Hot! Diesel ban approved for German cities to cut pollution

[EnI]

Diesel engines still have quite a potential, much more than petrol engines. The problem is the German carmakers have been careless: caring more about profit margins than proper eco tech. They know the tech, they know the solution but they don't use it because the cars will be a bit more expensive to make (decreasing corporate profit margins below the beloved 8%), and the power performance will be a bit worse.

Now they don't know what to do in this transitional period towards fully electric cars: to go for really clean diesels, or to go more extensively petrol-electric (hybrid).

 

[CrunchSlaughtered]

This Komatsu is an electric prototype.

This exactly is not electric and its rather small for a proper open pit mine. Mining is totally different than the other traffic and there are other priorities. Fuel efficiency is understood in another manner. The most important thing is the total productivity, which depends on the technical availability of the machine. There are some electrical trucks, including Komatsu, but they are not with batteries but with air lines for power supply. This makes them not useful in every mine, because for this air lines you need poles which are fixed and as you know in mines the rocks are blasted so having fixed poles close to the area of blasting is not possible. This leads to the need the poles to be dismantled two times per week(because of the blasting) which leads to much lower technical availability of the truck and lower production rate. The same is a drawback if one uses battery power. First the battery should be enormous and it would eat from the load capacity of the truck and second it would lose precious time for the charging. This trucks operate for 24 hours non-stop and every possible second they should be operating on the field. Sometimes is more profitable to accept 100% increase in the fuel consumption for gaining just 0,5% higher productivity. An electric truck (with air power lines) is around 3 to 4 times cheaper to run, but this doesn't justify the lost in the production rate.

 

[KiwiRob]

The Komatsu is a full electric truck, it's not the biggest, but it's hardly small. It has a 700kw/h battery pack and a capacity of 45 tons. This will be the start.

World's first electric dump truck stores as much energy as 8 Tesla Model S cars

 

[CrunchSlaughtered]

The Komatsu is a full electric truck, it's not the biggest, but it's hardly small. It has a 700kw/h battery pack and a capacity of 45 tons. This will be the start.

World's first electric dump truck stores as much energy as 8 Tesla Model S cars

This is some very particular case (and not a factory el truck but converted old one)where the truck ascents empty and descents loaded. In mining the material is extracted from under the ground so the pit goes deeper and deeper and the trucks should haul the material upwards. Otherwise this 700 kWh battery is a joke and in normal operation it's charge would last about an hour.

 

[CrunchSlaughtered]

capacity of 45 tons

And this is not mentioned anywhere. It says the weight of the truck(empty) is 45t but the load capacity is not given. And not to mention the fact that the author of this article calls these machines construction, when they are mining. For construction are used Articulated dump trucks and the rigid dump trucks are for mines.

 

[Centurion]

Diesel engines still have quite a potential, much more than petrol engines.

How come? While they can be easy to drive and economical over longer distances, 4 cylinder diesels can be unrefined and noisy. Turbo charged 3-4 cylinder engines have become incredibly good and better choices over diesels unless you do long trips or have a heavy car.

Now they don't know what to do in this transitional period towards fully electric cars: to go for really clean diesels, or to go more extensively petrol-electric (hybrid).

IMO governments should be careful about pushing the public towards hybrids as the technology is still not very good. Plug-in hybrids typically have an electric only range of 25 miles but in reality only 60-80% of that is achievable under favorable circumstances like:

• Flat terrain
• Warm ambient temperature
• Feathered throttle and
• Conservative use of AC
• Ability to charge at home and at work.

On longer distances above 50mph you can achieve a better mpg in a 6 cylinder diesel. Consumers don't off course know all this and neither will the sales person bother telling them their expensive(overpriced) hybrid will not deliver the economical benefit expected.

FYI, the ICE in the Q7 etron can't even charge the battery. It's a joke!

Luckily the Nissan Leaf and soon to launch Huyndai Kona Electric and VW I.D will increase alternatives of hassle free zero emission driving.

 

[KiwiRob]

This is some very particular case (and not a factory el truck but converted old one)where the truck ascents empty and descents loaded. In mining the material is extracted from under the ground so the pit goes deeper and deeper and the trucks should haul the material upwards. Otherwise this 700 kWh battery is a joke and in normal operation it's charge would last about an hour.

If the mine is open cast it’s not extracted from underground, the topsoil is removed and whatever you want extracted from there, most of Germany’s coal is mined like this. This is the future, it sucks but that’s how it’s going to be, give it ten years and most mining equipment will be electric.

 

[CrunchSlaughtered]

I've never said that its underground. German coal is mined in a totally different manner and they don't use dumper trucks but conveyer belts that can cope with the production of the multishovel huge excavators. Here is what an open pit mine looks like

This is where the mining trucks are used.
Several years ago I participated in a project for evaluation if a copper mine could change its diesel-generator powered trucks to electrical powered ones and the matter is much more complex than most people can imagine

 

[cawimmer430]

I think the best example of Germany going down the toilet is Brandenburg International Airport. It was supposed to be opened already, now projected opening is 2020, it's billions over budget, it's only a new terminal and runway added to an existing airport, the Chinese would have knocked this up and had it operational within 2-3 years.

Don’t forget the awful TV shows polluting the minds of the next generation of Germans.

I firmly believe these TV shows are making future generations dumber. These days I don’t watch much TV aside from some documentaries which I record. Everything else is just Volksverblödung.

You know, if I were some big shot politician in this country I would actually ban all of the garbage channels and TV shows which make our kids dumber. Bye bye, RTL/RTL II, Berlin Tag & Nacht, Schlechte Zeiten Schlechte Zeiten, Der Bachelor, Deutschland sucht den Volldeppen, Ruiniere meinen Song, Germany’s Next Top Nutte, Dohoam is Dohoam and so much more. Seriously I get anger issues when I turn on the TV and this filth is on.

 

[Mick Briesgau]

Talking about “Volksverblöding” I’d like to add Maischberger, Anne Will, Maybrit illner: pure System-c.q. Staatsfernsehen.

Don’t forget the awful TV shows polluting the minds of the next generation of Germans.

I firmly believe these TV shows are making future generations dumber. These days I don’t watch much TV aside from some documentaries which I record. Everything else is just Volksverblödung.

You know, if I were some big shot politician in this country I would actually ban all of the garbage channels and TV shows which make our kids dumber. Bye bye, RTL/RTL II, Berlin Tag & Nacht, Schlechte Zeiten Schlechte Zeiten, Der Bachelor, Deutschland sucht den Volldeppen, Ruiniere meinen Song, Germany’s Next Top Nutte, Dohoam is Dohoam and so much more. Seriously I get anger issues when I turn on the TV and this filth is on.

 

[cawimmer430]

Talking about “Volksverblöding” I’d like to add Maischberger, Anne Will, Maybrit illner: pure System-c.q. Staatsfernsehen.

Agreed. There’s not a single talk show which I find interesting, starting with the arrogance of the moderators (Markus Lanz is the worst, always interrupting his guests... einfach nur unerträglich!) and usually most of the guests. I never knew we had so many crazy people in Germany.

 

[chonkoa]

Don’t forget the awful TV shows polluting the minds of the next generation of Germans.

I firmly believe these TV shows are making future generations dumber. These days I don’t watch much TV aside from some documentaries which I record. Everything else is just Volksverblödung.

You know, if I were some big shot politician in this country I would actually ban all of the garbage channels and TV shows which make our kids dumber. Bye bye, RTL/RTL II, Berlin Tag & Nacht, Schlechte Zeiten Schlechte Zeiten, Der Bachelor, Deutschland sucht den Volldeppen, Ruiniere meinen Song, Germany’s Next Top Nutte, Dohoam is Dohoam and so much more. Seriously I get anger issues when I turn on the TV and this filth is on.

It is everywhere...Kids are getting dumber and dumber.
TV shows are filled with trash.

 

[cawimmer430]

It is everywhere...Kids are getting dumber and dumber.

TV shows are filled with trash.

+1

The only things I watch on TV are a handful of good shows (The Walking Dead, The Flash etc.) and documentaries about animals, ships, aircraft, weapons, bridges, architecture... stuff that educates me and gets me forward.

Reality TV is cancer. The modern media isn't helping either with their "shoot-first-ask-questions-later" mentality.

 

[Cashmere]

BMW raises CO2 figures across range under new WLTP tests

For BMW, the revised WLTP figures mean changes at both the top and bottom ends of the firm’s line-up. For instance, the 116d SE’s official CO2 has risen from 94g/km to 111g/km, with fuel combined fuel economy dipping from 78.5mpg to 67.3mpg. The 520d 5 Series – the most popular model in the 5 Series line-up – jumps from 108g/km to 119g/km.

Link: BMW raises CO2 figures across range under new WLTP tests

 

[CrunchSlaughtered]

The new test will have the same effect on all the producers. The bad thing is that with it the mission of achieving the future limit of average 95g/km CO2 is beyond reach.

 

[Cashmere]

All the companies that have been making excuses for not building electric cars earlier are going to make a U turn in the next 6 months. The writing is on the wall. Goes back to what i've been saying for years. You know ICE is on its deathbed when even cars like the Prius are over the threshold. Emission testing is going to continue to get more stringent, Acceptable emission figures are going to get tighter, Carbon taxes are going to get higher. Electric or bust.




New Toyota Prius CO2 figures push it over Congestion Charge exemption zone

Increase in CO2 output to 78g/km edges the Prius over London's threshold, but TfL says existing cars won't be re-evaluated

Link: New Toyota Prius CO2 figures push it over Congestion Charge exemption zone | Autocar




BMW M3 F80 to be axed in August due to new emissions test

BMW will end production of the F80-generation M3 in August because the car won’t conform to Europe’s more stringent emissions limits.

Link: BMW M3 F80 to be axed in August due to new emissions test | Autocar

 

[SCOTT27]

A couple of months early. But G20 goes into production later this year.

 

[Serpens]

All the companies that have been making excuses for not building electric cars earlier are going to make a U turn in the next 6 months. The writing is on the wall. Goes back to what i've been saying for years. You know ICE is on its deathbed when even cars like the Prius are over the threshold. Emission testing is going to continue to get more stringent, Acceptable emission figures are going to get tighter, Carbon taxes are going to get higher. Electric or bust.

Doubt it honestly-ICE still has plenty of life. Even BMW, who is definitely committed to building EVs, has admitted it's just too expensive of a proposition for most consumers at this exact point in time. There's still going to be some manufacturers just simply putting on new particulate filters (notice the M4 will still be produced) and continuing to find new ways to make their engines cleaner.

 

[cawimmer430]

One thing I don't get is this mass hysteria about pollution, emissions, climate change, bad air in the cities and of course banning diesels - AND yet people are not really changing their buying habits and car makers are churning out one big fat gas-guzzling SUV, sports car etc. after the other.

The sooner people start buying sensible cars the earlier and easier we can get the pollution problem somewhat under control. But the truth is that car companies can claim they are going green all they want; they are in reality still following the money and most people obviously do not care about reducing pollution at the expense of their driving pleasure.

I got into an argument about this with some guys on another forum. You know, the type who drive huge SUVs and pickups and have a sports car for the weekend. They were hating on diesels without seeing how their car-buying and driving habits aren't exactly good for the environment, emissions and air quality. I found it pretty hypocritical how they were slamming diesel cars and then literally boasting about how their pig of an SUV hits 60 mph in bla bla seconds and how much fun they have on a track in their sports car needlessly burning fuel, rubber and creating a lot of pollution. But hey, that's totally fine because at least their cars are not diesel-powered...

 

[CrunchSlaughtered]

One thing I don't get is this mass hysteria about pollution, emissions, climate change, bad air in the cities and of course banning diesels - AND yet people are not really changing their buying habits and car makers are churning out one big fat gas-guzzling SUV, sports car etc. after the other.

The sooner people start buying sensible cars the earlier and easier we can get the pollution problem somewhat under control. But the truth is that car companies can claim they are going green all they want; they are in reality still following the money and most people obviously do not care about reducing pollution at the expense of their driving pleasure.

I got into an argument about this with some guys on another forum. You know, the type who drive huge SUVs and pickups and have a sports car for the weekend. They were hating on diesels without seeing how their car-buying and driving habits aren't exactly good for the environment, emissions and air quality. I found it pretty hypocritical how they were slamming diesel cars and then literally boasting about how their pig of an SUV hits 60 mph in bla bla seconds and how much fun they have on a track in their sports car needlessly burning fuel, rubber and creating a lot of pollution. But hey, that's totally fine because at least their cars are not diesel-powered...

The car producers are reducing the CO2 footprint of their cars at a slower pace than increasing the produced cars. For example: for the last 15 years BMW reduced the CO2 emissions with about (just my assumption, I don't know the exact numbers) 40% but increased the production of cars with 220%. So the decrease of the CO2 emission of a single car can not cope with the increased number of consumers that buy cars and the things are getting worse and worse.