why is the VW TDI not considered a green car?

[TylerP]

Why do the "green" people who make all the lists about the most "green" cars not mention Volkswagen's diesel engines? I own a Passat TDI and I get about 50MPG. Yet i never see anyone talking about the fact that VW has some of the most efficient cars on the market.. And they will outperform any Toyota or Honda hybrid (acceleration and handling) and last a lot longer because the TDI engine is nothing short of bullet proof. At the VW dealer I go to they have plaques with odometers and they are all over 1 million kilometers. Any ideas???By the way, many car companies now have plans to offer small diesel engines like VW.

[hurchelfox]

The green cars put out less pollution. You may be getting 50 mpg but how many pollutants are you putting out??

[bigdummy]

Diesel's are the worst polluters on the market.

[Dana1981MasterofScience6847]

POLLUTION!

[PriusFan]

Prob has to do with smog......but BTW those saying its all about pollution... what diesels put out is mainly soot, which isn't as bad as it looks... esp compared to gasoline motors.

[carcomplaints]

Diesels are often high in NOX emissions and soot emissions. There's nothing "green" about them.As for an VW being bullet-proof, that's kind of hard to swallow.But don't get me wrong, I like the TDI and think it's a great car in many respects.As for 1 million kilometers, I'd like to see some real proof of that...I mean PROOF....I sincerely doubt it, and if you are counting on that for your car you are also counting on living to be 150 years old, because that's about the odds.

[dana19812]

Shows you that it is a visibility thing -this Green labelling thing. So, probably because the diesel puts out visible particles. Visible particles are a no no. Not a matter that visible particles is unburnt fuel. The greens figure nothing visible out of the exhaust is better. Poisonous gases such as carbon monoxide is invisible, yet that is okay. Fuel unburnt, is not released carbon monoxide. Also, the fact of the great fuel economy. Any fuel efficient car should be considered "green". My diesel rabbit got 74 MPG. which means I need less fuel to go from point A to point B and the burning of less fuel has got to help keeping the air cleaner.

[69canam]

I own a 2000 TDI jetta. It also gets approx. 50mpg on a good day. However this engine emits enormous amounts of particulates, and NOx. Significantly more so than a gasser that gets half the mileage. As far as being bullet proof,,,,, Not in my experience, while I like the tdi, it requires someone who doesn't mind working on their car regularly. VW also has one of the lowest quality rankings in the US market. But still I like my jetta, at 102K miles it is the tightest, smoothest most comfortable cars I have ever owned. Godbless.

[andMrsDD]

Sulfur emisions.

[CowboyBill]

"However this engine emits enormous amounts of particulates, and NOx. Significantly more so than a gasser that gets half the mileage"Care to quantify what "significantly" means, especially in terms of the NOx? NOx is a family of gases. The specific NOx emissions from a gas vehicle is different diesels. Some recent studies have even concluded that the NOx from diesel emissions do not contribute to smog formation because the actual component is different. Further, is it right to ignore in the gas engine the invisible particulates (far worse because your lungs can't filter them!) and significantly greater toxic emissions components like CO and benzine? The truth is that emissions of modern diesels are just different, not necessarily worse. But the perception is that they are dirty because you can see the particulates. That too by the way has been significantly reduced now that Ultra Low Sulpher diesel (< 15ppm) is mandated here in the US (Europe has had it for years)It will all be moot in '08 anyway when all vehicles will have to meet the same regulations. '08 and later diesels will have particulate filters and NOx scrubbers (akin to catalytic converters). And yes, the TDI engine is bulletproof (it's the rest of the car that aren't always as reliable).Oh, and one word: biodiesel.Jeff D, 2000 Golf TDI owner.