We are very proud to say that Grupo Emar is installing the used-oil collection and extraction equipment at the new Rolls-Royce workshops in L’Hospitalet de Llobregat, Barcelona. We are grateful for the trust they have placed in us and we are very pleased with the result.

Next Monday, Ondo, a Mercedes-Benz dealership, and Bi-Ondo Motor, a Mitsubishi Motors dealership, currently located in Gamarra, will open a new dealership at number 26 Alto de Armentia, a commercial area at the entrance to Vitoria-Gasteiz where the premises of some of the car brands established in the Álava capital are located.

From its founder’s beginnings in the car business in 1960, in a workshop on Calle Reyes Católicos, to the current dealership in Gamarra, several extensions have been carried out and the business has been affected by the growth and improvement of Álava’s roads. The dealership is now split across two sites, making the most of each location.

According to company management sources yesterday, the truck workshop will remain in Gamarra, at the junction between the A-1 and N-240 roads, in a prime location for freight transport with easy access to the facilities. The van and Mitsubishi workshop will also stay in Gamarra, as will the bodywork operations, with panel beating and paint services, which customers use only occasionally. A workload of around 10,000 vehicles serviced per year will be maintained there. The over-the-counter spare parts sales service, meanwhile, will be offered at both sites, to trade and private customers alike.

According to the figures provided by the company, the Mercedes and Smart sales departments — for both passenger cars and commercial vehicles — along with Mitsubishi Motors sales and general administration are moving to Armentia, to the site formerly occupied by the firm Comercial Alberdi, across an area of some 4,000 square metres. A new 2,600-metre workshop for cars and SUVs is also opening there. The active reception model will be introduced at the site, with an area designed for going over each vehicle with the service adviser using Mercedes-Benz technology.

Gamarra currently handles 20 vehicles a day at the German brand’s car workshop. From now on, the location of the new premises within the town will make it easier for customers to travel to the workshop or to buy a spare part. Footfall at the workshop is therefore expected to rise noticeably at this location.

Access to the workshops and the spare parts service will be from Calle Iruña Veleia, on the side of the block. The Alto de Armentia premises, set on a 16,000-square-metre plot, have undergone a thorough refurbishment over the past seven months, seeking maximum energy efficiency and respect for the environment (ISO 9001 and 14001). With this, Vitoria will be one of the pioneering dealerships in rolling out the new corporate identity designed by Daimler AG for the European dealer network, taking a further step in the digitalisation of information and sales processes. The complex will also feature the latest diagnostic and repair equipment, 3D aligners and a pre-MOT line, among others

ELECTRIC CHARGING The demands that the rapid development of the electric vehicle will soon bring have also been taken into account, with several fast-charging points installed and spare capacity left in reserve, easily convertible as it is needed. The workforce, of close to eighty people, will be split almost equally between the two sites according to the location of the department where they carry out their work.

You have surely had this argument with friends more than once. Which pollutes more, a diesel engine or a petrol engine? And I am also convinced that the discussion will have gone on for quite a while, because there is plenty of data supporting both cases. We have always been told that the diesel engine pollutes more than the petrol one, although its lower fuel consumption underpinned sales that kept on growing… until very recently. Diesel has now made it onto the blacklist of many cities and even countries, which are watching with concern as city air becomes unbreathable because of the presence of polluting gases. And everything points to diesels. Volvo has even launched the S60, its first model without a diesel engine.

Not long ago we went over how the diesel engine works and the question came up. A friend even sent us his doubts about a claim made in the article: the diesel fuel that powers the diesel engine emits more harmful residues, but modern filters — and even the engine itself — prevent most of those harmful elements from reaching the atmosphere. The petrol engine, on the other hand, emits more carbon dioxide, a gas linked to the greenhouse effect that can cause prolonged pollution once in the atmosphere.

Basically, we can say that both engines pollute at similar levels, but they do so with different residues. While the main problem with petrol cars is CO2, in the case of diesels it is nitrogen dioxide and particulate matter. These elements are not only harmful to the environment in general, they also directly affect the lungs. They are elements that enter the body and stay in the lungs, directly affecting the respiratory system, and that is why diesel is more harmful. It is difficult to remove from the body once inhaled and can lead to serious health problems.

Diesels, in the authorities’ sights
That is the problem that has led many cities to start talking about banning diesels. But let’s be fair. In most cases it is about restricting the circulation of diesel cars built before 2006 during high-pollution episodes. From that year onwards, with the entry into force of the Euro 4 standard, diesel technology began to improve and emissions have been progressively reduced. The Euro 4 standard began to apply on 1 January 2006, so that is the date from which diesel cars started taking emissions reduction seriously. Today, with the Euro 6 standard, emissions are far lower than back then and work is still under way to bring them down even further.

The correct answer to the initial question could be: both engines pollute, but the pollution from diesel engines is far more harmful to human beings (and animals, of course) in a direct way. Currently, all other things being equal, a diesel engine is always worse than a petrol one. The cause of this is the fuel used. Diesel is a heavier, less refined fuel than petrol. The combustion cycle also matters here, since the combustion mixture is leaner and leaves more unburnt elements, which pass into the exhaust and from there into the air we breathe.

As we have already mentioned, the filters and systems fitted to modern diesel cars reduce the impact of the NOx and particulate matter that can affect us. Although diesel engines are still highly polluting, the technology for removing those harmful gases before they reach the atmosphere secures the future of this type of engine, even if manufacturing, fitting and maintaining it costs considerably more. That leaves CO2, which both engines release into the atmosphere and which may pose a long-term problem, although the data on the evolution of the ozone hole is fairly positive, as it has shrunk considerably in recent years.

Increasingly strict emissions standards have forced manufacturers to look for ways to keep their cars on the road. In the case of the more powerful diesels, the trick for passing the European tests is called AdBlue.

1. What is AdBlue?

Without going into excessive technical detail, we can sum it up by saying that AdBlue is the trade name of an aqueous urea solution at a concentration of approximately 32.5%.

Yes, just as you are thinking: urea is a chemical compound present in urine and, although it is not toxic, it is corrosive. This means it can be handled, but taking care that it does not touch the bodywork; for this same reason it is advisable to clean the area around the filler after topping it up.

2. What is AdBlue used for?

AdBlue is an additive used in some cases to help diesel engines meet the strict European Euro 6 emissions standard.

The Euro 6 standard came into force on 1 November 2015 with the aim of making all new vehicles sold on European soil reduce their emissions of pollutants and particulate matter — in other words, making them cleaner.

Compared with Euro 5, the new European anti-pollution standard reduces nitrogen oxide emissions from diesel engines — the most harmful to people’s health — from 180 mg/km to 80 mg/km, while particulate matter keeps the same limit. For petrol engines, meanwhile, the limit of 60 mg/km of NOx does not change, nor does the particulate limit, set at 5 mg/km.

To comply with the legislation, manufacturers have improved exhaust gas treatment systems, using a NOx catalytic converter in lighter models and a catalyst with urea injection, also known as AdBlue, in heavier ones.

3. How does AdBlue work?

Diesel engines produce less CO2 and fewer pollutants, but they emit far more NOx and benzopyrenes than petrol engines.

Benzopyrenes are found in the ash produced by diesel combustion. They are particles that adhere to the tissues of the respiratory system, hence their danger. To reduce their impact, cars are required to have a particulate filter: a screen fitted in the exhaust pipe that traps the particles and prevents them from leaving the engine system.

Nitrogen oxide (NOx) is highly polluting and harmful to health; that is why diesel vehicles are so frowned upon in cities.

Since it cannot be removed physically, a chemical reaction is needed to turn it into harmless particles. In diesel engines this reaction is achieved with a catalyst — the place where the process takes place — and a chemical compound, AdBlue, which reacts with the NOx and converts it into harmless gases, specifically nitrogen and water vapour.

4. How much does it cost to refill AdBlue?

For each 20-litre container of AdBlue you will pay around 40 euros. At first it may seem expensive, but bearing in mind that this amount will last you up to 20,000 km, it really isn’t.

Although each manufacturer does it their own way, a warning light usually comes on when there are about 2,000 km of range left with the additive. This is important to keep in mind because if you run out of AdBlue in the middle of a journey the car will keep running without any problem, but once you stop it, it will not let you start again until you have topped it up and the electronic unit has been reset.

5. How is AdBlue topped up?

Technically, to fill the AdBlue tank you simply open the cap of the urea tank and fill it.

The problem if you want to do it yourself is that, in order to drive again without any issues, the electronic counter needs to be reset, and for that you need a diagnostic machine.