Diesel Vehicles, Better in Real-World Fuel Efficiency

Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) "YourMPG" database revealed that diesel-powered vehicles have higher mpg figures than those displayed on new car window stickers. The detailed findings were incorporated in EPA's "Final Technical Supporting Document," which has the new fuel economy labeling rule.

The "YourMPG" data covers 221 diesel drivers quantifying their own fuel economy and giving out their real-world MPG to the Internet database. The data, compiled by Oak Ridge National Laboratory, are compared with the real-world data with the projected fuel economy calculations for new cars. EPA document says in part, "As can be seen, diesels appear to perform the best with respect to their label fuel economy, outperforming the label by 4.3 percent."

The document also reveals that diesel was the only power source that offered an increase in real-world mpg. As a fact, gasoline-powered vehicles showed a decrease by between 1.4-1.7 percent. Also, hybrid vehicles decreased by more than 8 percent compared to their current fuel economy label.

"It's long been known that diesel is the most fuel-efficient internal combustion engine ever produced, typically providing 20-40 percent greater fuel- efficiency than other technologies," said Allen Schaeffer, executive director of the Diesel Technology Forum, a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting diesel technology. "These reports from real diesel drivers across the country reaffirm diesel's superior fuel efficiency, and will help consumers make future buying decisions when the next generation of clean diesel vehicles arrives over the next several model years."

With the increasing price of gasoline, some auto enthusiasts prefer better fuel economy. However, their bother is performance that goes with fuel efficiency. This is the reason why some enthusiasts are shifting to diesel engines that have all that and more. Analysts in the industry say that diesel engines have better fuel economy and performance. It is also more reliable compared to gasoline engines.

Recently, automakers announced a number of vehicles powered by diesel. In addition, automakers assured consumers that they will be more diesel options in their upcoming lineups. A heightened diesel revolution is expected to start in 2008. Auto parts Volkswagen are now upgraded to complement the sought-after changes. Also, Jeep Liberty performance parts are advancing even more to cope up with the revolution.

At the recently held Los Angeles Auto Show, Volkswagen and DaimlerChrysler made a joint venture to produce powerful diesel-powered vehicles for Chrysler, Mercedes-Benz, VW and Audi brands under the Bluetec label. BMW, Cummins, Honda, GM and Nissan also announced their plans to produce light-duty clean diesels to the American market. These vehicles will be made available in early 2008.