Log in or Sign up

Hoping Diesels Will Make a Big Push Soon?

Discussion in 'General Discussions' started by Darth Bama, Feb 9, 2012.

Page 1 of 2

Feb 9, 2012 at 11:02 AM #1

Darth Bama Administator Staff Member

Posts:

24,234

Likes Received:

152

Joined:

Nov 28, 2010

Location:

Georgia

Don't Count On It.

LINK:Hoping Diesels Will Make a Big Push Soon? Don't Count on It - PickupTrucks.com News

It seems like the timing is perfect. U.S. automakers are being pushed by state and federal regulations to increase their corporate average fuel economy (CAFE), and their marketing departments are falling all over themselves trying to prove their cars and trucks are saving the country from spending more on foreign oil, as both gas and diesel engine technologies seem to be advancing by leaps and bounds.

So why don't we see more cars and trucks with new diesel engines or hear about them coming to market anytime soon? Sure, heavy-duty work trucks will continue to sell record numbers of bigger turbo-diesel engines, but nowhere else do we see that kind of interest.

Lindsay Chappell of Automotive News even goes so far as to equate the diesel issue in this country to be a bit like soccer in his recent article. "Soccer is the most popular game in the world. But the prospect of Monday Night Football stepping aside for men in shorts is about as likely as U.S. auto companies ever replacing their gasoline engines with diesels," he wrote.

In his wonderfully laid-out article, Chappell is not optimistic about more diesels coming to the many U.S. vehicles. Among the most obvious issues regarding the complexity of the U.S. marketplace is the fact that in most places, diesel fuel costs more than gas, and in some cases it costs as much as 70 cents more per gallon compared with regular gas. When you look at the incredible efficiencies that powertrain engineers are getting out of current gas engines — through direct injection, turbocharging, air management, engine start/stop and advance intake and exhaust timing software — the gas-mileage benefits of a small turbo-diesel engine are not what they used to be.

Companies like Honda, Toyota and Mazda, as well as all the premium German brands, have high-quality, small turbo-diesels that they sell in other markets but are skeptical about their ability to sell in large numbers in the U.S.

"Their benefit is just not immediately obvious to U.S. consumers," says Dave Coleman, product development engineer at Mazda North American Operations in Irvine, Calif. "It requires some arithmetic and a calculator. The pump price of diesel is higher than gasolin, higher even than premium gas. And the diesel engine costs more to build, so it's more expensive to buy. So you have to calculate what your savings will be over years of driving."

Regardless, all the midsize and full-size pickup truck makers will have to seriously consider how they will achieve the mandated increases in fuel economy over the next several years. Companies like Ford seem to have a jump on the segment with the huge investment made in EcoBoost technology, but what will that mean to other companies? Chevy and GMC have small pickups coming to the U.S. market that will have to do a much better job than the current I-5 and V-8 options. It would be nice to have both turbocharged gas and diesel options in both the small and full-size half-ton segments, but we can only guess what that will do to base and premium packaging prices.
Click to expand...
Feb 9, 2012 at 11:03 AM #2

iowaredneck Administrator

Posts:

21,324

Likes Received:

103

Joined:

Dec 1, 2010

Location:

Iowa

i wish they would realize that people would buy them
Feb 9, 2012 at 11:18 AM #3

Darth Bama Administator Staff Member

Posts:

24,234

Likes Received:

152

Joined:

Nov 28, 2010

Location:

Georgia

I think it's the CAFE deal scaring them away from offering em.
Feb 9, 2012 at 11:18 AM #4

cowboy Sheriff

Posts:

9,623

Likes Received:

64

Joined:

Nov 30, 2010

Location:

Lebanon, ohio

soccer is a stupid sport anyway.
Feb 9, 2012 at 11:50 AM #5

Predatory Instincts Bizkit Grabber

Posts:

2,335

Likes Received:

0

Joined:

Feb 18, 2011

Location:

Burger King's bathroom

I read that article the other day. US consumers have a gasoline mindset and have proven time and again to be scared of anything new, even if it's not new.

With new vehicle sales in the crapper anyway, it would be corporate suicide to build a bunch of vehicles that they can't move off of a car lot.

Some highly stylized sporty job from overseas will enter the market one of these days and catch on with the younger generation and then you might see it become more acceptable on down the road.
Feb 9, 2012 at 12:03 PM #6

Bdons-SD Anti spark plug!

Age:

36

Posts:

5,905

Likes Received:

310

Joined:

Dec 23, 2010

Location:

Washington

I don't see why people don't want them, I know the past diesels have that loud, sooty history. But the modern diesels are so much more efficient than gas. Better mileage, less emissions, AND they last so much longer. I'd like to get the wife a diesel toureg or a liberty, any diesel suv really.

Sent from my iThingy using Tapatalk
Feb 9, 2012 at 12:16 PM #7

Darth Bama Administator Staff Member

Posts:

24,234

Likes Received:

152

Joined:

Nov 28, 2010

Location:

Georgia

The VW TDI's sell pretty well, and are as quiet as can be. Not to mention they get AWESOME fuel mileage.
Feb 9, 2012 at 12:29 PM #8

Predatory Instincts Bizkit Grabber

Posts:

2,335

Likes Received:

0

Joined:

Feb 18, 2011

Location:

Burger King's bathroom

Fx-all-4-me said: ↑

I don't see why people don't want them, I know the past diesels have that loud, sooty history. But the modern diesels are so much more efficient than gas. Better mileage, less emissions, AND they last so much longer. I'd like to get the wife a diesel toureg or a liberty, any diesel suv really.

Sent from my iThingy using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

Because when they see the word diesel they automatically think enormous, nasty 18 wheelers and 3/4 ton trucks full of kids "rolling coal". People don't want smoke belching, rattling vehicles.

Public opinion and first impression are hard things to overcome.

The TDI's are great cars but their problem is that VW doesn't have a large enough national footprint and the fact that those diesels are so clean and quiet, passersby don't even notice that they are diesel.
Feb 9, 2012 at 12:31 PM #9

Bdons-SD Anti spark plug!

Age:

36

Posts:

5,905

Likes Received:

310

Joined:

Dec 23, 2010

Location:

Washington

Yeah they do. I'd like a small suv and not many makers offer an affordable diesel suv. The only real options are the toureg, BMW, Mercedes and the jeep liberty. I'm leaning towards the jeep because I like the look and it's mor affordable. Less of the fluffy crap the luxury cars have.

Sent from my iThingy using Tapatalk
Feb 9, 2012 at 2:31 PM #10

ak_cowboy Penguin Hunter

Age:

37

Posts:

14,843

Likes Received:

359

Joined:

Nov 28, 2010

Location:

Alaska

I don't see a diesel for the 1/2 tons now that we have the D.I. 5.0 and the Eco... A diesel would have to get 30+ mpg for it to be worthwhile, and/or tow more...which puts it into 3/4 ton towing territory...

Now a diesel Focus/Escape would be the tits! My boss has a TDI Jetta and gets 50mpg easy. 45mpg city...

(You must log in or sign up to reply here.)

Page 1 of 2

Share This Page