Another John wrote:
In article ,
"tim..." wrote:

"TheChief" wrote in message
news
Hi all

I have been looking at cars today with a view to replacing my
aging Focus.
I have found that the vast majority of mid range cars are that
spawn of Satan known as diesels.

I've just had a thought are you talking about 2nd hand?

well there's a reason for there being an excess of diesels on the market
it's the same one that's causing you not to want to buy one.

Quite. It was on 25th February that Transport Minister Chris Grayling
said:

"People should take a long, hard think about what they need, about where
theyıre going to be driving, and should make best endeavours to buy the
least polluting vehicle they can.
I donıt think diesel is going to disappear but someone who is buying a
car to drive around a busy city may think about buying a low-emission
vehicle rather than a diesel."

That's what he said (apparently). But it was *universally* headlined in
the media, including the now-tabloid BBC outlets, as "Think twice before
buying a diesel, Transport Minister warns"

Thus, at one stroke, ****ing up the car market for millions of diesel
owners.

(As you might guess) I have recently bought a diesel (63-reg Skoda Yeti
--- for the OP 'The Chief': it's damn' good might I add). It's a 2.0l
TDI, 110bhp.

After a lifetime of avoiding diesel because I don't like the noise, and
I like even less the stink, of exhaust and fuel alike.

However I bought this one precisely because of the gist of this thread:
diesels are very hard indeed to avoid. "And anyway: they're much, much
better than they ever were," to quote owners, manufacturers, and dealers
for the last decade or so.

Ha! I bet you believe in the tooth fairy too. ;-)

Yes, in terms of power, smoothness, noise, economy etc. they are very good
now, especially the VW ones. If there is one lesson to be learned from
"Dieselgate" though it's that in real world terms (from the pollution POV),
they all still suck mightily.

Trouble is, who to believe over which is cleaner? Setting standard tests
does nothing to make engines cleaner in everyday driving, it just makes
manufacturers better at making engines that pass one-off tests.



But now Grayling wades in, with his size 14s. There has *never been a
mention* of making allowances for modern engines, with their particulate
filters, and their engine management, in contrast to the guy at the end
of our street who has been driving a clapped out transit since about
1992.

I believe that the "failing" VWs all had particulate filters. They help,
but how much in real world driving?


I would suggest that by far the vast bulk of diesel pollution in London
(which is where this all kicked off, of course) is caused by the
thousands of clapped out vehicles that are still driving around (or
sitting around, engines running).

If Chris Grayling wants to do something serious about car pollution, he
should *very forcefully* tighten up the MOT, *and all its testers*.

Probably wouldn't help much as the standards for MOT don't bear much
relationship to real world conditions.
Setting much higher standards would probably have every three year old
diesel failing.

Tim



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