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Why European diesel cars are not available in the U S.
Dear EarthTalk I do not understand why there are many European diesel cars with very high mileage that are not available in the U S Can you enlighten - John Healy, Fairfield, CT.
Different countries have different standards regarding the amount of gasoline pollution and diesel automobile engines are allowed to emit, but the reason you see so fewer diesel cars in the US is more a choice by automakers than the product of a decree by regulators on both sides of the Atlantic.
Since the advent of the automobile era in gasoline U S was king of the road; Today over 95 percent of passenger cars and light trucks on American roads are powered by gas and the federal government has done its part to keep it that way, taxing diesel at a rate about 25 percent higher than gasoline a recent assessment by the American Petroleum Institute, a trade group for the oil industry, found that federal taxes accounted for 24 4 cents per gallon of diesel but only 18 4 cents per gallon of gasoline .
In Europe, where in many regions about half of the cars on the road run on diesel, these tax incentives are flip-flopped, with diesel drivers reaping the economic benefits accordingly.
But according to Jonathan Welsh, who writes Me and my car QA column for the interests of Wall Street Journal in diesel engines which typically offer better fuel efficiency than gasoline cars has grown considerably in the US in recent years given the uptick in gasoline prices of the diesel popularity has also surged, albeit briefly, in the mid-1970s after the US suffered its first oil shock sent gas prices through the roof, but gas prices moved and so did American fervor for diesels at that time.
Today, however, with so much emphasis on going green, diesel cars, some of which boast similar numbers of energy efficiency that hybrids are on the comeback trail in the US Recently passed regulations require fuel diesel sold in the US today to have ultra low emissions, which appeals to those concerned about their carbon footprints and other environmental impacts besides, the increased availability of biodiesel carbon neutral form of diesel fuel from agricultural waste that can be used in place of regular diesel fuel without any engine modification is convincing a whole new generation of American drivers to consider diesel cars now, Volkswagen, Mercedes and Jeep sell diesel cars in the US, but Ford, Nissan and others plan to launch American versions of diesel models lready successfully in Europe next year.
Meanwhile, the US Coalition for Advanced Diesel Cars, a trade group that represents several automakers as well as parts and fuel suppliers, would like to see the US government increase incentives for American drivers to choose diesel engines by standardizing fuel tax rules to gasoline and diesel could be competing fairly at the pump and increasing tax breaks on the purchase of new, more fuel-efficient diesel vehicles efficient One obstacle is the relative lack of filling stations service across the US with diesel pumps, but these vehicles become more popular, stations that already offer don t can be added relatively easily a diesel pump or two.
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Why European diesel cars are not available in the U, Europe, diesel cars.