Jeff Morris' dream car is a Cadillac CTS with a diesel engine.
That car doesn't exist. But the chief executive of Dallas refining company Alon USA thinks that if the folks at Cadillac – and the rest of America – would share his diesel dream, it would solve a lot of the country's energy problems. "I believe it's the fuel of the future," Mr. Morris said. "If we're going to address global warming today, then we need to use technology that we have today."
Diesel vehicles typically use 20 percent less fuel than comparable gasoline vehicles. That means a diesel car emits less pollution and greenhouse gas than a gasoline car. And by using less fuel, diesels could cut U.S. dependence on oil.
Mr. Morris is making a $200 million bet that Americans will wake up to the benefits. He's refurbishing a California refinery to double its diesel production capacity.
ELIZABETH M. CLAFFEY/DMN
Jeff Morris, chief executive of Alon USA, turned the company's Big Spring, Texas, plant into the most efficient small refinery in the U.S. Now he's advocating the use of today's diesel - an ultra low sulfur formulation that is less smelly and greasy than the diesel of the past - to run American cars. With today's better diesel engines, vehicles would use 20 percent less fuel than cars burning gasoline, he says.
