The modern diesel engine is a marvel of engineering. You could walk down to your local Ford dealer and drive out in a pickup truck that has 500 horsepower and 1,200 lb-ft of torque right from the factory. However, that truck will also be laden with complex emissions systems designed to make all of that power easier on everyone’s lungs. These systems are sometimes problematic and expensive to repair. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency wants to change that by rolling back diesel emissions rules, and, if several members of Congress have their way, making diesel truck emissions deletes legal on the federal level. One of the rollbacks is already happening. Let’s take a look.
This news comes to us in two parts that happened roughly at the same time. On the federal level, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lee Zeldin announced that, in an effort to eliminate limp modes and power derates from emissions system failures, the EPA is no longer requiring Diesel Exhaust Fluid (DEF) urea quality sensors on any equipment powered by diesel engines.
At the same time, U.S. Representative Mike Collins (R) of Georgia has introduced the Diesel Truck Liberation Act into the House. Companion legislation of the same name has been proposed in the Senate by U.S. Senator Cynthia Lummis (R) of Wyoming. The Diesel Truck Liberation Act calls for a stunning unraveling of emissions regulations. The proposed Act says that, if enacted, it would remove the federal government’s power to regulate motor vehicle emissions. Then, it goes a huge step further, saying that any federal law against the tampering or removal of emissions equipment would be repealed.
Both of these actions follow earlier announcements regarding diesel emissions. In August 2025, EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin told manufacturers to stop forcing trucks into immediate limp modes for low DEF levels. Back in January 2026, the U.S. Department of Justice said that it would no longer pursue criminal charges against those found tampering with vehicle onboard diagnostics systems. In February, the EPA said that it was seeking to hold manufacturers accountable for foisting unreliable DEF systems on consumers. It was around that time when the EPA also openly considered just getting rid of emissions-related limp modes entirely.
So, these two new updates are really only a continuation of what we’ve been seeing in this current presidential administration. In essence, multiple parts of the federal government are trying their hardest to remove as many regulations from diesel engines as possible. But why? What’s with this obsession with DEF and legalizing emissions deletes?
Modern Diesel Emissions Systems Do Hard Work
What engineers have achieved with modern diesel emissions systems is impressive. Let’s go back to that Ford Super Duty that I talked about in the opener. Not only can the top spec of that truck tow a 40,000-pound trailer with relative ease, but it will do so without black smoke and without a pungent smell. You can walk right up to the exhaust, take a big whiff, and not detect the smell of diesel.
If you haven’t read my previous coverage on diesel emissions and their regulations, here’s a quick review of how far we’ve come, from my previous coverage:
According to Diesel Power magazine, the implementation of diesel emissions equipment was gradual. Back in the 2000s, buyers of trucks found an Exhaust Gas Recirculation (EGR) system in their engine bays. EGR systems reduce emissions by recirculating a portion of an engine’s exhaust back into the intake. Even your modern gasoline-fueled car has an EGR system. Next came the Diesel Particulate Filter (DPF), which is an exhaust aftertreatment system designed to trap particulate matter before it leaves the vehicle.
As emissions requirements demanded diesels to run even cleaner, emissions equipment evolved. The Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) was an important advancement in diesel emissions reduction technology. 2010 model year heavy diesels have SCR to meet the EPA’s strict regulations. Any light-duty diesel that didn’t already use SCR phased in its use during the early 2010s.
SCR uses an aqueous urea solution, DEF, fired into the exhaust to convert NOx into nitrogen and water. DEF is 32.5 percent formaldehyde-free low biuret urea and 67.5 percent deionized water.
The diesels found in today’s passenger vehicles, pickup trucks, semi-trucks, and farming equipment use multiple methods to ensure what comes out of the tailpipe is cleaner. The use of SCR has been reported to reduce nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions by as much as around 90 percent.
Engine Derates Because Of DEF Issues
DEF system tanks have to be periodically refilled. In the past, not refilling your DEF system led to a torque derate or limp mode. A derate or limp mode also occurred if a sensor failed and your truck was no longer able to tell that there was DEF in the tank, or if the truck incorrectly believed that you had diluted the DEF.
This has been an annoyance for many truckers, pickup truck owners, and farmers because not every diesel engine manufacturer has implemented this technology in a reliable manner. The aggravating thing is that you could have an entirely full DEF tank and still go into limp mode because of a sensor failure. If the diagnostics system believes the issue to be severe, the limp mode could be as bad as leaving the engine at idle speed.
This was the impetus for the EPA establishing a grace period for DEF-related issues, be it an empty tank or faulty equipment. A semi-tractor operating under the new rules would be able to drive 650 miles or 10 hours before a 15 percent reduction in torque. A pickup truck will enter a 45 mph limp mode 4,200 miles or 80 hours after the detection of a DEF issue. Click here to read my previous story for more about the grace period.
The EPA Wants To Eliminate A Failure Point
Now, the EPA is taking this idea even further. What if your truck couldn’t go into limp mode because the failed sensor just didn’t exist anymore? On March 27, the EPA announced:
Today, at the White House Great American Agriculture Celebration, President Trump announced another decisive action U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lee Zeldin has taken to address nationwide concerns from farmers, truckers, motor coach operators, and other diesel equipment operators regarding Diesel Exhaust Fluid (DEF) system failures by removing the DEF sensor requirement for all diesel equipment. EPA understands that sudden speed losses and shutdowns caused by DEF system failures that compromise safety and productivity are unacceptable and problematic. While EPA continues to pursue all legal avenues to address Americans’ complaints, today the agency is implementing another part of Administrator Zeldin’s plan to help keep American operators from losing days in the field or on the road because of faulty DEF systems. EPA’s new guidance, which removes DEF sensors, will provide immediate relief and save billions of dollars in repairs and lost productivity. According to the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), this guidance will save farmers $4.4 billion a year and this action will provide $13.79 billion a year of savings to Americans.
[…]
“Failing DEF systems are not an east coast or west coast or heartland issue; it is a nationwide disaster. I have heard from truck drivers, farmers, and many others complaining about DEF and pleading for a fix in all 50 states I visited during my first year as EPA Administrator,” said EPA Administrator Zeldin. “Americans are justified in being fed up with failing DEF system issues. EPA understands this is a massive issue and has been doing everything in our statutory power to address this. Today, we take another step in furthering our work by removing DEF sensors. Farmers and truckers should not be losing billions of dollars because of repair costs or days lost on the job.”
The EPA says that, following its February promise to hold manufacturers accountable for emissions equipment failures, 11 out of the 14 diesel engine manufacturers that represent 80 percent of the diesel market have provided data about system failures and warranty claims. This new action is based on the preliminary findings from this data.
According to the EPA, one of the most common failure points in DEF systems is the Urea Quality Sensor (UQS), which detects if the DEF is diluted or is otherwise not up to standard. If this sensor fails, the diesel engine may derate. This sensor is typically found somewhere in the DEF tank. So, the EPA is just getting rid of this sensor entirely and wants to have manufacturers switch to nitrogen oxide (NOx) sensors.
Here’s how the sensors can be used to detect DEF quality issues, from the EPA:
These strategies monitor NOX concentration in the exhaust stream and determine SCR catalyst efficiency by measuring changes in NOX across the catalyst. Significant deviations in NOX conversion across the SCR catalyst from the expected or modeled conversion rate can be an indication of poor DEF quality. In most applications, NOX sensors have been able to detect poor DEF quality for many, but not all, DEF dilution scenarios.
The EPA says it’s still studying the data from the diesel engine manufacturers to come up with permanent fixes. But for now, it thinks that just getting rid of the sensor entirely will save farmers $4.4 billion a year and “$13.79 billion a year of savings to Americans.”
What is notable is that, at least for now, the EPA’s thought about just getting rid of derates entirely hasn’t happened. Also, even with the removal of the UQS, you’ll still be required to use DEF, and your truck will still have to be equipped with its emissions system.
Legalizing Diesel Deletes?
But there’s another line of thinking among some minds in the U.S. government right now. There’s a more aggressive idea out there to just take diesel emissions regulations out of the control of the federal government while also legalizing emissions deletes.
On March 26, U.S. Representative Mike Collins (R) of Georgia introduced the Diesel Truck Liberation Act. In his press release, the Representative said:
Today, Representative Mike Collins (GA-10) introduced the Diesel Truck Liberation Act, legislation that will stop the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from criminalizing family farmers and truckers through federal emission mandates that do little to help the environment while driving up costs for Americans.
[…]
“American truckers and farmers are the backbone of this nation, but the EPA has treated them like criminals for maintaining their own equipment,” said Rep. Mike Collins. “The Diesel Truck Liberation Act codifies the work of EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin to free farmers and truckers from the radical federal emissions mandates of past Administrations and end the bureaucrats’ war on the working class. I am proud that we have an administration focused on delivering for the working class and putting common sense first.”
Alright, so what does this Act propose? The press release keeps it simple:
Federal agencies like the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have piled emission mandates onto diesel trucks and equipment in the name of environmental stewardship. However, these mandates have done little to improve the environment while saddling American workers with ridiculous costs to repair and update vehicles. Truckers and farmers who cannot afford such updates are forced to sideline their vehicles, leave the business altogether, face penalties, or even go to jail.
The Diesel Truck Liberation Act is common sense legislation that looks out for the American worker by:
– Stopping federal agencies from requiring manufacturers to install or maintain emissions control devices or onboard diagnostic systems.
– Removes the EPA’s authority to enforce Clean Air Act requirements related to vehicle emission controls.
– Protects individuals sued or prosecuted under federal law for tampering or improving emissions equipment.
– Codifies the work of Representative Mike Collins and EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin to ensure that no matter who is in the White House, truckers’ and farmers’ livelihoods are protected.
There is companion legislation in the Senate. S.3007 – Diesel Truck Liberation Act of 2025 was introduced by U.S. Senator Cynthia Lummis (R) of Wyoming. Rep. Collins is joined by cosponsors Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (FL-13), Rep. Barry Moore (AL-01), Rep. Dave Taylor (OH-02), Rep. Harriet Hageman (WY-AL), Rep. Mike Ezell (MS-04), and Rep. Tony Wied (WI-08). Meanwhile, Sen. Lummis has support from Sen. Dan Sullivan (R) of Arkansas and Sen. Pete Ricketts (R) of Nebraska.
The companion bill from Sen. Lummis states:
(a) In general.—Notwithstanding any other provision of law, including title II of the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7521 et seq.), no Federal law (including regulations and Executive orders) may require a manufacturer, importer, or distributor of motor vehicles or motor vehicle engines to install, certify, or maintain any emissions control device or onboard diagnostic system on any motor vehicle or motor vehicle engine.
(b) No authority.—The Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency may not promulgate or enforce any requirement under the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.) (including a regulation promulgated under that Act) or any other Federal law (including regulations) that requires the installation or maintenance of emissions control devices or onboard diagnostic systems on motor vehicles or motor vehicle engines.
(c) No liability.—Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no person or entity shall be subject to civil or criminal liability under any Federal law (including regulations) for the manufacture, sale, importation, purchase, use, or modification of a motor vehicle or motor vehicle engine that does not contain an emissions control device or onboard diagnostic system.
(d) Repeal of regulations.—Any regulation promulgated under the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.) or any other Federal law related to the installation, modification, or removal of emissions control devices or onboard diagnostic systems on motor vehicles or motor vehicle engines shall have no force or effect.
(e) Vacatur; expungement.—With respect to any of the conduct described in this section for which criminal or civil liability has attached—
(1) any criminal penalty of imprisonment shall be vacated; and
(2) any record of a finding with respect to that criminal or civil liability shall be expunged.
That’s a big deal. Put simply, these senators believe that the federal government shouldn’t be able to regulate emissions and cannot do anything if you tamper with emissions equipment. This bill makes the EPA’s current actions look tame in comparison.
If you enjoy the thought of hazes of smog not returning to American cities, the good news is that there’s been a lot of talk about the Diesel Truck Liberation Act, but not a whole lot of progress. On October 14, 2025, the day Sen. Lummis filed the bill, the bill in the Senate was referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works, where it remains today.
Meanwhile, Sen. Lummis and Sen. Dan Sullivan also introduced the Cold Weather Diesel Reliability Act, which seeks to eliminate DEF-related derates in temperatures below 32 degrees and exempt vehicles that operate north of 59 degrees north latitude from being derated. This bill recently had a hearing at the Committee on Environment and Public Works, but has otherwise not gone very far yet.
What Does The Future Of Diesel Look Like?
The EPA says its move to eliminate DEF sensors is being praised for improving diesel reliability and saving Americans money. Of course, we’ll have to wait and see what will actually happen in the real world.
As for the Diesel Truck Liberation Act, it could effectively erase the advancements in diesel emissions in America and also set our country behind the rest of the world. It’s also unclear what would happen on the state level. Would California still have its own regulations?
But perhaps we’ll never need an answer to these questions as both versions of the Diesel Truck Liberation Act have yet to go very far. Even with extremely high diesel prices, it’s not clear if there are 60 senators willing to push this forward.
I remain a huge fan of diesel power and would even get excited if some company sold a diesel-powered car in America again. However, the reason why I can enjoy a clear look at the skylines of America’s great cities is because of the advancements in reducing vehicle emissions. Maybe the answer isn’t to get rid of emissions systems, but to make them more reliable!
Top photo: RAM/DepositPhotos.com
Many of the these comments are by ignorant people who have opinions without knowing facts. Here is a fact. My diesel truck is deleted. It is a 2017 year truck. It does not roll coal. Deleted trucks do not roll coal unless you tune them to do that. Modern diesels run pretty clean even without the emissions systems that are required. My truck almost killed me when the DPF clogged and shut the truck down while decsending a 8% grade and towing 5000 pounds. I have had many failures with the emissions system so I removed it. I am all for cleaner air but the current diesel emissions systems are not safe or reliable and they kill the engine. There has to be a better way.
Late to comment on this…..but….
I am all for diesel emissions systems if reliable.
Things most are not aware:
Emission system warranty on new 3/4 and 1 ton class trucks is only 5 years/50K miles.
Gas engines are 12 years/120K miles in some states for comparison.
Most diesel emissions components are not covered even under factory backed extended warranties. They are listed as not covered or wear parts because they are so unreliable.
The same Ford, GM, and Ram vehicles you can buy are factory deleted if sold to government agencies as they know the systems are unreliable and cause downtime.
So yes, lets have emissions on diesels, but the same government agency that forces them to be installed on the vehicles needs to force them to be reliable.
I am going through this now on a 2019 Ram 3500 HO diesel engine. Only 45K miles as the truck sits most of the time unless towing a load or hauling a load.
Truck was in the shop 8+ times over the first 5 years for emissions issues. Was still doing a regen of the DPF every 100 or so miles but throwing no codes, so Stellantis said “no code, no issue” Now our of warranty, finally got a code for excessive regen frequency. Dealer said $500-$1,000 to diagnose and if it is the DPF, around $5,000 to replace….awfully expensive repair on a 6 year old vehicle with only 45K miles….and given the track record of “fixes” they have done in the first 5 years, no guarantee it will be fixed….so yes, make the manufactures make the systems reliable and own the problem! At least for a reasonable time after manufacture.
And it is possible tune and delete a diesel and not roll coal. “Coal” is wasted fuel. However, NOx is invisible, and definitely will be much higher on a deleted truck.
I am all for cleaner air and don’t enjoy people coal rolling, but logistically speaking, does this mean that manufacturers are going to have to go back and delete said systems up to this point? Say if I bought a diesel last year, and now they make it where the DEF system isn’t needed anymore, does my Ford/Chevy/etc get to be taken back to the dealer and they take all that equipment off?
Just out of curiosity, what about diesel emergency generators, or tugboats. I assume they have emissions standards, and either of them would have some catastrophic failure consequences. Lost power in a hospital, barges hitting bridges, etc.
Finally, America will have that “I just landed in a poor country” smell.
“But why?”
The answer is the same as with everything else they’re doing – they’re vandals who try to destroy everything, because that’s the only thing they know how to do.
This is wonderful news and it makes me SO happy!
Now I don’t have to worry that every other time I stupidly decide to put the top down while driving in this mostly blue-collar town I live in, some asshat will pull up next to me and roll coal (one time sending me off the road not able to see.)
Now it might happen EVERY TIME, and it’ll be legal too!
(or: “Why my convertible has sat in the garage for the past two summers and I don’t even bother trying to enjoy it anymore, because this bullshit keeps happening.)
Just more virtue signaling to the worst people on the planet. Rolling coal has been a powerful symbol of modern fascism for years now. The chuds who do it hate that their trucks need expensive modifications to own the libs.
It’s an easy slam dunk for MAGA politicians to endorse rolling coal. Their base loves seeing their antisocial tendencies backed up by government policies.
“Vice Signaling”
https://www.theatlantic.com/newsletters/2026/03/pete-hegseth-vice-signaling/686620/?gift=lwsUHRsKE8ib5ap2J2FHyoRom8mPRrXVfRoRjq-5xtI
Maybe I’m biased because I recently went through a very painful failed nox sensor replacement, but aren’t those thing notoriously failure-prone too? And because they’re on the very hot exhaust system instead of the ambient temp DEF system, they like to get seized in place. Ask me how I know.
I’m all for not immediately triggering a limp mode because of a sensor failure, but this is stupid.
I have very mixed opinions on this. On the one hand i find modern emission technology to be incredible at lowering air pollution. The strides made in my life time are actually something you can see, smell, and taste.
But all of this is hoisted on the consumer responsibility and very often these are systems deep in the bowels of a vehicle and its computers. Parts and repairs make these cars not viable to run even though a simple bypass would give them years of life operating as good or better than anything slightly older running at 100%.
I feel that it is fine/ beneficial to keep these sorts of systems in place for the service/production/warrenty life of a vehicle gas or diesel. But once the OEM has moved on, I think it too much a burden on the consumer. By that time i think it better for everyone to let it slide off the radar.
I agree, though I still think there needs to be some line in the sand for egregious, deliberate emissions failures. Farmer Bob still using his old 25-year-old pickup that puffs a little under hard acceleration is one thing. Guys in brodozers clouding out entire streets is another.
I don’t mind that we should force manufacturers to make more reliable sensors/detectors and what not, but not sure why we should allow vehicles to drive around for 2 full weeks with faulty equipment before we force it it fix the problem. I can understand not every truck can be repaired in 3 days or that parts aren’t always available ; how about we force the manufacturers to HAVE those parts available and put 50% of the responsibility of a speedy repair on the manufacturer as well. So if someone has to repair a failed sensor then 50% of the bill goes to Ford, GM, whatnot. Let’s see how fast they will install reliable sensors.
Next ; this is a slippery slope of course. Next we can delete cats. And maybe we can introduce leaded gasoline again, so our engines last longer.
The smog from diesel trucks will create a nice smoke curtain so you won’t see the old fashioned coal fired plants coming online and it will also block solar panels so those damn renewables will prove to be even more unreliable. Who can count on the sun coming up every day, huh?
Anyways yeah this is just dumb. Sun is free. Wind is free. And plentiful. It *is* cheaper and at large scale we can see that it works. Check China where almost 50% of every NEW car sold is an EV. They’ve incentivized the charging infrastructure, nearly every rest stop/gas station on their highways have enough chargers, which actually do work and are easy to operate it seems and as a result the average driver seems to pay roughly 20% down to 15% per mile vs if he’d drive a similar ICE car. That’s 5 to 6 TIMES cheaper. Not 20% cheaper. Besides the other benefits of driving an electric motor like sparkplugs and oil changes and all the other happy things you have to take care of in your gas car.
I really think we’re not just slower than the Asian countries going in the EV way, we’re reversing and the whole dependency on oil is going to bite us in the behind – financially and environmentally.
“Maybe the answer isn’t to get rid of emissions systems, but to make them more reliable!”
Or maybe the answer is changing heavy transport to run (primarily) on natural gas.
Everything I’ve read about pilot ignition natural gas engines points to this as a solution. For the uninitiated a pilot ignition diesel engine a regular compression ignition diesel engine that runs on natural gas but injects a small amount of diesel at TDC as the ignition source. Purpoired benefits are far cheaper fuel costs and much cleaner burning which translates to both lower soot and less maintainence. Power and torque and overall driving characteristics are supposed to be comparable to running on pure diesel.
Best of all existing diesel engines can be modified to run on up to 80% natural gas mix with little more than a NG injector in the intake manifold and up to 95% NG with a more in depth modifications. To me this sounds like a great way to update older, more polluting but otherwise still serviceable diesel engines.
Drawbacks include lower range due to lower energy content of NG as compared to diesel and the need for either high pressure or cryonic tanks to contain the natural gas. Also that FWIW that methane is a more potent GHG than CO2 so leaks are more of an issue but that’s solvable.
Still NG offers far more range than either electricity or hydrogen. NG can also be made renewably from garbage.
So how about a deep dive on the current status of pilot ignition and whether it can be the savior of diesel?
I am fine with this as long as the exhaust is routed into the cab.
The idiocy and lack of desire to understand basic things may make us all believe that we’re headed to belching out smoke and breathing it in everywhere—but I think it will long term end up ushering in the opposite of the changes these anti-environmental zealots desire.
The future is electric. Not everyone driving EVs electric, but closer to that than everyone rolling coal.
Anyone else ever repeatedly ask themselves about these stooges and their policy goals and think “TO WHAT END?!” Like, they’re trying to bring both environmental Armageddon and they think they will somehow trigger Jesus coming back by Trump sending ground troops into the middle east. These are real people doing real things…and we elected them our LEADERS.
The future is electric.
For data centers yes, for cars? Seems the regime doesn’t agree since they are actively trying to prevent EV proliferation. In addition preventing solar farms, because corn is so much better for fuel (it’s not) and cheaper (it’s not) and more profitable (I don’t think it is) I agree we should step up nuclear power, but I don’t trust the regimes reasons for this, or their ability to competently do it. The hippies were wrong about nukes, and we should have transitioned out decades ago.
I don’t think anyone making these policy decisions can think farther than their outstretched arm, all they are interested in is the current profit model. This is different than the religious apocalypse which is a very real thing to some of them and affecting policy either directly (zealots in power) or indirectly (see profit model).
“Lawmakers Want To Make Diesel Truck Emissions Deletes Legal And Remove Emissions Rules”
So show your support for these lawmakers by blowing coal into their homes and offices.
Good God. What a knuckle dragging jerk I have breathing air in my home state.
So, another evil Georgian who needs to be collecting unemployment come January.
I’ll keep an eye on the folks who’ll be running against Collins and help the winner of our May primary however I can.
Here’s who’s put their hat in the ring:
https://ballotpedia.org/Georgia%27s_10th_Congressional_District_election,_2026_(May_19_Democratic_primary)
I’m a diesel mechanic and this is a terrible idea. We can have two modern semis running in our 8 bay shop for 20mins with the doors closed no problem. Bring in a gaser or pre emissions diesel truck and you have about 1min before everyone starts screaming to open a door. I was in Ecuador last year. Walking down the streets of Quito will remind you what life was like pre emissions, not fun.
“Walking down the streets of Quito will remind you what life was like pre emissions, not fun”
Talk about timing, this was my exact thought. The belching soot from all of those diesel buses climbing those hills…
It’s obvious just riding behind someone who has very obviously deleted and tuned their new truck. The odor can be noxious.
Very NOx-ious
I can confirm that. I worked briefly at a small off-highway equipment dealership. New Mahindras, used Bobcats, etc. And yeah, most of the time, it wasn’t a big deal having an engine running in the shop. In fact, you probably got more fumes from the painting that we did.
But we had one machine come in that, if I had to guess, was from the ’90s, so no emissions equipment whatsoever. Seemed to be running fine, no smoke to speak of, but we had the overhead door open and I was struggling to see, because my eyes were tearing up.
The NOx sensor approach is interesting. Similar to the pre and post-Cat O2 sensors on gas engines to measure Cat efficiency. Will the NOx sensors be as reliable? I don’t know. Can they be tampered with? Certainly. Could you trick the OBD system by inserting a spacer to take the sensor out of the exhaust stream like you can with a post Cat O2 sensor? Many questions…
Cleaning up diesel exhaust is a much harder job than gasoline but I trust the engineers will come up with something more reliable over time. I’m old enough to remember everyone removing EGR valves on gas engines in the 70s because of how badly they affected performance. We’ve come a long way…
The NOx sensor technology is pretty well proven at this point. When the Cummins 6.7L debuted in the Ram pickup in 2007, it had a NOx Adsorber Catalyst (NAC) rather than a DEF/SCR system. This system had NOx sensors in the pipe before and after the NAC in order to monitor system performance. I’ve been out of the diesel world for quite a while, but I don’t recall those NOx sensors being particularly troublesome. At the time, Dodge/Ram felt that it would be a competitive advantage to sell a 2500/3500 diesel pickup that did NOT use a DEF/SCR system (taking a minor hit on fuel efficiency) so that the driver would not need to think about DEF refilling. I vaguely recall that Ram added DEF/SCR around 2011 calendar year, to deal with stricter NOx emissions standards. At that time, Ram/Cummins said that running DEF/SCR instead of the previous NOx adsorber catalyst would improve fuel efficiency somewhat. I also recall them saying that DEF use would scale with fuel burn. Therefore: the harder you worked the truck, the more DEF you would use, per mile. This had implications for the size of the DEF tank.
Word is that they will also make rolling coal mandatory…
Also, unfortunate timing given the soon to be $10gal diesel for the RAM RHO Tehran Edition
Senator Dan Sullivan regrettably represents my state of Alaska, not Arkansas.
You know what would save farmers more than 4.4 billion a year? Impeaching Trump.
Between him forcing coal powered powerplants and steel mills to stay open and only burn coal for the next 20 years AND the removal of all diesel systems could erase the last 20years of Emissions Control before Trump is even out of office. Look I get DEF is a pain in the ass and hurts efficiency and what not, but despite what MAGA thinks, you do not have a constitutional right to pollute our planet. Just because you think things like emissions controls are “unAmerican” and “government over reach” then honestly you don’t deserve to have any fun toys because you still haven’t learned to play with others. The breathable oxygen in our atmosphere only goes up 3 miles above our heads. That is way, way less air to pollute than we think.
Welcome to the Stoneage, America.
Are we great yet? I want to be un-great again.
Improving the reliability and function of vehicle emission control systems is an idea that we can all get behind. Eliminating the EPA’s ability to regulate vehicle emissions? That’s fucked up. It is very much on point for this administration to hand a huge gift to the capital-owning class while expecting ordinary Americans to literally CHOKE on the polluted air that these actions will create. And all of this in a country where millions of people have no heath care coverage and can’t afford even basic medical care. But hey – it’s all about some rich A-hole getting richer, right?
“ass long as some rich asshole is getting richer” should replace “In God We Trust”.
I usually don’t wish cancer upon people.
Usually.
But when I do, I wish it on Mike Collins. Stay angry, my friends.
Any of these asshats who think that modern emissions controls on vehicles hasn’t done anything to help the environment should be forced to spend a week or two in a chamber that simulates summer days in LA in the 1960s.
I prefer that the air that I breath not be visible if not chewy.
No need for simulation, just take them to any dense city in the global south. To be fair the aroma of diesel fumes on a hot muggy day does smell like vacation to me. Until I start feeling a little faint and dizzy.
Even Europe as recently as a decade ago could be terrible. And of course Eastern Europe back in the day was INCREDIBLY bad with all the 2-strokes sputtering around
Seriously. How do they think we got to all of those cleaner days?
It reminds me of the situation around vaccines: people got complacent when they stopped seeing iron lungs and measles outbreaks in the news, so grifters and quacks came in to preach their BS. Aaaaaaaaand now we’ve got measles outbreaks again. Good job, ignoramuses. Your stupidity is actively killing people.
It all just makes me want to scream, “HOW DO YOU THINK WE MADE THESE BAD THINGS INTO RARITIES, YOU FART-HUFFING SIMPLETONS?! IT SURE AS HECK WASN’T BY SITTING ON OUR THUMBS AND TWIDDLING THEM IN OUR BUTTHOLES.”
I had the exact same thought about the similarity with the vaccine situation.
Actively killing *kids* – which you would think would kick in the “but think of the CHILDREN” thing, but doesn’t seem to. Of course, school shootings don’t seem to have any effect, so why should random diseases? It is all but impossible to underestimate the stupidity of the American public, especially when it comes to anything involving science. As I said in another thread, gullible and stupid is a VERY American state of being.
I’d say I don’t understand how we got to this point, but I am more familiar with how the American Education “system” works than I really want to be. And American religeon.