Diesel Power!
Look, I got nothing against diesels, but it's wild to think that, according to this CNN article Diesel race car ready for Sebring, Audi is building a racecar with a diesel engine to attract the attention of American consumers.
Now, I'm no racing boy, but is that how it works? Does a consumer say, "Hey, that racing car is a diesel. I'm gonna go get me an Audi diesel!" I'm not saying, it doesn't work that way, I'm just curious to know if it really does.
On the flip side, I'm glad we're seeing a renewed interest in all ways to use less fuel (although few mention public transportation). It's gonna be a l-o-n-g time before hydrogen cars arrive (if ever), so we might as well use what's around now. I know the Germans are pushing diesels over hybrids and I know the diesels get pretty darned good gas mileage so I would certainly consider one if I could afford a German car. See the price of a Jetta lately? $27k as I just configured! Mercy!
Comments
2 Responses to “Diesel Power!”
Leave a Reply
Bob, I’m not much of a racing fan either, but this leaves me with a couple of questions. I had always thought the advantage of Diesels engines was their low range torque, and of course better fuel economy. But in racing, isn’t it more important to have high rev horsepower?
I don’t know Audi’s motivation, but at this point anything that attracts attention to Diesels is a good thing. In my opinion, the combination of the Diesel engine and home grown Bio-Diesel fuel, will go a long way to lessening our dependance on foreign oil, and improving our own economy.
But another question about Diesel racing cars. Don’t Diesels run at higher temperatures? At the higher revs that you run in racing, won’t the Diesels be screaming hot and less efficient?
I’m a novice (idiot) when it comes to Diesels, but acknowledge that they are a more proactive way of achieving fuel independance than Hybrids.
Hi Bob,
Yes, I have same questions as Joe here. I am in doubt how diesel could really work in racing cars. But I’m sure glad that many people look ways to conserve resources.