Diesels are coming!!!!

wulimaster · Jan 28, 2004

When I leased a landrover discovery back in 97 I got interested in why diesels were not sold here in the US.

I asked the sales manager at Land Rover when they would bring the diesels to the US and was told "Americans don't want diesels". I was also told this very same thing by every salesperson who tried to sell me a non diesel. I finally purchased a Diesel Excursion as the big family vehicle. Well I was surfing around looking for articles on the 2005 Jeep liberty diesel and found this interesting article. It seems that the big 3 are indeed looking into bringing diesels to the US market.

http://www.jsonline.com/wheels/peak/apr03/135583.asp

msparks · Jan 28, 2004

It's a chicken and egg thing.

To pass emmissions they need better diesel fuel, They won't make better diesel fuel becuase there is no call for it as the OTR truck will run on any ole crap.

Wait until 2006 when the new regulations come into effect then you will see more and more vehicles with Diesel. Over in Europe, there are many many vehicles with diesels, about 40% in the passenger cars.

I'd like to have a full size pickup with a good diesel that say gets 30 mpg. Also would like to have a passenger can in diesel. We currently have a VW TDI but it's too small. They are making the passat in the TDI this year, but I have my heart set on a Volvo XC70(they make a diesel in europe for it) but I'll probably go gas this time around until we see what happens in 2006.

Dick in Falls Church · Jan 29, 2004

Identical trucks, except one has a diesel engine and the other a gas engine. Cost comparisons will show that in order to justify the diesel engine additional cost, one must run a lot of miles annually. Makes a great deal of sense for commercial vehicles, fleet vehicles, and not much for Harry Homeowner who might put 12-15K a year on the vehicle.

Sure, the newer VW diesels make sense to a lot of folks. Of course, gas engine may not be an option to compare against!

Shannow · Jan 29, 2004

My new Nissan Navara turbodiesel gets 10.5km/l, versus 7.8km/l in my 4Runner (and my brother's V-6 Mitsubishi 4WD ute gets the same as the 4Runner).

That's saving me a week's pay per year in fuel costs.

Pablo · Jan 29, 2004

Amercans think diesels stink because of GM.

"Converted" V8? Enough said.

Some like the rock crusher trucks, but even at idle they are SO LOUD. Most women hate them, though the gorillas driving them thing the chicks are in love...

I do like the new tech. diesels coming down the pipe. I actually want a diesel.....

flynavydiesel · Jan 29, 2004

I would love to add an additional diesel to the family. I deploy to Europe all the time and we get rental cars. Every single one of them is a diesel and they are very very quiet. I think I read in automotive week that per gallon of fuel a diesel is more effiecent and with the common rail fuel delivery technology of today they will only get better.

carrera79 · Jan 30, 2004

I can't wait to see more diesels in the US. With the technology that they have in Europe I would love to own one. I can't wait to see some of the better VW TDI's in the US the one that we have now is one of the lowest output ones that they have, and it's still a ton better than the gas 2.0L. Plus, the longevity of these engines is amazing.

XS650 · Jan 30, 2004

quote:

Originally posted by carrera79:
I can't wait to see more diesels in the US. With the technology that they have in Europe I would love to own one.

Honda will have a diesel Accord out in Britain soon, next year IIRC. I hope it makes it to the US soon.

Jimbo · Feb 2, 2004

quote:

Originally posted by **** in Falls Church:
Identical trucks, except one has a diesel engine and the other a gas engine. Cost comparisons will show that in order to justify the diesel engine additional cost, one must run a lot of miles annually. Makes a great deal of sense for commercial vehicles, fleet vehicles, and not much for Harry Homeowner who might put 12-15K a year on the vehicle.

Sure, the newer VW diesels make sense to a lot of folks. Of course, gas engine may not be an option to compare against!

What you are cost comparing are heavy duty (over 8500# GVW) units from Navistar (Powerstroke), Cummins and Izuzu (Duramax). And that is exactly the perception problem diesels have today in the US. These are heavy, loud and expensive.

The newer VW diesels can be directly compared. Test drive gas and diesel Golf models back to back (I did) and then look at the window sticker for EPA mileage and the cost of the diesel option. Payback is fairly quick and so is the car. Unfortunately, the VW TDI is not available in California this model year.

Lightweight turbodiesels make more economic sense than gasoline-battery hybrids, but that is the direction the US and Japanese automakers are going.

Shannow · Feb 3, 2004

Cost wise, choosing the diesel engined Navara, the fuel savings pay for the engine option in 3 years at my annual mileage of 13,000 mile a year.

The 3 litre TD puts out 145hp, and when it's out of warrantry can be have a piggyback computer fitted to give it an honest 1hp/cu.in. If you search on the "M-Fire" combustion system, you can see how flash the technology is.

http://www.4wdworld.com.au/releases/navara.htm

TooSlick · Feb 3, 2004

I just checked on the new TDI Passat today ....

It is supposed to be available this spring and the 16 valve, 2.0L engine generates 247 ft-lbs of torque @ approx 2000 rpms. I'd estimate mileage @ 30 city/42 highway, based on what the 1.9L PD engine does in the Jetta. For comparison the new E320 CDI is rated @ 25 city/44 highway. The current issue of Car and Driver has an excellent article on these new diesel engines, by the way.

If I were King George for a day, this is what I'd do:

1) Accelerate the introduction of ULSD fuel ...

2) Waive any further emissions restrictions beyond the current "Tier II" specs for NOx and particulates. The next regulations will effectively eliminate passenger car, diesel engines from the US ....

3) Ban the importation of crude oil from any country that does not have a reprsentative form of government, including Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. That will raise the true market value of fuel by fifty cents to one dollar a gallon and conservation will take care of itself. It will also get us the **** out of the Middle East Quagmire and make it more profitable to extract crude from North American sources, as well as lead to the development of alternate technologies. If you bought a 10 mpg Hummer in the last few years and don't like this idea, well then you were just S-t-o-o-p-i-d, weren't you? Is this a form of social engineering? Of course...Do I care? Not that you'd notice

TS

S2000driver · Feb 4, 2004

The new Car and Driver (March 2004) Covers this topic very well. Stop by a newstand and start reading at page 118.

Sumerduckman · Feb 17, 2004

quote:

Originally posted by TooSlick:
I just checked on the new TDI Passat today ....

It is supposed to be available this spring and the 16 valve, 2.0L engine generates 247 ft-lbs of torque @ approx 2000 rpms. I'd estimate mileage @ 30 city/42 highway, based on what the 1.9L PD engine does in the Jetta. For comparison the new E320 CDI is rated @ 25 city/44 highway. The current issue of Car and Driver has an excellent article on these new diesel engines, by the way.

If I were King George for a day, this is what I'd do:

1) Accelerate the introduction of ULSD fuel ...

2) Waive any further emissions restrictions beyond the current "Tier II" specs for NOx and particulates. The next regulations will effectively eliminate passenger car, diesel engines from the US ....

3) Ban the importation of crude oil from any country that does not have a reprsentative form of government, including Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. That will raise the true market value of fuel by fifty cents to one dollar a gallon and conservation will take care of itself. It will also get us the **** out of the Middle East Quagmire and make it more profitable to extract crude from North American sources, as well as lead to the development of alternate technologies. If you bought a 10 mpg Hummer in the last few years and don't like this idea, well then you were just S-t-o-o-p-i-d, weren't you? Is this a form of social engineering? Of course...Do I care? Not that you'd notice

TS

After reading that, you got my vote to be King George for at least a year, not just a day. Makes a lot of sense, something seriously lacking in DC.

GSV · Feb 18, 2004

Shannow,

My Nissan Frontier is the same truck as your Navara.
I've got a 2.4 litre 4 cyl. gas engine {143 earth shaking hp}.

I wish I could drop one of the Nissan turbodiesel engines in it. (Better high altitude performance)

Diesels are coming!!!!

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