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Opening doors for diesel
That there are over 130 million passenger cars in the States comes
as no surprise. What is perhaps more remarkable is that fewer than
one percent of those cars are powered by diesel. Modern diesel is
cleaner and more efficient than its predecessors, in the right engine,
its performance rivals gasoline and it is more pleasant to use and
handle. So why, when diesel is proving so popular in Europe, should
the US preference be so different? And what must change if diesel
is to achieve European-scale successes in America?
Testing times at the top end
"Engines are probably the most sophisticated product the consumer
gets at low cost" says Mike Monaghan, Technical Director at Ricardo
Consulting Engineers Ltd. And you need only look at the myriad features
of modern engines to appreciate the truth in his statement. But
new engine technologies present not only leading edge engineering,
but some pose some considerable challenges in lubrication.
Chemical caretaking
Every day we come into contact with hundreds of chemical substances,
but how do we ensure their safety - through experience or through
rigorous testing? New chemicals always receive intense scrutiny,
but now the time has come to take a closer look at materials we
may have been using for years.
Economy to help the environment
Fuel economy is generally perceived as being a good thing - everyone
likes to think that they're getting more miles out of a tank of
gasoline. But there is more to fuel economy developments than simply
making savings at the fuel pump. Less fuel burned means lower emissions.
And with many nations striving to reduce pollution, every contribution
is a welcome one. Now, new fuel efficient lubricants promise to
reinforce the move toward increasingly economical vehicles, but
their development presents a number of challenges.
Peter Ellis Jones on the driving forces and economics of the
oil industry
Vice President of the Institute of Petroleum, Treasurer of the World
Petroleum Congress and Managing Director of his own consultancy,
Tawe Oil Managements Ltd, Peter Ellis Jones has spent many years
of close involvement with aspects of the oil industry. His experience
spans areas as diverse as exploration, finance and arbitration.
Lesley Welbourne seeks his view of the industry economics and what
the future may bring.
The Americas - No two-stroke for Tahoe?
There is no doubt that conventional two-stroke engines have relatively
poor environmental performance. In California, where emissions and
environmental regulations are about as stringent as they come, a
variety of proposals have been made for laws to limit their use,
particularly outboards used on reservoirs which are sources of drinking
water. In parallel, a number of strategies are being developed to
improve their environmental friendliness. George L'Heureux reports.
Asia Pacific - Setting standards
April 1999 saw the world-wide launch of the first Japanese performance
classifications for four-stroke motorcycle engine oils - JASO T903.
Performance labelling of oils will start in July of this year. John
Smythe reports the details of the new classification.
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