The EPA and the California Air Resources Board (CARB) determined that
these diesel cars emit up to 40 times more pollution than emission standards allow.
Modern
diesel cars emit less pollution generally than cars that run on gasoline, says a new six - nation study published today in Scientific Reports whose groundwork was laid in part by an American chemist now working at Université de Montréal.
Not exact matches
It is almost three years since VW was caught fitting cheat devices to fool testers into measuring lower than actual levels of nitrogen oxides
emitting from its
diesel cars.
Despite her criticism of
car makers, Merkel rejected a blanket ban on
diesel autos, saying that a gasoline - powered vehicle actually
emitted more CO2 than a
diesel one.
The following are some facts about
diesel car engines, the tailpipe pollution they
emit and the «defeat device» software that federal regulators say VW used to circumvent emissions standards set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the state of California.
Latest tests show that new
diesel models
emit less nitrous oxides than petrol
cars (between TWO and SIX times less, depending)...
In the lab (at the Paul Scherrer Institute, near Zurich in Switzerland), «gasoline
cars emitted on average 10 times more carbonaceous PM at 22 °C and 62 times more at -7 °C compared to
diesel cars,» the researchers noted in their study.
That said, it is true that older
diesel cars do pollute more than gasoline
cars, because they don't have DPFs, and
diesel cars in general
emit far more nitrogen oxides, which cause smog and acid rain, the study also noted.
This month Volkswagen will begin to recall at least 11 million
diesel cars that
emit more pollutants than regulations permit.
Fine particles
emitted by vehicles (especially
diesel - powered ones), coal - fired power plants, and burning wood can penetrate deep into the lungs, while
car exhaust, heat, and sunlight contribute to high ozone levels.
The Volkswagen Dieselgate scandal also highlighted how
diesel cars can
emit more on the road than in the laboratory tests.
Next in line to further decrease CO2 form
cars come downsized turbo GDI (gas direct injection) engines and they
emit much more ultrafine particles and NOX than regular natural aspirated engines with PFI (port fuel injection) and even more than some Euro6
diesels with particle filter.
Diesels are all based on the 2.0 - litre CDTI engine, and can be had in 118bhp / 236 lb ft, 138bhp / 236 lb ft, and 161bhp / 273 lb ft variants, the former two states of tune
emitting a company
car tax - friendly 99g / km of CO2 and averaging 76.3 mpg on the combined cycle.
Autocar also cites a report quoting Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo condemning
diesel vehicles, saying that the older ones
emit the most pollution, but that the filters in modern
diesel cars aren't even able to remove all of the harmful particles.
The 237bhp
diesel, badged 25d, brings a disappointingly large drop in claimed fuel economy figures, only managing 53.3 mpg combined as a rear - wheel drive
car and
emitting 129g / km.
The 118bhp 1.5 - litre TDCi
diesel is also a sub-100g / km
car offering zero VED and generally very low costs, owing to 74.3 mpg combined cycle economy — and even the most powerful
diesel, the 182bhp version in the ST,
emits just 110g / km CO2 and returns 74.3 mpg.
The Convertible is not a particularly cheap
car to run; it
emits 149g / km of CO2 in
diesel form, and an eye - watering 201g / km with the petrol engine.
Both
cars cost # 90 to tax as they
emit 129g / km and 130g / km for the petrol and
diesel respectively.
If the ongoing VW
diesel emissions scandal has encouraged you to think that your next
car should be a petrol model, the more sensible 248bhp 2.0 - litre turbo returns 47.9 mpg and
emits 136g / km of CO2.
The especially economical compact
car sips just 4.5 liters of
diesel per 100 km and
emits 119 g / km CO2.
Company -
car drivers may be inclined to favour a
diesel Ibiza for reasons of fuel economy, but the 94bhp 1.0 - litre petrol engine makes a good case for itself here, thanks to CO2 emissions of just 106g / km, which translates into a Benefit - in - Kind (BiK) rate of 20 %, while the
diesels emit 99g / km and sit in the 21 % BiK band.
Ships
emit sulfates, the same particles associated with
diesel - engine
cars and trucks which motivated improvements in on - road vehicle fuel standards.
There is innovation waiting to be harnessed in the public sector, e.g. converting a
diesel - powered
car to one that runs on vegetable oil (albeit no panacea, but along those lines), which can shift communities / populations off carbon
emitting dormant technology.
Comparing the full lifecycle emissions of greenhouse gases by the two fuels from production through combustion in
cars, Eric Johnson, editor of Environmental Impact Assessment Review, and Russell Heinen, Vice President of SRI Consulting, found that «biodiesel derived from rapeseed grown on dedicated farmland
emits nearly the same amount of greenhouse gas emissions (defined as CO2 equivalents) per km driven as does conventional
diesel.»
It is no secret that many
diesel cars and trucks
emit more pollution under real - world driving conditions than during laboratory certification testing.