Fuel of the future
By: Jack Nerad for Driving Today
Date: 2004-07-07
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Many Americans think of diesel engines as loud, stinky and smelly. But with U.S. gasoline prices shooting to record levels, Navistar International's chief executive officer Dan Ustian says government energy policy should actively encourage the mileage and emissions benefits made possible by diesel technology. Speaking before the Executives Club of Chicago, he cited diesel's advantages on both mileage and global warming, and called it "the fuel of the future."
"We deliberately chose diesel over gasoline in the mid-1980s as the technology for the engines, trucks and school buses we produce," Ustian said. "Our reasons for that decision keep looking better and better."
The executive noted that in addition to diesel engines' advantages in durability, torque and safety, they are inherently more efficient than gasoline, offering 25 to 60 percent better mileage, depending on the application. Diesel engines' greater efficiency also means they emit less carbon dioxide than gasoline engines, and carbon dioxide is identified by some as the "greenhouse gas" considered chiefly responsible for global warming.
While some consider diesels to be dirty, Ustian said emissions of particulate matter (PM) have been reduced to near zero by International Green Diesel Technology, a low-emitting technology that combines efficient, high-tech engines, advanced after-treatment, and the new ultra-low-sulfur diesel fuel that is mandated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
In 2001, International became the first company certified by federal and California regulators as meeting EPA's 2007 engine standards for particulate matter and hydrocarbon emissions six years ahead of the regulatory deadline. By 2006, 80 to 95 percent of U.S. on-highway diesel fuel will meet the tough EPA standard of 15 parts per million, Ustian claimed.
By 2010, diesel will be equal to or better than gasoline in every key category of emissions," Ustian said.
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