There is a massive misconception with diesel fuel. Per gallon it might appear to be more efficient, however in terms of CO2 emissions and particulate emissions it isn't. Also I strongly approve of the sulfur restrictions. It is also better for the engines.

That's actually the misconception. Cars and SUVs today equipped with diesel are not significantly different in their environmental footprints. And considering diesel is much more energy efficient than gasoline and it requires less refining, there's even less going into the environment.

Diesel is just as good if not better for the environment in many circumstances. US regulations on it are effectively a scapegoat against the trucking industry and to protect American car manufacturers/oil refineries who have more to gain by having cars run on gas. 51% of cars in Europe are diesel, and the Europeans have significantly tighter environmental regulations then the US. Diesel is also significantly cheaper there.

The majority of pollution is produced when a vehicle starts up. If you want to have this argument I am more than willing to.

it was 3.29 at some places in SC when i left for San Fran 2 weeks ago
Came home last night to places as low as 2.77
A pretty big dip. As far as I know its just due to supply vs demand, and the supply is in much excess, especially considering the US is one of (or THE?) largest producer of oil in the world right now.

The pathetic part is the last time oil was this cheap gas was well below a dollar a liter...yet people seem grateful to be paying 1.20....

And who's going to try and make the argument that somehow production costs have risen 30% or more in the past 5 years?

We are being hosed badly....and we're happy to have it done

So? This isn't 1973. Most people couldn't tell a modern clean diesel from your regular gasoline engine anyway. No black soot, no dark exhaust, no smell, no tractor roar. Diesel engines are clean. The greenest non-electric car in the world is a hybrid turbodiesel.

The black soot isn't the problem, it's NOx, SOx, CO that you don't s