[6pack] Hemmings email - non LBC

[John Macartney]

Joseph Grant wrote:
> I was surprised to see a vast amount of diesel powered vehicles.  Ditto for
> city streets, either in Madrid, Barcelona, Seville, etc.

Small high speed diesels in cars have been popular in Europe for decades, accounting for substantial 
percentages in new car sales. Longevity and fuel economy are the key features that endear them to 
many, while the cost of fuel in many European countries is significantly lower than gasoline. I've 
run several diesel cars myself and my last one was a 1.9 litre Citroen Xantia with a turbocharger as 
stock. With this car, I regularly achieved nearly 50mpg on mixed driving and with no loss of 
performance in high speed driving. The days when small diesels were a pain to use because of their 
noise, vibration and exhaust smell are over. They are quiet, amazingly smooth, very responsive with 
truckloads of torque at very low rpm and supremely reliable. I suppose the only downside I can think 
of is the clatter on a cold start. Sounds rather like fire-irons being thrown down a metal staircase 
but that's a very small price to pay for the incredible economy, relaibility and driving pleasure 
that they offer. Were Triumphs still being made, there is no doubt a range of diesels would feature 
prominently in the product offering, bearing in mind that sports cars were only a small proportion 
of the company's total output.

Jonmac