[Christ]

Originally Posted by roflwaffle

They do measure emissions in grams/mile, but if a vehicle was large enough it used to be able to get into a relatively favorable emissions bracket, eg a 2003 H3 may have gotten by w/ more pollution in g/mile than a 2003 TDI powered VW. As of 2009 everything up to 10000 GVWR has to conform to the same standards if I'm reading that correctly, so everything is pretty fair. If a small diesel compact can't get below .07g/mile of NOx while a full size diesel Dodge pickup can, then I agree w/ the standards dictating that it shouldn't be sold here.

Knowing that changes the game just a little bit, then. I agree that if a smaller car can't match the emissions of a full size truck, there's a problem.

Of course, if a smaller, lighter, more aerodynamic car is making nearly the same HP as a much larger/heavier truck, it will make more particulate emissions because the engine won't be loaded sufficiently to be efficient, and will be burning fuel uselessly. Does that make sense? Seems like taking some of the power away from the car, or chaning the power curve itself to allow for more load at lower RPM, while still allowing the power to be "fun" when the operator requests it is in order?