Posted: Aug 03 2004 at 12:20pm | IP Logged

I put together this speech for Toastmasters which was well received:

What’s Driving You?

ATTENTION
What can you do with $500? What is $500 worth to you? What if I told you of a way to put this money in your pocket without even lifting a finger? Sounds too good to be true, doesn’t it?

For me $500 is my vacations accommodation paid. It’s what I reluctantly pay in property taxes on my vehicles each year. It’s the cable bill, etc. Think about it next time you are forking out your hard earned cash on one of these payments.

NEED
How? The answer is simple. Fuel Consumption!

Why consumption? The answer is simple. By using less we demand less and we refine less. It is estimated that in forty years time the world’s reserves will be depleted. If we can use 50% less fuel now we add 20 years to our reserves. Twenty additional years to develop those new technologies! Twenty additional years to spread out the burning of our fossil fuels! We cannot under estimate the importance of those additional 20 years!

This is not something unreasonable because if we consumed fuel at the same rate as the Europeans we would not be in the situation we find ourselves in now. The standard for poor performance as measured by the Europeans is 30 miles per gallon. Anything less is unacceptable. 35 miles per gallon is the norm and anything above 40 the goal. Compare this to the 20 miles per gallon that is acceptable in the US.

To many the way to achieve this is in hydrogen, or methane powered vehicles. Recently we heard about the hydrogen economy and the methanol economy but these technologies are many years away. All are very expensive to develop.

SATISFACTION
What can we do now? There are a couple of ways we can conserve energy and here are three that work.
1) Hybrid Vehicles – Use gasoline and electricity
2) Motorcycles – The 1st or 2nd vehicles for many families in the world.
3) Diesel – A readily available, widely distributed, fuel.

All of the above boast a fuel consumption of around 50 miles per gallon but only one is a viable option. Hybrid vehicles are not good for the long haul or towing and motorcycles are restricted by the weather. The only one that can meet our needs now is Diesel! 50% of all new passenger vehicles sold in Europe are diesel so we cannot throw up our arms and say it can’t work here.

No longer are they dirty, noisy, smelly, vehicles. No longer are they unreliable rattle-traps. No longer are they uninspiring, agricultural, machines. Change is already here in the form of the Volkswagen turbo-diesel, the Mercedes-Benz E320, and the Jeep Liberty CDi. When Daimler-Benz purchased Chrysler they were keen to get the great product line out to the Europeans. The Mini-Van, Jeep Cherokee, and PT Cruiser are highly prized and admired as icons of America. Imagine their shock when they could not sell them because they all averaged 20 miles per gallon. The only thing they bought was the notion that we are a nation of gas-guzzlers!

Daimler-Chrysler’s answer was to put the world-renowned Mercedes-Benz common-rail turbo-diesel engine in these vehicles and success was theirs for the taking. So successful has it been that Chrysler has taken the plunge into the American market. Their first two vehicles are from Mercedes-Benz and Jeep and if we take to these vehicles, more are to follow. If Chrysler offered the Voyager Mini-Van with a diesel engine, as they do in Europe, I’d be the first to take delivery. Not to mention a Dodge Durango with the CDi I6.

To create an appeal I suggested to them that they get Vin Diesel (the actor) to market their Jeep line here.

VISUALIZATION
If we do not act now expect higher gas prices. Expect global warming to continue. Expect a much tougher future.

Now to the $500. By cutting down our consumption of gasoline by at least 50%, and at 30c a gallon cheaper, we save around $10 per week. However, as Diesel becomes more acceptable and the demand increases we can expect a reduction of up to 100% as more advanced Diesel technology is introduced. This translates into at least $500 additional dollars in your pocket each year!

Ask yourself, what can I do with $500? What is $500 worth to me? Think about it next time you are forking out your hard earned cash on one of your expenses. Ask yourself, what can I do to alleviate the fuel crisis? Ask yourself, am I ready to consider diesel as an alternative? The only answer is, YES, YES, YES!

ACTION
My challenge to you today is:
1) Take a close look at your fuel consumption.
2) Make a concerted effort to make a 50% reduction a soon as possible.
3) Consider real alternatives that you can use NOW!

Consider a Diesel as your next passenger car.

Nissan, consider putting a Diesel into the Titan soon.

Posted: Aug 03 2004 at 4:34pm | IP Logged

djrickp wrote: I would have paid the extra money for a diesel Titan.

You are not the only one.

However, you should not pay anymore for a Diesel (The VW TDi cost about the same as a reglar VW) but my guess is the US market will be made to. If and when it does arrive.

Posted: Aug 20 2004 at 6:41pm | IP Logged

Todd TCE wrote: I'm on the other side of the fence here; I wouldn't own a diesel p/u for ANY daily use. Maybe if I were a long haul trucker or had the funds to run a race car all  over the country but no way will I listen to the racket on round trips to the shop.

1. New Diesels are quiet. Drive the 6.0 powerstroke, Jeep CDi or M/B E320 CDi.

2. The VW Passat TDi is only $200 more than the gasoline one. It's service interval is twice that of the gasoline engine.

3. Paying a premium for a Diesel is bogus but the initial outlay is recouped in the resale anyway. Diesels depreciation is better too.

4. New Diesels are more efficient than gasoline powered vehicles and will become even better. The Powerstroke is 25% more efficient and 50% more when towing.

Cheers,

Neal 

Posted: Aug 20 2004 at 8:08pm | IP Logged

just to touch upon the quiet part for a minute...they may be quieter then they were in the past but after hearing a jetta tdi start up and run the other day there is still no mistaking the fact that its a diesel and runs like one.