E85 and Diesel

I came across an article in the USA Today archive recently.  It compares the prices of bio-ethanol to normal petrol and in particular to diesel.

I had originally planned to buy a diesel car before I found out about bio-ethanol.  I wanted the cheaper fuel and the ability to drive further on one tank of it.

But in Germany, diesel cars are taxed more.  So unless you manage a certain amount of kilometers each year, the saving on the fuel is cancelled out by the higher tax.

These days, diesel drivers are unhappy that the price of their fuel has almost matched that of normal petrol, making it bizarrely more expensive to drive a diesel car than a petrol one.  The only benefit is the distance that you can get without having to fill up again.

Since I tend not to drive long distances with my bio-ethanol car, it looks like I took the right decision after all.

Diesel prices and the Green Party

Back in the 1990s I remember the Green Party in Germany promising to raise the price of petrol to 5DM per Litre (around 2,50EUR). This may have just been campaigning to make their point against fossil fuels, particularly at a time when they had not been confronted with the problem of actually running the Government.

I remember a comedian on the German version of “Have I Got News For You?” even accused them once of not keeping their campaign promises – because the price of petrol still hadn’t reached that point yet.

Ten years later and that promise may be about to come true. A petrol station in Devon recently charged almost 2GBP (about 2,44EUR) per litre for diesel! Even in Germany the price of diesel has now caught up with that of the normal 95-octane fuel.

Most petrol stations here are displaying only two prices: one price for 98-octane fuel, and one for everything else! It has now become much more expensive to drive anywhere on normal petrol or diesel than ever before. And yet I still don’t see many petrol stations here offering alternatives. I still don’t see better public transport, except for special events.

I’ve read recently about new high-speed train lines being considered in the UK, about new driver-less underground trains in Nuremberg and about towns in Germany introducing mandatory solar panels on building.

Is my part of Germany starting to fall behind?

Diesel prices and the Green Party

Back in the 1990s I remember the Green Party in Germany promising to raise the price of petrol to 5DM per Litre (around 2,50EUR). This may have just been campaigning to make their point against fossil fuels, particularly at a time when they had not been confronted with the problem of actually running the Government.

I remember a comedian on the German version of “Have I Got News For You?” even accused them once of not keeping their campaign promises – because the price of petrol still hadn’t reached that point yet.

Ten years later and that promise may be about to come true. A petrol station in Devon recently charged almost 2GBP (about 2,44EUR) per litre for diesel! Even in Germany the price of diesel has now caught up with that of the normal 95-octane fuel.

Most petrol stations here are displaying only two prices: one price for 98-octane fuel, and one for everything else! It has now become much more expensive to drive anywhere on normal petrol or diesel than ever before. And yet I still don’t see many petrol stations here offering alternatives. I still don’t see better public transport, except for special events.

I’ve read recently about new high-speed train lines being considered in the UK, about new driver-less underground trains in Nuremberg and about towns in Germany introducing mandatory solar panels on building.

Is my part of Germany starting to fall behind?

Please click on ACCEPT to give us permission to set cookies [more information]

This website uses cookies to give you the best browsing experience possible. Cookies are small text files that are stored by the web browser on your computer. Most of the cookies that we use are so-called “Session cookies”. These are automatically deleted after your visit. The cookies do not damage your computer system or contain viruses. Please read our privacy information page for more details or to revoke permission.

Close