How Much Are You Spending Online for Diesel Parts? Nope, Higher. Nope, Even Higher
Would you believe more than a million fargin' dollars in one month?! Terapeak is a developer of market-focused research software and was therefore able to determine that from January 25 to February 23, almost $1.3 million in diesel parts were sold through online auctions. Engine and related components were about a third of that figure ($326,675), while fuel delivery and air intake came in second ($251,997). Want to guess what the most profitable components were in the fuel-delivery category? Eh, you're bad at this game, so we'll just tell you: fuel injectors ($70,006). And people like chips, too ($208,081).
The Longevity of Vehicles
R.L. Polk & Co. has created a vehicle-population report,and the research geeks have calculated that the median age of passenger cars currently on the road jumped to 9.2 years old in 2006 (they say that's an all-time high). The trucks saw a slight bump from last year, to 6.9 years. More than 230 million vehicles were analyzed.P.S. The total number of cars and trucks scrapped in 2006 was 5 percent, a historic low.
Audi's Diesel Web Site
One of the party favors that Audi is now handing out for its Bluetec diesel-engine initiative in the United States (with Volkswagen and DaimlerChrysler) is a dedicated Web site, www.audiusdiesel.com. Naturally, you'll find oodles of info on Bluetec, but you can also kill time at the office by watching racing videos of the R10 diesel from Le Mans, including pit-stop action and in-cab interviews and views. Plus, you can check out specs and stats on diesel production vehicles, such as the Q7.
Minivans Go Diesel
There is rumbling that Chrysler is considering shoving a Mercedes-Benz diesel powerplant into its minivans. Given that Chrysler is the last of the Big Three to still offer a minivan after everyone else high-tailed it out of the segment, and also seeing that Chrysler's future is all atwitter, hmmm...
Delphi's New Diesel Technology
Ammonia levels are pretty important when it comes to clean emissions. For vehicles with a selective catalytic reduction (SCR) after-treatment system, Delphi is designing an ammonia sensor to further improve the efficiency of a diesel engine and what it puts out (to automakers' glee, no doubt, because emissions regulations are, dare we say, a challenge?). The company hopes to have the sensor in production by 2010 for light-, medium-, and heavy-duty diesel vehicles. Delphi says its unit should help the SCR converter operate at high efficiencies, equaling the potential for more cost-effective ways for the automakers to meet those regulations.