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FULLSERVICE Natural gas and diesel I interviewed Joel Hirschboeck, Wis.-based Kwik Trip's alternative fuels superintendent for the article "Kwik Trip Drives Ahead with Natural Gas," on page 10. Joel believes that out of all of the alternative fuels being trialed and promoted, natural gas is the most viable. I would agree, with the caveat that diesel, while not alternative per se, is just as exciting in alternative noncommercial vehicle applications. Diesel got off to a rocky start in the United States during the first serious attempt to penetrate the automobile market in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Most major US automakers took a shot at the concept with engineering that was less than impressive and that tainted the concept during the years that followed. Mercedes and BMW have long had niche offerings in this area that have been marketed in the United States, that have been well received, and more recently Volkswagen as well. In fact, my father has owned BMW and Volkswagen diesels and I've spent some time driving both over the years. I found them to be a bit quirky here and there compared to traditional gasoline cars, but entirely manageable and pleasant to drive. Acceleration could be an issue, though the BMW overcame this with its turbocharger after you passed the turbo lag point. There were other issues like letting the glow plugs heat up or the smell of diesel exhaust, but having previously spent some time pushing diesel engines around in armored personnel carriers that was a sentimental feature to me and not bug. The cars I drove were also older technology, a decade or so behind where we are at today, and I know things have progress greatly particularly in Europe where there is a plethora of options from high-end to economy, using "clean" diesel technology. The mileage is still very high, the performance is smoothed out and more than acceptable and the reliability matches that of the commercial diesel power plants. Clean diesel technologies even top environmental requirements. Over 55 percent of the cars on the road in Europe today are diesel powered and nearly half of the new cars sold in Europe are diesel according to the European Environment Agency. That number is far smaller in the U.S., of course, around 3 percent of noncommercial vehicles. Volkswagen is the dominant player, but luxury diesel car sales are well established. But, there appears to be growing enthusiasm for diesels, undoubtedly driven by both higher fuel prices and improved technology. Diesel car and SUV registrations increased from 640,779 in 2010 to 796,794 at the end of 2012 – a 24.34 percent increase according to the Diesel Technology Forum. As Allen Schaeffer, the executive director of the Diesel Technology Forum noted in a release announcing that finding: "While total diesel vehicle registrations are slightly less than three percent in the U.S., auto analysts and market researchers virtually all agree diesel sales are going to increase significantly as the number of new diesels made in available domestically will more than double in the next two years. Some analysts predict diesel sales will reach 10 percent of the U.S. market by 2020." He went on to note that future CAFE fuel standards will likely accelerate the trend. While natural gas may well be the alternative growth fuel relative to diesel in commercial applications, that displaced diesel may simply find itself going into the tanks of automobiles. Some interesting times indeed. n THE SOURCE FOR PETROLEUM AND CONVENIENCE MARKETERS Editorial office List Rental/REPRINTS EDITORIAL STAFF cnaughton@specialtyim.com 1030 W. 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Postmaster: Send address changes to National Petroleum News, PO Box 4290, Port Jervis, NY 12771. Keith Reid EDITOR-IN-CHIEF kreid@specialtyim.com 4 OCTOBER 2013 NPN Magazine n www.npnweb.com