The FedEx guy dropped by on his route to look at the Scorpion. He's a nice guy and having dropped off stuff and having watched me bolt stuff on, he (like the UPS man) are now friends of mine. They often stop if they have some slack in their schedule, share a Diet Coke and BS about off-road stuff, politics, etc.
I was washing the Scorpion at the time and mentioned that I wished that Toyota would offer a diesel engine option for the FJ.
He pointed to his FedEx truck and told me that FedEx was sending all of their diesel delivery trucks to other states and that they were buying new gasoline engine trucks for California.
huh?
He said that the diesel emissions standards in California were so tough that none of their trucks could meet them and they were getting tougher.
So I did some research: California Diesel Risk Reduction Program
"Following the identification of diesel particulate matter as a toxic air contaminant (TAC) in 1998, the California Air Resources Board (ARB) developed a comprehensive strategy to control diesel PM emissions. The “Risk Reduction Plan to Reduce Particulate Matter Emissions from Diesel-Fueled Engines and Vehicles”—a document approved by ARB in September 2000—set goals to reduce diesel PM emissions in California by 75% by 2010 and 85% by 2020.
"This objective would be achieved by a combination of approaches (including emission regulations for new diesel engines and low sulfur fuel program). An important part of the Diesel Risk Reduction Plan are measures for various categories of in-use on- and off-road diesel engines, which are generally based on the following types of controls:
"Retrofitting engines with emission control systems, such as diesel particulate filters or oxidation catalysts, replacement of existing engines with new technology diesel engines or natural gas engines, and restrictions placed on the operation of existing equipment.
"Tthe ARB regulations should not be confused with the rules by South Coast Air Quality Management District—adopted in 2000 and later invalidated by US Supreme Court—which attempted to ban the purchase of diesel vehicles, regardless of their PM emission level. (emphasis added)"
Maybe that explains Toyota's reluctance to sell diesel powered FJ's. Especially if they're somehow made ILLEGAL to operate in some US markets. You know that if California takes these air pollution measures, other urban areas will follow at some point.
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There is nothing like returning to a place that remains unaltered, to find the ways that you have changed.
I really hate CARB, they make no sense half the time.
__________________ "Because in the end it has almost nothing to do with the bike and everything to do with setting
out to accomplish something that is intimidating, that is unknown to you, something you know you
have a good chance of failing at but doing it anyways and slowly but surely proving yourself wrong." Mike Ambs
www.corva.org "Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom must undergo the fatigue of supporting it."
- Thomas Paine
That sounds about right for our wonderful comrades in Sacramento. I knew the red star on the state flag meant something! I think the hammer and sickle will replace the bear in short order....
This is what I think - and I honestly don't know what goes on in the Mind-of-Toyota. I suspect Toyota Corporate is waiting until the diesel standards work themselves out before seeing what they can sell in the US. There have been moves (as quoted earlier) to outlaw all diesel engines in California. The Supreme Court shut them down, but nobody knows how repressive those rules will get.
I don't know what Toyota's design lead time is from concept to market, but it's got to be about 4-5 years minimum. Why spend the money when you don't know whether or not you can sell the product in 5 years?
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There is nothing like returning to a place that remains unaltered, to find the ways that you have changed.
As a diesel Super Duty driver I can relate and relay the mass hatred and scorn we diesel owners are spewing toward the Fed's and the emissions standard
They have just imparted a new ULSD (Ultra Low Sulfur Diesel) standard for 2008 vehicles and an even tougher set of standards goes into effect January of 2010. The manufactures had one h ell of a time getting the motors to meet the current standard and the means by which they have done so means that where my 2003 F350 4x4 Crew got 22+mpg, my new 2008 F250 4x4 crew gets 13 (on a good day). Part of the new higher cost of diesel is “said” to be all the additional refining required to make the fuel meet this ULSD standard.
Part of the reason my new super duty is such a hog is the system that helps the motor meet the standards called a “DPF” (Diesel Particulate Filter). The filter itself adds some restrictions but it’s the method used to “self clean” the filter that eats fuel. When the filter gets “full” the computer injects diesel into it to “burn” away the particulate matter in a process called “Regeneration” which results in rolling white smoke, crappy performance and oh...the good part…half of my MPG being dumped straight into the exhaust system. So where I use to get cheaper fuel and 45% more MPG I now pay 20% more for fuel and get half the MPG. The whole environmental pendulum has swung to the insane! God help us when 2010 gets here.
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Life is a Bad Hare Day
“Why can we remember the tiniest detail that has happened to us, and not remember how many times we have told it to the same person.”
huh?
Linear Mode
