I like it. Hook me up!
Honestly!!
My list of positives towards this:
+1: Diesel motors last...forever. Exaggeration, but 99% of people will agree.
+1: Diesel engines are (yes, I'm going to say it) CLEAN. Thanks to after-treatment, its high compression ration, super-hot burn etc, etc...they're probably cleaner than gas engines.
+1: There's enough torque to detune it and still provide whiplash-inducing performance while getting 40+ mpg. Take that f'n prius!!
+1: The fuel economy these engine produce (especially in small cars) is phenominal. There's a reason the Prius was beating in a fuel-economy test vs the BMW 520d (for diesel)
+1: In terms of alternative energy, Biodiesel seems more easily produceable than other fuels (Ethanol, green gasoline, etc, etc). So these things will be around for a while as America's workhorse (trains, trucks, and some automobiles). And diesel fuel is much more energy-rich than gasoline allowing much of what I'm "+1-ing" to happen...
+1: These things have enough torque to reach outrageous high speeds. People say horsepower is the ruler of top-speed. While that may be true, it takes 2 things to make high horsepower: rpms and torque. So if you have low rpms (deisel) compensate for it in high torque (diesel).
+1: There is an aftermarket and racing future for diesels. I believe somebody posted up videos of a turbo-guy raving about Turbo desiels as being the wave of the future, or something or other...he's not wrong. They're most effective being so brutally powerful. I believe Audi fitted a deisel to their R8 supercar? hmmmmm
-2: In order to handle the massive torque these things put out you're going to need an incredibly robust vehicle, meaning weight in reinforcements, etc. So don't look for any weight savings by going deisel. In addition, deisel engines are expensive to a comparable-hp gas engine. All that after-treatment and emmissions equipment are expensive additions to the engine itself.
I'd go for it.....seriously.
Fun tidbit for everybody -- the NOx after treatment involves
urea.....
Not kidding.
(and I know, it's not pee...but it sounds funny
)