The mystery of the price of gasoline

We are in the middle of August and the asphalt burns, not just by the sun. The massive holiday displacements reach their peak and thousands of drivers look sideways at the fuel marker before embarking. In a summer marked by energy volatility, the cost of filling the deposit is again the protagonist, with ups and downs that depend on both the global and the gas station that is chosen. A fall that barely feels. According to the latest data from the European Union Petroleum Bulletinthe average price in Spain is 1,483 euros per liter for 95 and 1,424 euros for diesel. Testimonial declines are: 0.2 less for gasoline and 0.8 cents for diesel compared to the previous week. In the supplier, the difference is practically imperceptible. Compared to a year ago, savings is more visible – a 7.3% less in gasoline and 2.8% in diesel – but filling today an average 55 -liter deposit continues to hover the 81 euros in gasoline and 78 in diesel. And, as a Facua study recalls cited by the countrythat invoice depends so much or more on the gas station than on the international market: reposting diesel in Murcia can cost up to 79 more cents per liter between the most expensive and cheapest station. Factors that press up. At the international level, the price of Brent crude – reference in Europe – is around $ 67.27 per barrel. OPEC+ has announced which will increase the offer in 547,000 barrels per day as of September, but this type of movements takes to reflect in the suppliers. Within Spain, electricity remains an inflationary engine. The INE has confirmed That the IPC rose to 2.7%, its highest level since February, due to a price increase of 17.3% and, to a lesser extent, of fuels. Transportation, which includes fuels, plane tickets and combined passenger transport, also rose 0.2%. Facua has warned in a report for the country That price disparity is not a matter of quality, but of competition, location and commercial margins. The risk of calm will last little. The Savings Banks Foundation (Funcas) provides that inflation reaches 3% in September, As detailed in the voice of Galicia. If it is fulfilled, that pressure could be transferred back to gasoline and diesel, especially in a context where electricity and food continue to take care after the end of the VAT reduction. The Ministry of Economy insists that the Spanish economy maintains “a strong dynamism” and that employment and salary increases cushion the impact, but for the average driver the sensation is another: pay the same – or more – for each kilometer. Beyond refueling. In this context, choosing well where to refuel can be a remarkable savings. Tools like The Facua search engine They allow to locate the most economical stations in each area. Even so, reposting in Spain is still somewhat cheaper than in much of Europe. The difference is around 14 cents per liter in gasoline and about 13 cents in diesel in front of the EU average, and reaches 20 cents if compared to the euro zone. Glimpseing the rebound. The slight price drop in August does not change the general photo: the fuel is still expensive and the forces that push it up there are still there. The relief, if it can be called that, could be just an intermediate before the score rises again. In August, as important as choosing fate is to decide where and when to fill the tank. Image | Pxhere Xataka | That almost all cars in a country were electric seemed like a chimera. Until a poor and remote country got it

We thought that gasoline cars were much cleaner than diesel. We did not have the effect of the sun

For every 100 cars that are sold in Spain, just five are diesel. They are the latest data we have in Spain of registration, which reflects to what extent the diesel (despite having market niches in which It is still profitable) It has become an almost banished fuel in our country. And although it may be weird, it does not make 70% of the cars we bought were diesel moved. In fact, just over a decade ago. In 2014 the diesel lived his golden age. From its 70.06% market share It has plummeted. There are numerous factors that explain the rise and fall of diesel. For years, its price was so cheap (in fact it is still subsidized) than each buyer He poured liter calculations consumed For every 100 kilometers to know how long it would take to make investment profitable since they used to be more expensive motorizations. But over the years, emission regulations were drowning the diesel. Especially after the famous Dieselgate in which it was discovered that the Volkswagen Group (first defendant) and other companies trucan their emissions to offer data within the legality in the homologation exams to, outside them, contaminate more than allowed. With Euro 6, diesel were put much more complicated since 2015. For sample, the comparison between the demands made to diesel engines compared to gasoline and that You can read in this extensive article of Xataka in which all the normative change was explained: Limits for a gasoline engine CO (carbon monoxide): 1.0 g/km HC (total hydrocarbons): 0.10 g/km NOX (nitrogen oxides): 0.060 g/km HC + NOX (hydrocarbons and nitrogen oxides): 0.160 g/km (approx.) PM (suspended particles): 0.005 g/km P (number of particles): 6×10^11/km (6×10^12/km for three years for direct injection) Limits for a diesel engine CO (carbon monoxide): 0.50 g/km HC (total hydrocarbons): 0.09 g/km (approx.) NOX (nitrogen oxides): 0.080 g/km HC + Nox (hydrocarbons and nitrogen oxides): 0.170 g/km PM (suspended particles): 0.005 g/km P (number of particles): 6×10^11/km The problem is that, due to its own operation, A diesel is less pollutant in CO2 that a gasoline but expels many more particle emissions than They are very dangerous to the health of the human beinglike the Nitrogen oxides (NOX). Although the value was slightly higher for diesel, emission regulations were forcing manufacturers to squeeze the brain. With Euro 5 the particle filter. From Euro 6, the Adblue. These measures ended up banishing diesel engines of smaller cars. Well because they contaminated too much or because innovations to be installed in them It was more expensive both the product that did not make it viable. If we take into account the increase in the product, the bad reputation after the dieselgate and the innumerable statements On a rise in the price of fuel, now it is better understood The sudden drop in sales. All this explanation makes sense. Do you remember that Euro 5 forced to mount particle filters in diesel cars? And that with the Dieselgate the cars reflected some emission figures that were not real? A study now indicates something similar for gasoline cars. It is not that they are cheating, they point out that the emission regulations itself may not be enough to tell us how pollutants are our cars. A little effective particle filter In short, a particle filter is a kind of mesh that catches larger pollutant emissions before expelling them to the atmosphere through the exhaust pipe. Taking advantage of the heat of gases, the mesh takes temperature and burns the particles, reducing emissions. That is a problem in the cars that start and stop every time or those that do many kilometers by city because the engine does not give time to take the temperature enough to burn these particles and the filter ends up collapsing, causing a somewhat expensive breakdown. For some years, emission regulations have forced gasoline cars to also mont particle filters to get emissions not to exceed the allowed limits. However, as a gasoline engine works at a higher temperature, It is more complicated to fall into these types of situations. However, a study published in Science Advances He has pointed out a problem: they are not enough. The particle filter aims to reduce the Volume of fine particles that are expelled to the atmosphere, PM2.5. And they get it, according to researchers but that is not enough to ensure that their toxicity is lower. They point out in their study that it is not enough to measure emissions just after combustion, they should be studied how they behave once in the atmosphere. And how do they behave?: Bad. They point out that, once in the air, the experts expelled are exposed to sunlight and that they cause a series of transformations that make them remarkably more toxic to the human being. They explain in Phys.org that the modification of the particles caused damage to the human DNA and in cells that we find in our bronchi. It is what they call “photochemical aging” that causes particles to increase their toxicity generating “oxygenated volatile compounds, such as carbonilos.” In the article they point out that Dr. Mathilde Delaval, the first author of the study and researcher at Helmholtz Munich, says that “our study shows that we are missing a large part of the panorama by not considering How exhaust gases changeand become more harmful, after leaving the car. “ The study is partially financed by the European Union and in it they have intervened in one way or another universities and laboratories of Germany, Finland and Switzerland. Photo | Nursultan Abakirov and Romanov Nick In Xataka | Diesel or gasoline: what are the differences and which one is better to buy according to your use

The owner of a Tesla Model and set out to come to Everest with his electric car. And he had a great idea called gasoline

There is an obvious reason that continues to wear the sale of electric cars in Spain: the alleged lack of loaders. In Xataka We have already tried that it is not so much a lack of loaders as a evident invisibility of them and one lack of trust in your reliabilitywhich causes doubts that they have thought or might think of making the leap. On our trip From Berlin to Madrid aboard a Tesla Model 3 We verify that Europe is very nourished by chargers of all kinds, from rapids that allow recharging while you eat to the slow ones to use while you make night, passing through the ultra -graphs that on the service roads put the car in tune in a few minutes. But, as much as we want, we talk about Europe and not all places have the same facilities. You just have to look at the United States where recharge network It is much more scarce and unreliable than in our continent, which is delaying the adoption of technology. So, can we travel anywhere in the world with an electric car? Could we match the trip that this influencer is making for Carry your Fiat Marea to Japan from Spain? Could we, for example, go to Everest by electric car? Common sense tells us no. But it’s just that, common sense. A tesla, a generator and the roof of the world Common sense, beyond the manida phrase that it is the least common of the senses, is also fluctuating. What for some may seem an impossible mission, for others, simply, it is as easy as taking appropriate measures and adapting to each situation. That is why the owner of a Tesla Moder and did not see any problem in taking his car and putting Rumbo to Everest. If on the road I could find the electricity assortment, it was the least, it would manufacture it. As? Obviously, with an electric generator moved by gasoline. The story is told in Carnewschina where it is explained that the owner of the electric car created its own version of “extended autonomy.” To do this, he installed an 8 kW gasoline generator at the rear of the car. With him underway, he could fill the Tesla Model battery and a power similar to that of a domestic plug, specifically 3 kW. In the middle they point out that at that rate The Tesla recovered 19 kilometers Of autonomy every hour and that, full of the tank, the cargo of the car could be sustained for nine and a half hours. That is, at full capacity the generator could deliver about 180 kilometers of autonomy to the car during, for example, a plugged night. Only in this way has Lhatse County, Tibet region very close to Everest that is already 5,300 meters high. The adventure and its result can be seen in this video where the car owner tells his experience and shows how the system works. Although it is understood why this can be called Tesla Model and a “extended range” car or “extended autonomy”, we must bear in mind that it does not work as a vehicle that implements this technology to use. Simply use the electricity generator as a mobile plug that has to be fed by a fossil fuel. An extended rank electric car is one that is mostly used as an electric and takes advantage of gasoline in a very punctual way. This works, for example, a Mazda MX-30. In this case, it is the car itself that functions as an electricity generating station. The gasoline engine generates electricity that is sent to the battery and nourishes the electric motors that are the ones that move the car. When operating in a concrete regime of revolutions per minute, the gasoline engine always works in its most efficient range and, such as electric motors that move the wheels, although the combustion engine is in operation the touch of the car is still very similar to that of an electric. These types of cars are widely used in China because extended rank electric are considered New energy vehicles (NEV) and are classified at the same level as electric cars even though, in the background, it is plug -in hybrids and can emit CO2 and any other contaminating particle typical of a gasoline engine. In Spain, these cars also have zero dgt emissions sticker as electric since their autonomy is greater than 45 kilometers. But, in addition, they can receive the same aids as MOVES III PLAN that an electric car as long as they exceed 90 km of completely electric autonomy. Photo | @xiamo In Xataka | We have traveled 2,500 kilometers with an electric car and we have learned something: diesel is still the king

put a gasoline engine

“Between 2033 and 2035”. That was the approximate date that Volkswagen gave to stop selling vehicles with internal combustion engine in Europe. Obviously, he also talked about plug -in hybrids. It was the year 2021 And the industry seemed to walk to “all electric” in our continent In the middle of a fever that pushed brands to show themselves as the fastest company to jump into the electric car. Shortly after, in 2022, The company was more concise and began to make it clear that the electric car prioritized against combustion but sales They have not finished accompanying. Although the commitment to the electric car has been giant within the company, to the point of compromise your accounts in the short termit has not been until this year and taking advantage of a hard Tesla crisis when they have achieved sell more electric vehicles than those of Elon Musk. The results, therefore, do not seem to be expected. And, consequently, they have already begun to slide that perhaps they were wrong with their focus. This is what the words of Martin Sander, a member of the Volkswagen Sales and Marketing Council to Auto Express during the last Shanghai Motor Show. The Chinese secret of the extended range “I think that for a long time we will see combustion engines in our vehicles but for a different purpose. We believe that in Europe there will be space for an autonomy extensor on the road to the battery electric car,” Sander told the English environment. In his statements, the Volkswagen executive stressed that the company was fixing what happens around it: “Here in China we will have autonomy extensors with possibly 250-300 km of electric autonomy. The combustion engine on board is basically a generator to load the battery.” This peculiar plug -in hybrid is what in Europe we know as an extended range electric, a very little used formula but that more and more companies begin to see in it a short -term solution in the transition to the electric car. Is the one that implements Mazda at MX-30 But it is also a formula that has triumphed in China and that begins to export to Europe. In this case, the car uses a battery of a considerable size that allows you to travel the 250 or 300 kilometers in electric mode mentioned by Sander. The combustion engine only nourishes a gas tank designed exclusively to support the electric motor in case of emergency since those electrical kilometers should be enough for the vast majority of trips. When the combustion engine comes into operation, it acts as a series hybrid. That is, the engine generates electricity to the battery by burning the fuel and it is the battery that nourishes electric motors that, in turn, push the wheels. What is achieved is that the touch of the car is very similar to that of an electric despite being moved by gasoline, as is the case in the Nissan Qashqai. These types of solutions are common in China. Small electric cars succeed in the Asian country because cities are huge and longer trips are not usually done by car. However, those who do need this support for a gasoline engine have extended range electricity that are cars that are categorized as electric (both options are called “New energy vehicles”), with the tax advantages that this implies. The solution can be especially interesting for Volkswagen in Europe. Since 2025, the homologation of plug -in hybrids has changed, reflecting the Triple of emissions that so far Despite being the same car. This complicates things when fulfilling Maximum emissions imposed by 2027. Before, a plug -in hybrid was the shortest and most attractive path to reduce emissions, today it is no longer such a useful path. However, if the electrical autonomy of plug -in hybrids sold in Europe (which in most cases does not reach 100 km of approved electrical autonomy) duplicate or triple this figure, CO2 emissions in homologation will fall dramatically, bringing emissions objectives. This extended range electric option is something that is also playing Mazda to offer sports cars not including a huge battery that ruins its historical commitment to lightness and light cars. Photo | Volkswagen In Xataka | “It is not sustainable”: Mazda does not believe in the future of electric cars with large autonomies

Emchshots as a gasoline classic

“The first mini-electric sport.” These are the words that Renault has chosen to present all the details of the RENAULT 5 TURBO 3E. The French company has confirmed what the reinterpretation in electric form of the myth will be, of the Renault 5 Turbo. After a first advance in format of Renderswe now have all the details. The electric car faces a gigantic challenge: to convince that electric can be equally emotional as a combustion car. Renault has decided to take this challenge for the hand to become a reference. Renault, Bandera Emotion The choice of Renault 5 as the electrical model of the French brand was not accidental. As we explain in this articlethe companies are pointing to the heart of their potential customers remembering vehicles with which they lived in their childhood or trying to establish bridges with their history to sweetify the transition to the electric car. The clearest example of recent years is Renault 5which is aesthetically a modern (and great) reinterpretation of the mythical French model. That conductive thread has also wanted to continue with the Renault 4another electrical model that drinks from the past although, in this case, such a clear link with the past has not been achieved. It is not the only case. When Volkswagen presented his ID.3 He wanted to make it clear that it came to be a car as important as the Volkswagen Beetle (the famous town car) or the Volkswagen Golf. Fiat has resurrected the panda. Ford has resorted to the name Mustang and Capri For two electric cars. But beyond convincing with a day to day, the electric car has a huge challenge ahead. Among motor fans there are no doubt that an electric car is faster than one of combustion. In a straight line, in fact, an electric is unsurpassed. And brands like Porsche with Taycan either Xiaomi with the ultra They have shown that their cars can compete from you to you with any combustion car in a circuit. The problem is that these comments usually follow a … “And what?” The engine fan Miss the smell of gasolinethe peculiar and different sound that delivers a six online cylinders in front of a V6. Do Punta-Tacón To reduce. Feel how a good atmospheric engine stretches until the clutch steps on and lay out a knob in the change of short and precious developments marches. Right now, they are sensations that have no translation to the electric car market. It is no accident that Hyundai has focused on A change of lies marches for its ioniq 5 n. Or that the Ford Mustang is an imperfect car whose tuning is nervous for pure interest of the brand. Renault has its proposal. And his proposal is to pull nostalgia but, also, try to get the throne of the first really gross and exaggerated electric car in the world. He will do it with a Renault 5 that collects the spirit of the mythical turbo to propose a car to go down in history. A Renault 5 as never seen Of course, it is known what is the final result of the set but what is clear is that Renault has not left anything in the inkwell and goes with everything with this new Renault 5 Turbo 3E. To start, Renault has designed a new platform specifically for the model. That means you will use 800 volt architecture, which will allow you to recharge your batteries much faster. These, in addition, go from the 52 kWh capacity presented by the Renault 5 of greater capacity to 70 kWh to guarantee an autonomy of more than 400 kilometers according to WLTP cycle (pending approval). A fact that is in the background because what is intended here is to get as much performance as possible. To do this, the car drinks from what has already been seen with the Renault 5 but the wheelbase is extended (from 2.54 to 2.57 meters) and there is a car 4.08 meters long, 2.03 meters wide and a height of 1.38 meters. The windshield is delayed and gives a more sporty appearance. Outside aesthetics is clearly more sporty and aggressive, with a more brutalist front and clearly oversized rear wheel steps. Collect the square headlights of the past models and will have a huge air outlet on the hood that “helps optimize aerodynamic load to obtain a perfect balance between the front and the rear.” Although the true technical data that remove the hypo is those related to its mechanics and benefits. They take air, because curves come: Two rear engines (one at each wheel) to generate up to 540 hp of power. Rear traction, of course. 4,800 nm motor torque. A weight contained in 1,450 kg thanks, among other things, to a platform built on aluminum. Power weight ratio of 2.7 kg/cv. OA 100 km/h acceleration in 3.5 seconds. Maximum speed of 270 km/h. To be able to feed the battery and have the power always ready. This is used, as we said, of an 800 volt architecture that allows it to recharge up to 350 kW of power. With it you can go from 15 to 80% of the battery in 15 minutes. In addition, Renault has included a Driff Assist. A driving mode specifically designed to skid that it will take advantage of the vertical hand brake that focuses on all eyes inside and that powerfully remembers the competitive history of the Renault 5 Maxi Turbo in the historic group B of the World Cup in Rally, as they remember in Motor journalism. The company has confirmed that in the coming weeks the orders will open for a model that will be limited to 1,980 units, in a clear wink a year of launch of the Renault 5 Turbo. The price has not been specified but customers can choose the serial number they prefer. The car will be sold in different interior and exterior colors. It has been presented with … Read more

The United States also had a plan to jump into the electric car. Is willing to dismantle it and bet on gasoline

When we think on the way to implement the electric car and point to Europe as a great architect with measures such as a prohibition from 2035 that now, It seems that it is in the airmany times we forget what is happening in the rest of the world. In China, it is evident, The State has put all the meat on the grill to move to the electric car and, along the way, try to lead an industry (or at least, be relevant) in which they were disappeared outside their borders. In Japan, on the contrary, Everything is committed to hybrid and electric sales are almost testimonial. But what happens in the United States? On the other side of the Atlantic, in the United States they barely bought 1,301,411 electric carswhich means a market share of 8.1%. A low figure that is marked by a VERY PORFFICIENT CARGERS NETWORK that delays its adoption and, at the same time, A lower fuel price than Europewhich Reduce the gap between the cost per kilometer of gasoline and electricity. However, the country has also taken steps to favor the electric car and, ultimately, cause this technology to occupy a large part of the market. As? Pressing manufacturers, of course. Pressures that Donald Trump now wants to disassemble and that is about to see what consequences it has on the market. The United States had a plan Europe is not, much less, the only region that presses car manufacturers to move to the electric car. Yes, the decision to prohibit combustion engines from 2035, the new active emission regulations since this month of January that forces us to electrify much of the fleet and the objectives for 2030 are not, much less, subtle However, in the United States they also had their own plan. The country opened the subsidy tap Under the mandate of Joe Biden. It was to reward with juicy tax advantages to those who produced their cars in the United States. And also those who, partially, did it in Canada or Mexico. Was known as Inflation reduction law. To these tax incentives aid for the purchase of electric cars were added. If the vehicle had been produced under the premises of the previous law, the buyer could receive up to 7,500 dollars If it was a new electric car or $ 4,000 if it was used. But also Another threat was waiting on the horizon. Joe Biden’s government wanted the average consumption of cars sold in the United States not to exceed 3.9 liters/100 km from 2027. In 2032, the average should be reduced to 3.56 liters/100 km, figures In both cases that would force a severe electrification of the fleet. All this aspires to demolish the new government of Donald Trump. The chosen man is Bernie Moreno who aspires from the United States Senate to end the tax aids to purchase, Relaxate emission obligations to manufacturers and prevent states like California, who has assured that will continue delivering aid to purchase If from the state government they retire, can act independently. In Bloomberg They point out that Moreno’s agenda does not have them all to get ahead. The economic environment highlights that it needs the support of the entire Republican group to take their plans forward and that some senators can be contrary to the idea because in their own states there are factories or planned productive plants of electric cars. To all this we must add the impact that the scheduled tariffs can have to the vehicles that arrive from Canada and Mexico. Although despite a first attempt They have put them in pausethe intention of the new president of the United States remains to tax 25% the products that come from there. This would mean, in accounts of Bloombergmore expensive each unit in 3,000 dollars. The measure is especially worrying for General Motors, which exports to the United States from Canada and Mexico 40% of the cars you sell In the country. The company, however, says that it will not transfer its production to the local market unless it is guaranteed that the measure will be extended in the long term. The same assures from BMW, which They will invest 800 million dollars in a plant in Mexico. In it New York Times They also point to the car market as one of the great affected by these tariffs. In this case they estimate that large vehicles and trucks can become up to 10,000 dollars for each unit sold. “Most of this increase will be assumed by consumers and concessionaires,” says Patrick Anderson, CEO of Anderson Economic Groupto the newspaper. The big problem that tariffs present is that nobody seems to be able to determine how much time they will be active. “Car parts are products that require months or years to be equipped, validated and tested before being incorporated into a vehicle. Simply They cannot be replaced overnight“, assures al New York Times Linda Hasenfratz, president of Linamar, producer of parts for vehicles. In its opinion, it is impossible to transfer the industry in such a short time and, at the same time, the product is expensive to make the product of North America an anti -competitive space which will reduce the production of cars. Toyota and Honda (with a production that exceeds million units each in Canada) or Stellantis, which exports a third of its RAM to the United States from the neighboring country, are other greatly harmed. However, manufacturers such as Volkswagen do seem to be valuing very seriously transfer part of their production to the United States. In fact, relax emission regulations and the threat that they would have to sell their products at a much more expensive price in the country is giving reasons to the group to Transfer there part of the production of Porsche and Audiusing Volkswagen electric cars plants that now work at half a gas due to lack of demand. Eliminate tax incentives to produce electric cars … Read more

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