Volkswagen reveals production BlueTDI for U.S. market

Outside my place in Newport Beach, Southern California:
Regular unleaded: $3.99
Diesel: $4.89

Now you tell me, who's gonna buy a Diesel here?

Gus, look at it in terms of cost per mile instead of cost to fill the tank.

45mpg versus 25-30mpg can more than make up for the disparity in fuel price.

Depends on how much more the Diesel car costs.

See, at those prices I mentioned, a diesel with 45mpg is paying 11 cents a mile, and a gasoline car getting 30mpg is paying 13 cents a mile.

Now, assuming the Diesel car costs even $1,000 more thant the comparable gasoline car, that's 50,000 miles just to break even. If the Diesel costs several thousand dollars more, and they typically do, then it's a total waste of money...

I’m in total agreement with Dave. Gus you can run your numbers, but I’m not buying it. The benefits and advantages of Diesel engines have proven themselves many times over.

You can go ahead and buy it all you want, if you're into throwing money away, go for it!

Gus, there are situations where the diesel is going to make more sense, and other driving patterns where it'll never pay off.

The TDi option is around $1000 for VW, and working with the average 300,000mile+ lifetime of that engine, a net gain is possible. It's not a silver bullet for everyone though. If you've got a 5 mile commute to work, it'll never pay off. If you're talking 100 miles round trip on the other hand, the numbers tip the other direction. It's all about picking the right tool for the job.

True. Very true.
If it is only $1000 more, then it might just sell, but they will have to HEAVILY promote the cost per mile thing here, since Diesel is a four letter word in California...

There’s no need to promote it. Just imagine if diesel fuel was removed entirely from the state of California, and all those big rigs and delivery trucks were forced to run on gasoline. They would have to fill up their tanks twice as much, and would cover less distances. That would instantly transfer into higher cost for 80% of all the goods in the state. There’d be new names invented for gasoline by then. You can call Diesel what ever you want, because we have it. It would be a different story if we didn’t.

The fuel you get at the “Gas Station” was delivered by a tanker truck running on Diesel. Even the Gas companies know the many benefits of Diesel. They just like to gouge the diesel consumer more for those benefits.

It also takes more oil to make each unit of Diesel, don't forget.

But you're comparing apples to oranges now. Nobody who drives a car here cares what the trucks run on, they only care about a few things:
1.) The price of the fuel
2.) The cost of the vehicle
3.) The efficiency of the car
4.) The availability of the fuel.
5.) The "stigma" of Diesel.

Of these, only #3 is an obvious plus to most people...
#1 is an obvious negative, most people won't do the math to calculate the cost per mile.
#2 is $1,000 more.
#4 is a problem since Diesel isn't available at most stations here.
#5 is people thinking Diesel is dirty and noisy.

Like I said, it will be a tough sell no matter how you slice it, be it an apple or an orange...

I think you have that the other way around. If you look into the refining process, there is only so much of the different types, of fuels that can be refined from a single barrel of oil. So you get so much Diesel, Heating Fuel, Gasoline, Kerosene (Jet Fuel), and so on. The refining process for Diesel is far simpler than for Gasoline and Jet Fuel so it should be much cheaper, which it is in some countries. The reason why it cost more here is that Diesel can be further refined to make more Gasoline or Kerosene if the market demands it. Its market demand that make the Gas companies convert the rest of that barrel’s out put of Diesel into more Gas and Jet fuel, and more profits. That refining process to convert Diesel into more Gas cost more, and instead of passing those costs onto their beloved Gasoline/Jet fuel consumers they pass them onto the Diesel consumer.

The stigmas of diesels are all but a memory. They have proven themselves on the race track where the Diesel Audi R10 has dominated LMP racing for many years. They’ve been called many names by the competition as they’ve been passed by one because they’re so quite, and are unheard as they pass by. The availability of the fuel will change overnight if the market demands it, and more people drive diesels. The perceptions by people will also change if more cars like the sexy diesel Audi R8 are made.

Not true.
Here in California the ultra-low sulfer diesel makes it more difficult to refine, and it takes slightly more crude oil to make diesel (hence the higher energy concentration).

And the stigmas here are very much alive. Many people I've spoken to don't want a "rattling, smike belching car that I have to hunt fuel down for"...

I'll say it again, tough sell...

Sure it cost more to refine the new lower sulphur diesel fuel, because the Sulhur is in the Crude oil to begin with. You are incorrect though in you assumption that it takes more crude to make Diesel. Crude oil itself has the highest content of energy with the highest number of carbon molecules. Through the refining process you are REDUCING that number of carbon molecules for the different types of fuels being made. Diesel is refined less, and has twice the carbon in its molecular structure than Gasoline, and that is why it has more “energy” than Gas. The larger molecular structure of diesel is also why Diesel can be refined even more to make more gas. Gasoline was once considered a by product of the refining process for kerosene used as lamp fuel.

You and your friends can think all you want about Diesel vehicle, but the world will still turn.