One reason diesel's cheaper in France is that their truckers (and chicken farmers) block roads and set fire to things if the price gets too high. Our truckers just go bust or fill up their massive tanks in France.
Cheapest is still Luxembourg if you're going that way, but you need to get off the motorway, and even then it's catching up fast.

I always thought that in the refining process Diesel was the step before petrol, making it cheaper to produce.If that is the case then we are, as usual being ripped off because it's more popular than petrol. I remember about 30 years ago there was a massive campaign called SAVE IT that encoraged people to save electricity by switching everything off when not in use etc.This was a big success and people saved money.What did the electricity suppliers do next?, they said due to a big drop in demand and profits that they were increasing prices!! Stornaway grey SE auto with 18" alloys

Basic crude diesel does indeed require less refining than petrol that's why the heavy clouds of black smoke is emitted by the older diesel powered cars. New standards for lower sulphur diesel requires a more complex refining process, hence one of the excuses for it being dearer than petrol.

As far as I know it is still easier to refine than petrol, low sulphur or not. It's not to do with the quality of the diesel why 'older' cars smoke, our 09 FL smokes every so often, take the DPF off the SD4's will too, it's just as the burning process gets better with newer engines and injection.

Our government's pretty much the only one in Europe that rapes us more for Diesel than petrol...last summer in France it was less than a quid a litre  Mine: 2012 Golf GTI Edition 35
Family's: 2009 Freelander 2 HSE TD4 Auto, Stornoway

Yorkshire - God's County

It will be the same with autogas too.
Ham Shankers that the government are. Been away in Dubai for a few weeks, and was shocked to see diesel is now over £1.4o/litre. That's £6.30+ per gallon. Time to go for nuclear power.... Indus Silver
GS TD4
Private Parts

Cerdo wrote:

It will be the same with autogas too.
Ham Shankers that the government are. Been away in Dubai for a few weeks, and was shocked to see diesel is now over £1.4o/litre. That's £6.30+ per gallon. Time to go for nuclear power....

Excellent idea! A nuclear powered Freelander; it's the return of the Ford Nucleon:



What could possibly go wrong?!

As long as there's millios of gallons of seawater nearby;nothing? Indus Silver
GS TD4
Private Parts

Cerdo wrote:

As long as there's millios of gallons of seawater nearby;nothing?

Don't you just need to rapid insert control rods.  2002 Honda VFR800
2002 Toyota Celica 140 Silver (mid life crisis - again!)
2007 FL2 GS Manual Army Reconnaissance Green + freel2.com sticker
2004 Toyota Celica 140 Black - Gone
2000 Toyota Celica 140 Silver - Gone
1998 Toyota Celica ST Pearl Green - Gone
1996 Nissan Primera 1.6 - Gone
1994 Rover Montego 1.6 Auto - Gone

Id park my nuclear car in the middle of a caravan site, then shoot at it with a long long long range rifle  At work
At home

"I can't always believe facts I read on the web" - Charles Dickens

winner by default of the tractor vs caravan race

Correct me if I'm wrong, but the supply & demand argument also extends to the winter months when fuel oil for oil fired boilers is in greater demand.

Diesel is a fairly similar product of the refining process to fuel oil, as cars have been known to be run on it.

HM Revenue & Customs are automatically notified by the oil suppliers if your domestic fuel usage suddenly shoots up for this (or any other) reason!

ad210358 wrote:

It seems odd that many years ago Diesel was cheaper than Petrol, then as Diesel became more popular it overtook Petrol and for the last few years has sat about 4p a litre more than Unleaded, when the fuel went up last year, at one point Unleaded was the same as Diesel now it sees there is as much as 7p a litre difference

Yes odd, but at present arent electric cars free/low on tax? Just think if everyone dumped their petrol and diesel in favour of these, they would suddenly be more expensive than everything else on the road taxes/fuel wise.
The government would probably come up with some scheme where you could only charge them up from a DVLC supplied plug in your home  I was only wrong once and thats when I thought I was but wasnt.

2010 Freelander 2 XS Stornaway Grey
2010 Aston DBS Morning Frost
2010 Bentley Continental Brooklands Green

The price of motor fuels (Diesel & Petrol) here in CH has increased 19% in the month of April so far. Your not alone in being beaten black n blue by the bully boys of the fuel supply industry.

Mona Geeza wrote:

ad210358 wrote:

It seems odd that many years ago Diesel was cheaper than Petrol, then as Diesel became more popular it overtook Petrol and for the last few years has sat about 4p a litre more than Unleaded, when the fuel went up last year, at one point Unleaded was the same as Diesel now it sees there is as much as 7p a litre difference

Yes odd, but at present arent electric cars free/low on tax? Just think if everyone dumped their petrol and diesel in favour of these, they would suddenly be more expensive than everything else on the road taxes/fuel wise.
The government would probably come up with some scheme where you could only charge them up from a DVLC supplied plug in your home

Don't worry. as soon as enough drivers have moved over to electric or zero road tax and congestion charge vehicles they will then be taxed, you can rely on any Goverment that is in power for that