Dilbert of the year

[luchog]

That has more to do with the fuel than the vehicle. Diesels in the US have to run on Ultra-Low Sulfur Diesel fuel to comply with EPA Tier 2 standards. The reason you don't see as many on the road as you do in Europe has more to do with the higher cost of gasoline overseas and decreased power of the diesel compared to gasoline engines.

And, just to spell it out for people who may not be able to make the obvious conclusion, since petrol diesel is currently the standard, rather than bio-diesel; the cars are tested only with petrol diesel, not the lower-polluting bio-diesel.

 

[ysabella]

Just to throw some data in, US oil supply and what countries it came from 2005 (PDF) and which companies bought oil from the Persian Gulf.

 

[bob_kark]

And, just to spell it out for people who may not be able to make the obvious conclusion, since petrol diesel is currently the standard, rather than bio-diesel; the cars are tested only with petrol diesel, not the lower-polluting bio-diesel.

Thanks for the assist. That would have been a good point for me to make.