With relatively comparable mileage, why are hybrids gaining popularity faster than diesel?

It seems diesel would be the cheaper long/short term way to go.

 

Go drive behind a diesel powered school bus. Come back and tell us why the hybrids are gaining popularity faster than diesels.

 

diesel engines are noisier

 

I am sorry... I fail to see your logic. The guy is asking about cars - what does a school bus have to do with it?
I rode in an MB S-class diesel in Spain and was very impressed.

In answer to the question...
1) I think that it is image - plain and simple. Hybrids, such as Prius, have a "green" image that people associate with environmental responsibility. Never mind that a Prius takes more energy and materials to make than a conventional automobile and is not that environment-friendly when you consider battery disposal issues.
2) This may not go for the rest of the country, but here in CA, hybrids were given carpool lanes passes, until recently.
3) A lot of consumers remember diesels of the 80's, which were noisy, loud, smelly and unreliable. Bad reputation, if you will.
4) Emissions standards (NOx) are being tightened and it is not clear whether new diesels are going to remain compliant in the near, beyond 2009 future.
5) Diesel production requires some changes in manufacturing and fueling infrastructure (such as different equipment to produce diesel engines and more capacity for refineries, gas stations, etc.)

 

Keep in mind that those school buses are at least over 20 years old. Technologies advances. Diesels of today are much better than diesels of the past.

 

Not very familiar with modern CAR diesels huh?

 

Well, there's got to be a reason why even the newest diesels are still illegal in five states.

 

In CA its emissions... which is ironic b/c the batteries in hybrids are exponentially worse than current diesels. Heres a good article i just found

http://www.popularmechanics.com/auto...s/1266891.html

 

It only seems that hybrids are popular in the US because it is that way. In Europe, diesels have been and still are far more popular. Also in Europe, gasoline costs much much more than diesel ($6-7/gal versus $3-4/gal), so even though a hybrid may get decent fuel consumption, you still have to pay at the pump because it uses petrol and not diesel.

In the US, there has not been low-sulfur diesel until recently. You will notice at any gas station with a diesel pump, that either the fuel does not meet or meets the new federal standards for ultra-low sulfur diesel fuel. In many cases, they do not meet the new standard and thus they are not recommended for use in 2007+ newer vehicles.

I personally prefer diesels since they're not the dirty cars people imagine them to be. However, many European automakers are hesistant to bring their diesels over. Nevertheless, they're slowing making their way. BMW has the X5 3.0d coming over later this year. Personally, a 320d would be just the ticket for my parents, but I don't see BMW bringing that over.

 

modern diesels require an complicated setup of particulate filters, cat converters and other things just so they can meet the new emission requirements. This equipment makes it cost as much as hybrids sometimes

 

The reason diesels are popular is Europe is because over there diesel fuel is subsidized by the government, and its a lot cheaper than gasoline.

 

That just isn't true. I don't know where you get your info. In UK now diesel is MORE expensive than gasoline. Check here: http://petrolprices.com

Diesel vehicles get better economy than gas cars so that's why they're popular there. It's very simple.

They used to be noisy, stinky, and slow, but today there's NO difference in daily driving.

FYI: Gas/diesel is nearly $8/gallon (or over for premium) in England right now.

 

NOx. I'm glad that crap is illegal in MA.

 

Diesel Turbo all the way!!

Nay sayers should go drive the modern diesel motors before saying no.

Torque rocks!

 

I hired a Toyota Avensis in the UK the other day and I have to admit I was very impressed. It has a 2.2 litre diesel engine that is Euro V compliant so there is no problems with Nox etc. It was refined - you could hardly tell it was a diesel, had great torque and was getting nearly 50mpg. This was far a car bigger inside than my IS and 2/3rds the price of a Prius. The case for hybrids outside the Congestion charging zone in London does not exist. Add in the manufacturing/disposal of the hybrid batteries and the environmental argument starts to look a bit dubious too.