diesels in USA (nac)

[Steven Addy]

To the listers:

Based upon limited experience at the low price end,  it appears true that
the new European diesels have addressed many of the old problems such as
smell, noise, etc. with some success. However, after reading the Bosch
speech/article, I'm left with a number of questions to address before I'm
willing to consider jumping headlong onto the diesel  bandwagon.

1. Is the price of diesel fuel in Europe less than that of gasoline
because the suppliers charge less or because it is taxed less?

2. Is it not the case that volume wise, there is more gasoline available
from a barrel of crude than there is fuel oil?

3. If the demand for diesel fuel increases, will the price not increase
as well?

4. In the US - if the demand for diesel increases while the demand for
gasoline drops, is it not likely that the tax ratios will be changed, at
least for autos?

5. Is it true that the new diesel engines actually discharge less total
pollutants than new gasoline vehicles (ultra low emissions, etc)?  gallon
vrs gallon? hp vrs hp? etc.

I figure someone on the list can answer these questions or point me
toward the answers.
Thanks in advance.

regards to all
Steve Addy