Myths behind diesel vehicles - A personal approach
Each day we are reading news regarding public policies on European level against producing, selling and at the end of the day usage of internal combustion engine operated vehicles. Parallel to this, there is a constant promotion of electric vehicles. This promotion disregards the current reality of using an electricity produced from environmentally hazardous materials, creation of toxic waste, issues with recycling etc. But, lets put that aside for a moment.
I would like to speak a bit of our daily companions - cars. We are still using internal combustion engine powered vehicles, but with a lot of negative campaign against diesels, which were the go-to cars back in the days (until few years ago), now many are buying the "greener" petrol powered cars. Every day drivers, influenced by the media choose to buy a new car running on petrol, not going into the specification of the car and their range of engines. What gave me an idea to write this brief article (even so, being my first article:) ), was to demystify the level of toxic emissions for which I had a few arguments with acquaintances so far. This level also was one of the few key reasons when I choose my own car. From the range of petrol and diesel power engines I choose the greenest (check the circular red below. Yes it is a diesel!)
Of course there were other reasons, like design, quality, performance, current/future usage of the car etc. But, most importantly, to suit my needs and make my life easier. I choose the 1.6 TDI Karoq and have no regrets whatsoever.
Regardless, concerning the inevitable electrification of our cars, that I must say I fully support (especially as a tech person), we first need to make the whole "electrical cycle" sustainable - not to go with our heads against the wall. After all, my advice would be to research more and get informed so you can base your decision on facts. This is the first thing that I do for a lot smaller purchases than this.
P.S. for those with truly environmentally friendly approach, I am using bicycle on my daily commute whenever the weather allows it. :)
Ivo Ivanovski, MSc.