Why are there so few diesel vehicles in the US?

[Greaser]

Smart cars are diesels.

 

[Kestas]

Quote:

---

I'd love to see a pure hybrid diesel, like a locomotive...

---

You may get your wish. Keep your eye on the GM Volt, a new car being developed using this setup you described. Though the concept car is built with a 3-cyl gas engine, there's nothing to stop GM from using a diesel engine.

 

[JHZR2]

except for the enviro-weenies who would trade gross tonnage for PM that could be caught and oxidized in a trap fairly easily, given the new ULSD fuels...

JMH

 

[ShiningArcanine]

Quote:

---

I'd love to see a pure hybrid diesel, like a locomotive. I bet with some powerful electric motor(s), any car running a system like that would be a heck of a lot of fun to drive. The first (maybe the second...) electric muscle car is going to be something else. The torque of the electric motors is unbelievable.

---

I was under the impression that diesel vehicles had better torque than electric vehicles from looking at Mercedes-Benz and Tesla Motors' torque charts. Tesla Motors' electric engine gets about 200 torque throughout its torque range while the Mercedes-Benz 3.0 L diesel gets around 388 torque from 1800 to 3000 RPM if I recall correctly. An electric engine would probably be great to assist a diesel engine when it is starting from zero using power from regenerative braking, but I doubt that it has better torque given the charts that I have seen online (at greencarcongress.com and teslamotors.com) regarding torque output and I wonder if an optimal transmission design capable of combining power from the two currently exists, as I would imagine that Toyota's eCVT would be inoptimal given that it is designed for combing power from an Atkinson engine with power from a small electric engine.

 

[Matt89]

I would buy a diesel just for the sound at startup. I go to work early and would love to pierce the stillness with that 'Ack Ack Ack Ack...'

 

[Shaman]

Because after Katrina diesel prices went up past gas prices, even though it costs less to make diesel.

 

[Tosh]

Why? Same reason there are so few electric vehicles: Manufacturers don't believe we want one.

 

[Shannow]

Tosh,
and it's a behavior that has been reinforced by consumers every time it's been introduced over there (admittedly SOME of the local offerings have been sub-par, but the imports have done well in many countries).