Greetings from North Carolina

[disjaukifa]

Originally Posted by trollbait

The federal requirements in order to sell a new car in the US are pretty strict, and because diesels have to meet the same emission levels as gasoline cars, they are stricter than Europe's. There is an 8yr/100k mile federal warranty on the emission system, and a 10yr/150k mile on the cleanest ratings in most CARB states. So a manufacturer can't simply put a system in that will last just long enough for the initial test.

Whether a regular emission, or even safety, test is performed is up to the individual states. Near a major metropolitan area is more likely to require it than in the rural ones.

Diesel emissions are exempt in Pennsylvania, and I've heard in California too. Most likely because there are just too few cars to warrant forcing test stations to pay for the necessary equipment. Even with more models available, more hybrids are sold here.

There was a post here where the owner disabled the EGR on a Civic VX, and I've heard it was common to do on cars from back then. The computer controls and senors on modern cars make bypassing emissions purposely harder, and depending on why a car's emissions would be out of speck, it won't be running right. Sometimes purposefully to force the owner to fix the problem. A worn out catalytic convertor may not do that, but they'll last past 100k miles with ease.

Originally Posted by Draigflag

Interesting, thanks for the information, I learn something every day Here

Agreed learning something new every day. I don't see myself ever buying a new car, I do all my own car work, and it just makes better financial sense for me to get used cars and fix them as stuff needs to be replaced. I can't remember the last time I took a car to a mechanic to get something fixed on a car, I think I was in high school honestly.

[Draigflag]

I always used to buy used cars, I used to enjoy working on them and doing routine maintainance. But it was always my dream to buy and own a new car. I just like the experiance of buying and owning a new car, even if I do loose a fortune every time! My philosophy is that I don't gamble, I don't smoke and I don't drink much, and I don't have kids yet so spend money and enjoy life whilst i can

[disjaukifa]

Originally Posted by Draigflag

I always used to buy used cars, I used to enjoy working on them and doing routine maintainance. But it was always my dream to buy and own a new car. I just like the experiance of buying and owning a new car, even if I do loose a fortune every time! My philosophy is that I don't gamble, I don't smoke and I don't drink much, and I don't have kids yet so spend money and enjoy life whilst i can

Yeah I have two kids so I have to pinch pennies so I like getting a good vehicle on the cheap when I can point out stuff wrong with it, especially when the ad states "The car is near mint condition", it almost never is

[BDC]

Originally Posted by trollbait

It just means we have cleaner diesels.
Europe will go to them in time if they want to keep using them.

Actually, just this week the UK government admitted that pushing its citizens to diesel through regulation was a mistake, just like France admitted the same last year. France has already announced that they will begin "banning" diesels through regulation in favor of gasoline or electric vehicles starting later this year.

Trollbait, earlier you stated that diesels are not required to have sniffer tests in CA, but I think they have been required there for some time now. Regardless of how many states require sniffer testing, the federal standards are much tougher than europe.

I'm all for diesel engines, but there's no doubt that you have to pack a LOT of expensive emissions equipment on them to make them as clean as gas. Honestly, it amazes me that there are places in the first world with air quality not so different from LA in the 70s, places like Paris and London -- much of the smog caused by reliance on diesels with relatively low emissions standards.

[Draigflag]

Air quality in the US and UK is pretty much equal, and the majority of European countries have much better air quality than the US. The whole diesel affecting air quality myth is always exaggerated, probably so they can charge more taxes. It's true that in cities the levels of N0X are higher due to the volume of traffic, but it's thought the biggest cause of this is large commercial trucks and buses left idling, not the small fuel sipping clean diesel commuter cars.

[trollbait]

Originally Posted by BDC

Actually, just this week the UK government admitted that pushing its citizens to diesel through regulation was a mistake, just like France admitted the same last year. France has already announced that they will begin "banning" diesels through regulation in favor of gasoline or electric vehicles starting later this year.

Trollbait, earlier you stated that diesels are not required to have sniffer tests in CA, but I think they have been required there for some time now. Regardless of how many states require sniffer testing, the federal standards are much tougher than europe.

I'm all for diesel engines, but there's no doubt that you have to pack a LOT of expensive emissions equipment on them to make them as clean as gas. Honestly, it amazes me that there are places in the first world with air quality not so different from LA in the 70s, places like Paris and London -- much of the smog caused by reliance on diesels with relatively low emissions standards.

You are right. It is 1997 and older diesels that don't require testing.

The Passat TDI SE is $815 more than the 1.8T SE. That is around the price difference before they needed to add a SCR system. The cost to VW is surely more, but they cover it with the profits of the increase features of the SE trim. A hypothetical TDI S would have a larger price gap, But I doubt it going over $2000. A Camry hybrid is around $4000 more than the ICE one.

The problem for Europe is that they encouraged diesels over petrols for decades when diesel emission controls were primitive. So there is a large legacy fleet of polluting vehicles running through their cities, which is why London has one of the streets with the worse air quality in the world. Idling buses and trucks play a part, but that is something we have in the US too.

[Draigflag]

Yea high fuel taxes have kept prices up, it can cost over $200 to fill a car's tank here, and in the UK we have road tax based on a car's C02 emissions. My bosses Cherokee costs about $800 a year to tax. Diesels have much lower C02 emissions, the smaller ones have similar figures to a hybrid, and often economy to match too, and although they carry a slight premium over a gas car, you soon get your money back in fuel, tax and insurance savings.