Click image — click “See the Film” – click “Watch the Film”
Honda Motor Co. said on Monday it has developed a new and simple diesel powertrain that is as clean as gasoline-fuelled cars, unveiling plans to mount it on a car for the U.S. market by 2009.
Diesel engines, which now power half of Europe’s new cars, are slowly gaining traction with fuel-conscious consumers around the world since they typically get 30 percent better mileage than gasoline cars.
Their weakness has been the higher exhaust levels of nitrogen oxide (NOx), a greenhouse gas, and carmakers are racing to come up with ways to clear the world’s strictest emissions regulations, which the United States will usher in next year.
Honda’s new diesel drivetrain generates and stores ammonia within a two-layer catalytic converter to turn nitrogen oxide into harmless nitrogen.
Honda engineers said the technology is superior to a process pioneered by Germany’s DaimlerChrysler AG because the latter requires a complex system and heavy add-ons to generate ammonia from urea-based additives.
But Japan’s third-biggest auto maker said it planned to roll out the advanced diesel engine, first in the United States within three years and later to other regions.
Honda’s a prize-winner for this commercial, too. I know it only has a small bit to do with the article; but, I bumped into it looking for an illustration. Couldn’t resist it.
The commercial’s a hoot. I guess we have to wait for the car — before we get to see the commercial Stateside.
Honda has allways been good and interested in the latest tech. I have owned a couple of there cars one with up to 200K miles.
I am very intersted in this.
And this is why Ford is laying off workers. Japan inovates, why the US automakers flounder.
Who’s Japan’s number 2 automaker?
Nissan probably
Now only if diesel was less expensive than unleaded in the United States they’d have something. I’d guess that after the math, the savings between a 32.5/mpg diesel and a 25/mpg unleaded are nil.
Hope I’m wrong on this, so the technology can get some legs.
I’d buy one in an instant! Once again, why is the use following rather than leading…
Fyi, highway mileage of a diesel is about 30 percent better than an equivalent otto cycle engine, but city mileage can be as much as 100 percent more.
Tom
Forget buying Deisel fuel.
convert to BioDiesel and get your fuel for free from your local McDonalds!
“Their weakness has been the higher exhaust levels of nitrogen oxide (NOx), a greenhouse gas . . .”
So the reason we worry about NOx emissions is its contribution to global warming?
This goes to show how out-of-wack the whole global warming argument has become. If you can’t link it to global warming, then no one is going to care? NOx is a POLLUTANT. It creates SMOG and OZONE — stuff that, according to the American Lung Association, kills tens-of-thousands every year.
Shish, global warming my ass.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D-A3XHFT5qc&eurl= This is just as interesting.
NOx IS a greenhouse gas by definition. It becomes Smog, ozone, Et Al after reacting with other compounds…
Imagine the mileage and low polution that an engine like this in a hybrid configuration would get!
Tom
Deisel is actually a cheaper fuel to refine than petrol, unfortunetly its expensive in the states currently due to one out of the 3 refinerys being down, the switch over to ultra-low sulfur deisel, winter heating fuel shortages, and simple greed. Fortunetly it seems its finally coming down in price in lots of places, in Vegas I can get it for cheaper than regular unleaded, and biodeisel is steadily becoming commercially available in a mixed form B5, which is 5 percent biodeisel and B20, which is 20 percent biodeisel.
If you havent driven a modern deisel auto, you dont know what your missing, the low end torque is amazing, in my Jetta TDI I average 41mpg highway/city combined, its not the fastest car on the streets but it sure feels nice and responsive, and Im not afraid to pass someone at 80mph
#10 this is a great idea!!!
Is it going to melt glaciers, i think thats the big question.
I think I found a misprint in the article. It has to be a misprint because we all know that the U.S. under Bush
has not done anything for the Enviroment, so surely we can’t be set to have the worlds toughest emission standards next year.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Most of the reason for higher prices for diesel throughout the US is a taxation structure based on diesel used for transporting cargo. It would be simple to have an alternate structure or refund system for passenger vehicles. But, that might require an administration that actually gives a crap about ordinary citizens.
There are a few Republicans left. They joined with the Dems and snuck it past Bush while he was in Crawford, joshua. 🙂
Besides, it still uses oil. That’s all that really counts in Midland.
Ford and GM already make and sell powerful, clean diesels…in EUROPE! But for some reason there is some kind of PRESSURE resisting their introduction here in the states. Curious, no?
Meanwhile, record profits for the past few years continue to pile up in American oil companies coffers, such that, not long ago they were whining that they didn’t know what to do with all the money. Boo hoo.
The fact that audi won Le Man with a diesel is another sign that the performance gap between diesel and petrol is shrinking. Audi’s new diesel saloons also have very good fuel efficency
Has anyone priced a diesel in their area lately? In the midwest dealers are asking $2000 to $4000 over sticker!!
Yeah, but you don’t want people buying this here. You’d rather they buy American, and want to put tariffs on these Hondas.