lobuxracer

iTrader: (2)

The thing most interesting to me would be cost per mile. I love diesels and the efficiency they offer, but the fuel cost makes the difference a lot less than what I would like.

I know a lot about cross country driving. I've been coast to coast on motorcycles and in cars. My best trip was College Park, MD to Sacramento, CA punctuated by an overnight stop in Evanston, WY. The wife and I got to Evanston, 2000 miles in 30 hours in her 5F-SE powered Camry, with an 18.5 gallon tank of fuel typically lasting over 500 miles. We did not stop except to refuel and repair a bad tire in Cheyenne (1.5 hours). It was no athlete climbing the Rockies, but it surely was efficient for gasoline power which was not really sold to be a super efficient car. Which brings me back to the problem, what is the fuel cost per mile? That's where the real value is.

doge

Diesel is 2.79 at the local mobil, and regular is 3.49, this only strengthens the diesel argument

lobuxracer

iTrader: (2)

Just the opposite in Atlanta.

BTW, gasbuddy doesn't agree with your assessment of gasoline prices in the Chicago market. They're pennies apart.

LexBob2

At the BP near me diesel is $2.79. Regular is $2.93 and premium $3.56. I think gas fluctuates in price more than diesel.

Allen K

iTrader: (4)

Heck, even between cities it can vary. My preferred Shell station has diesel within a few cents of the 93 octane. The Shell closest to my house has it at a 30 cent premium above 93

lobuxracer

iTrader: (2)

There's more to it than that:

http://www.eia.gov/tools/faqs/faq.cfm?id=327&t=9

I don't know enough about the refining process to comment, but it would seem there's a pretty big disparity in output per barrel between diesel and gasoline.

At any rate, up until very recently, diesel has been significantly more expensive than gasoline. It seems they've swapped position, maybe because of the glut of crude in the world right now.

I still love diesels. The pragmatist in me says they must be better in the long run.

mmarshall

Diesel prices went up, in relation to gasoline, back when the 2005 EPA diesel standards went into effect and we had to start selling the low-sulfur diesel fuel here in the U.S. In addition to that, most larger Mercedes and BMW BlueTec diesels here in the U.S. (I think the smaller VW TDIs are an exception) have to have periodic urea-solution refills every 10,000 miles or so, which is sprayed into the exhaust to help the catalyst deal with emissions. Sometimes, though, that refill is done with free manufacturer maintenance.