Does Dieselgate Accelerate the Growth of Electric Vehicles?
Among my automotive engineering friends, we have asked for many years, "How does VW make a Diesel engine so clean with so little clean up equipment...and get such good fuel economy?!" Sadly, we now know the answer: VW CHEATED!
On the positive side, is it possible that Dieselgate will be the event that convinces traditional car manufacturers to "shift gears" and begin investing seriously in electric vehicles? I think so, but would like to hear the thoughts of others.
The difficulty of making a "clean Diesel" reminds me of the final days of picture tube-based big screen TVs. I think the biggest was about 43" and weighed over 400 lbs! Anyone could see that flat panels were the future, but if all your engineers knew was picture tubes, you told them to make 'em bigger....right up until the day you went out of business.
Here is a graphic that helps us grasp the simplicity of a Tesla verses the complexity of a diesel. The handwriting is on the wall!