by 
Perryman
ANSWERS: 15
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diesel engines are harder to maintain....they dont burn as clean as gas....and if the diesel freezes you basicaly need to clean out the engine...its a big hassel.....plus it stinks
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Diesels are not usually as fuel economical as gasoline engines. Diesel engines have thicker walls thus they weigh more, which makes for a heavier vehicle to have to move. Gasoline engines usually produce more horsepower, however diesel engines usually produce more torque, which is why they are used in trucks and heavy equipment. With today's fuels and technology, diesel engines are virtually pollution free.
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They do not work, they did not work and they never will work. this was attempted in the 1970's. the cars and the diesel engines were miserable. The cars had no power. Diesel engines were placed in police cars in the 70's as a test. it did not work. A person on a bicycle could outrun the police car. These vehicles were actually disgusting. The criminals knew it and we knew it.
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As illustrated by the answers already listed here. The perception in North America is that diesel is dirty, unreliable and not very "green". IN the rest of the world for whatever reason the diesel engine doesn't have this same perception.
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The short answer is --- because we blatantly subsidize our petroleum industry so that fuel is cheap. When fuel is cheap, we don't care about fuel economy, so we don't buy diesel vehicles. http://www.icta.org/doc/Real%20Price%20of%20Gasoline.pdf The longer answer is --- Diesel engines have a difficult time meeting the air pollution regulations put in place by the EPA and the California Air Resources Board. The required emissions controls can only operate on fuels with a very low sulfur content, which only recently was required by law in the US. Even with ultra-low sulfur fuel, meeting oxides of nitrogen (NOx) emissions standards requires diesel cars to have exotic new technology (urea injection or ammonia-generating catalysts) that require some operator maintenance. The EPA has been reluctant to certify these technologies because there is a concern that car owners won't properly maintain them. http://www.dieselnet.com/standards/
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Lots of the good Euro engines were banned. Also, emissions have barred some diesel engines if I'm not mistaken. Oh yeah, they're also loud. I'd like one though.
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I recently pulled a 30' trailer with a Ford F350 powerstroke Dually on a whirlwind tour of the NorthWest. Starting in Missouri Going to Minnesota, across SD, MT, WY, ID, and Wa, and turning back through Idaho, Wyoming, Colorado and Kansas. I can tell you without hesitation that the diesel engine does a lot better pulling a heavy load than a gasoline engine. This particular truck was ridiculously slow to accelerate (trailer or not), but could lug 15 thousand pounds of weight over a mountain without a complaint. A gasoline motor would have sounded like it was going to come apart. Fuel became incredibly hard to find in northern Montana. I hit a point where I had to consider 1/2 tank as empty, and refuel at the very next stop. Had I not done this, I would have been walking (at least until the bears got me). Diesel fuel is not good in colder climates because it gels up... Hence the poor availability of diesel fuel in the northern states. Mostly... Since most of us are not hauling freight, we prefer the better acceleration and quietness of a gasoline engine.
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I drive one It excedes the legal limit excesively its cleaner than the petrol equivelent and as i do in exccess of 30k a year a damn sight cheaper. So there!!
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Like many of the other distortions in the US economy, it is purely due to subsidies, in this case those available for petroleum. Incidentally, modern diesel engines can be as quiet as a petrol engine. The disel Jaguar S Type being a case in point.
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They STINK! They cost more money. Diesel fuel cost a lot more. They are noisy. The smoke sticks to your car. You would have to drive a hundred miles every day to make it worthwhile. They have no pick-up. And on and on and on!
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Here is a site that busts a few myths about diesel: http://bankspower.com/tech_aboutdieselfuel.cfm And when talking about 'freezing' or 'gelling' at low temps, don't forget that freezing used to be a problem in winter with gasoline engines too - the water that could accumulate in the gas tank would freeze until the gasoline companies started putting gas-line anti-freeze into their product in the winter. No doubt, the whiz kids could come up with a comparable solution for diesel as well, if they haven't already. As has already been mentioned in other answers, diesel is commonly used in many areas of the developped world with no great disasters caused by myriads of stalled cars blocking the roads. And some of those areas are cold in the winter, too.
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There are so few because we, the consumers, don't want them. There are countries, like France, where most of the cars on the roads are diesel. Diesel fuel is less complicated to produce than gasoline and should be cheaper. It isn't. I don't know why. A person working for a major refiner and marketer would need to tell us the reasons. A turbo diesel engine, as found in the E-class mercedes sold in Europe is not slow, loud, or stinky. I am certain this stereotype of the 'slow, stinky, loud' diesel is not accurate. Any motor can be made loud. I believe Audi recently captured a land speed record (for diesels) with a turbo-diesel. Proof that any motor can be made fast. Stinky? The high efficiency diesels sold by VW, Mercedes, BMW, Renault, Peugeot, and Citroen don't produce clouds of sooty smoke. My old Mercedes (circa '83) does produce sooty smoke if I don't keep it in tune. However, I do enjoy seeing a tailgater disapper in a cloud of noxious gases....
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My son drives a 2002 VW Jetta 1.9 Diesel. Recently drove it to Florida on Vacation, 75-80MPH @ 54 MPG. Now I can't even by a VW Diesel in USA, rather have to be satisfied with 32MPH on gasoline in 2008. I feel EPA is ripping Americans off, and we let them do it. I believe EPA is in bed with big oil...They just don't want us using diesel.
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diesels have the reputation of being slower, noisier,and a maintenance nightmare due to the GENERAL MOTORS DISASTER..called the 350 diesel. GM thought they could take the 350 chevrolet engine block,crankshaft, and some internal parts and use it as a start for a diesel engine...they were completely wrong.Although the 350 is almost indestructible on gasoline it could not withstand the compression of a diesel and the engines self-destructed ...they were junk...this has made the American public extremely "gun shy" of diesel engines
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Horrible emissions, noise, and diesel fuel is nearly $5 a gallon.
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