Diesel-fueled vehicles have gained notoriety for their oily carbon emissions. However, there’s wide variability in how much of this soot any car emits. A new Dutch study finds that just 5 percent of cars—mostly diesel-fueled vehicles—account for 43 percent of tailpipe-soot releases.
Andy Kurniawan and Andreas Schmidt-Ott of Delft University of Technology analyzed soot emissions from more than 1,250 cars by using a device set up on the shoulder of the road.