Are diesel cars now worthless?

[Woosh]

I don't think diesel is worthless. Diesel has higher calorific energy content than petrol. The problem with pollution in diesel cars is solvable.
Diesel is part of the oil fractional distillation. We have to use it somewhere, if not in cars then in trains and power stations.

 

[flecc]

Diesel is part of the oil fractional distillation. We have to use it somewhere, if not in cars then in trains and power stations.

There's no problem with it's usage other than cars, quite the opposite. Apart from heavy transport on roads and rail, plus heating, jet aviation fuel uses the similar fraction. It was for that last reason that the British army had a near total ban on having diesel during the cold war, even heavy tanks and tank transporters using petrol engines then. It was feared that in a future world war there wouldn't be enough of that fraction for large scale wartime flying.

The wider use of missiles instead of aircraft has since reduced that military fear, but we can't send airline passengers by missile (yet). Ryanair will probably be looking into it though!
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[gray198]

Its already known how, but when achieved the advantages over petrol for cars are lost, especially since the recent big advances in clean and economical petrol engines in cars.

The car choice now for the future is petrol, petrol-hybrid or electric, according to need, and I'm sure diesel will gradually disappear from cars. Governments want it and the industry will be happy with that, after all it means more sales.

It's the heavy vehicles that will benefit from any diesel clean-up gains, probably forced by new laws.
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Flecc what about hydrogen/ LPG etc, or are they not viable

 

[flecc]

Flecc what about hydrogen LPG etc

They are certainly possible, but there are cost and fuel access limitations. Also they don't appear to be on government radars, and that support is all important for success.
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