Diesel = Power. Audi has proven it.
Conventional wisdom has always said that Diesels are slow, noisy, and smoky. What you are looking at above is fast, quiet (everyone who has seen & heard the R10 says they are eerily quiet race cars), and smoke-free. Conventional wisdom in this case is just plain WRONG.
So, where are our options for Diesel powered street cars? Where’s my TDI TT Roadster?
America needs more Diesel power options for cars, period.
As long as there are horrific old Mercedes diesels chugging along (because they cannot be killed)–spewing noxious smoke and clattering like the death of a clockwork giant–people will perceive diesel cars as what those old Mercedes are.
The only common exposure people have with diesels in this country are busses and trucks, which are like the Mercedes but writ large.
I agree with you, but there are decades of prejudice to overcome.
I somewhat agree, and somewhat disagree: I drive 104 miles, round trip, every day, in congested denver: the buses here haven’t smoked (and I suspect this in true in all major American cities) as badly as you state for YEARS! Mercedes of the vintage that you speak of..and MAN, they clattered and smoked!..are nearly off the roads, anymore. the prejudice is hard to overcome but this is in part to the “perception” typified by your statement, that is the part that will be tough to overcome. yes, they USED to smoke and clatter, but that really hasn’t been the case in oer a decade.
We can ONLY hope the prejudice is soon overcome, for new-generationdiesls are FAR more the answet than hybrids or electric cars…not to mention, we, as a nation, *have* to stop driving as much.
We don’t have too many cars that are diesels either other than the current trend of people to have 4WD’s off roader vehicles as their cars – the ‘normal’ cars are mostly petrol other than slow increase in Euro diesels. Partly our problem has been lack of quality fuel for the diesels from the one refinery we have in the country. This has been changed a couple of years back but still not much change to the range of Jap and Aussie cars – we need a diesel in the big sealers like the Aussie Falcon and Commodore (or the 2-3 litre Jap sedans) but doesn’t seem to be on the cards yet… Jerome
Figgers…I click on the red-x’ed-out place where the photo’s supposed to be? I get a “website may be inappropriate…” message rom my USGS web “gurus”…arrrrgh!
Paul, you only need ONE old Mercedes like was in line for the ferry last year to make people remember the bad Olde Days of awful diesels. Someone literally went up to him and asked if his car was on fire. It was a c. 1973 sedan.
$5 a gallon petrol is the only thing that’s going to even make a dent, I’m afraid.
Rog, I think yer right: It’s why I *cheer* for rising fuel prices! It’ll be the *only* thing that will pry the BDBs (Blow-dried Bimbos) outta their Range Rovers on the way to the local shopping mall…..!
As for the ’73 Merc….they musta ALL moved to your neighborhood, for I’ve not seen one of those clanking, banging, smokey ol’ tubs for quite some time! to be fair, in good shape they didn’t smoke THAT badly…..just enuff to fog for mossies…;)