[Vwdiesel] It's peak oil, duh.

[Greg Johnson]

I've been lurking here for awhile.   I currently drive a MB diesel but am
very interested in the upcoming Jetta Sportwagen TDI.

On the one hand, the oil situation is more complex than we believe.  Yes, it
easier to process than gas; getting rid of the sulfur probably raised the
bar a bit.  Supply and demand is worse than we think because unlike gas
drivers, who only compete against other cars, we also compete against ships,
tug boats, locomotives, trucks, construction equipment and so forth.

On a more simplistic level, the EPA claims that if, as it is in Europe, 1/3
of the light vehicles in the U.S. were diesels, we would save 1.4 million
barrels of oil *per day.*   With oil trading at $100 per barrel, Big Oil is
not going to let that happen, so they simply raised the price of diesel
above that of gas and by an amount that's similar to the diesel vs. gas mpg
advantage and that simply and easily takes away the financial reason for
folks to buy the diesels that will soon be coming to the U.S.   In other
words, if a diesel gets 30% better fuel mileage than a similar gas car, you
just raise the price of diesel by 30% and there is no advantage.

Greg J