the next generation of the platform in 2014-15 and the R8 will get diesel in 2013. The rest of the line will have it for the 2012 model year.

[Damn True]

Because today is opening day, and because The World Champion San Francisco Giants (I love writing that phrase) are opening at Chavez Latrine against the Los Angeles Dodgers [yurp...threw up in my mouth a little] I offer the following:

Another Reason Why.....The Dodgers Suck

[sniper]

Baseball, Already?

[Damn True]

Yes indeedy sir!

[Damn True]

The Damn True Experiment: Photo Essay - Mercat de La Boqueria de Barcelona http://t.co/EdLXl6M

[Damn True]

The Damn True Experiment: Photo Essay – The Magnum Opus of Antoni Gaudi ... http://t.co/DrH4F8w

[SLO_Z28]

No offense, but most of whats here is politics, and there is a politics section. What isn't politics is a not-so-subtle attempt to get more blog views.

[shmoov69]

LOL.
Dooh!!

[Damn True]

No offense, but most of whats here is politics, and there is a politics section. What isn't politics is a not-so-subtle attempt to get more blog views.

No offense James, but you clearly didn't take the time to look at the entirety of the blog before shooting your mouth off and dropping the clutch on this post.

Hell, if you'd scrolled less than 1/4 way down the first page you'd have seen the directory which clearly shows that the majority of my blog is cooking related. 5 political posts and 30 related to other topics. Cooking outstrips political themes by a ratio in excess of 2:1. You'd know that if you'd actually looked at the blog before rolling out your richard and treading on it.

Do yourself a favor and try not to discern a nefarious intent on my part in sharing the creation of a recipe, a photo essay, recounting a story of a vacation or heaven forbid, speaking MY opinion on MY blog. You aren't good at it and I assure you that your ability to know the meaning behind my words is...well...limited at best.

I almost didn't write the following but since you took the time out of your otherwise very busy day to impugn my integrity by stating so....Tell me - oh seer of truths - what possible benefit would I have to gain by, as you assert, "a not-so-subtle attempt to get more blog views"? Had you actually made the effort to look at the blog before opening your yap you'd have noticed that I'm not selling anything and though the Google-Blogger utility has an available content related advertisement feature which would pay me for every page view, I've conspicuously elected to not have ads on my blog.

Let me restate that. I'm not selling anything and though I could get paid by Google for page views I have chosen not to. So my goal cannot possibly be financial. What exactly have I to gain?

I write and sometimes take pictures. I'm good at the writing bit, but not great at it and the photography is shaky at best. I enjoy both avocations and I like to share. That's the point. Just that and it's not a new thing.

Feel free to refrain from reading my blog posts, though I shall deeply lament the loss of your considered readership.

Again....no offense but...

[Damn True]

It was brought to my attention that the photo links in the two most recent posts were not working. It seems my image sizes were too large for the Google-Blogger utility. Should all be working now.

A couple more photo-centric posts from our trip to Barcelona are still coming up.

[SLO_Z28]

Your first post is entirely political, any way you cut it.

Clearly you were offended, that was not my intention. I don't log on here to read about your political views. Some people do, and thankfully we have a section for that here where I can choose to not log in to.

[Damn True]

Not offended at all though I do often find that when someone begins a comment with "No offense but..." offense is precisely the intent.

The first post linked in this thread was about how sociopathic elements in the media present news and intentionally endeavor to skew public opinion by marginalizing dissenting opinion and the impact of that marginalization on discourse amongst the citizenry. You'll note if you read it, that there is pretty equal assignment of blame toward both "sides". Fairly apolitical IMO. Did you read it? You certainly aren't required to, or even asked to, but it seems to me that you should have done so before opining on it.

Second post - Myths and misguided actions related to "green" automotive technology.

Third post - Baseball & how bigotry led to the untimely demise of a promising career.

Fourth post - Photo essay on an open air market in Barcelona

Fifth post - Photo essay on a Modernisma Cathedral in Barcelona

There's quite a bit more on the blog that I haven't linked to here. The overwhelming majority of which has nothing at all to do with politics.

Again, feel free to refrain from reading my blog posts, though I shall deeply lament the loss of your "considered" readership.

[Damn True]

The Damn True Experiment: 25 Hours of Thunderhill...or How I learned I'm getting too old for this stuff.

[Damn True]

The Damn True Experiment: Canoeing Utah's Green River - 120mi, solo.

[Damn True]

Anyone interested in my cooking posts?

I can throw the links up if yes.

Most of it is focused on basic skills that can be applied to multiple dishes. Most of it is not particularly exotic

[Damn True]

The Annoying Co-Worker Chronicles - Ep1 http://t.co/AYc9Vhj & Ep2 http://t.co/PCVxcOl

[Larry Callahan]

Anyone interested in my cooking posts?

I can throw the links up if yes.

Most of it is focused on basic skills that can be applied to multiple dishes. Most of it is not particularly exotic

I'm game and always looking for something new.

[Damn True]

Man Can Cook #1 - Home Made Pasta http://t.co/13wGvia

Man Can Cook #2 - Risotto http://t.co/ISDuQte

Man Can Cook #4 - Making a Perfect Rack of Lamb http://t.co/xphXVuv

Man Can Cook #5 - Entry Level Offal – Oxtail and the braise... http://t.co/TjKoECK

Man Can Cook #6 - Raising The "Steaks" http://t.co/CalyBQv

Man Can Cook #7 - Entry Level Offal v2.0 - Turn The Other Cheek... http://t.co/XulSDWc

Man Can Cook #8 - Pan Seared Duck Breast & Cherry Balsamic Sauce ... http://t.co/RXlBet3

[Damn True]

Man Can Cook #9 - Gumbo du Fontenot http://t.co/ZG8W6uD