Some of the biggest import auto manufacturers are pushing diesel at the Detroit Auto Show, but not much came from the Americans. GM in particular seems to want to be the Sony of the car world, and push E85 while all the rest push diesel.
I have no problem with other ways to be green it’s really just Lutz’s seeming open hatred for diesel. His quote from the Frankfurt show, “We have the gravest of doubts that diesels are the solution. But we’re forging ahead anyway just in case they become easily fathomable or the cost of the hardware drops or with the fuel economy some of the extreme emissions regulations get lowered.”
I just want to know how all the other manufacturers can be profitable, but GM can’t. At least they and Ford will soon be offering smaller diesels in their trucks, but that’s little consolation for the average driver trying to save on fuel costs.
Anyway, below is an article from afp.com talking more about this, difference in opinion, in the industry. I think GM and Ford should take heed from Karl Brauer of edmunds.com when he says if Honda’s going diesel it’s time to pay attention.


DETROIT, Michigan (AFP) — Two decades after Americans abandoned diesels as smelly, loud and unreliable, German and Japanese automakers are placing bets that they can entice a new generation of drivers with clean diesel technology. Japan’s Honda Motor recently announced plans to introduce clean diesel under its luxury Accord brand next year, while Toyota Motor said Sunday it would bring diesel versions of its Tundra truck and Sequoia sports utility vehicle to the US “in the near future.”
Germany’s Daimler has reported strong diesel sales among buyers of its luxury Mercedes brand and is bringing three new diesel SUVs to the US market this year, while both BMW and Volkswagen will bring diesel cars to US showrooms this fall.
But while foreign automakers are trying to entice consumers to buy the performance and fuel economy of diesel, US automakers are shaking their heads.
“It’s not something I see being a major factor in the US car market,” GM chief executive officer Rick Wagoner told reporters on the sideline of the Detroit auto show.
“You will see us expanding our diesel offer, primarily for heavier vehicles because we see that’s where the application is clearest,” he said, adding that GM could rapidly introduce the diesels it currently sells in Europe to the United States if conditions change.
While Ford Motor Co. is planning on bringing diesel to its lighter duty Ford F-150 pickup truck in 2010, it has no plans yet to introduce clean-diesel into smaller vehicles, a spokesman said Tuesday.
Instead, it plans to build half a million vehicles a year with its newly introduced Ecoboost system that can provide fuel economy savings of up to 20 percent at a more affordable cost.
Diesel offers about a 30 to 35 percent improvement in fuel economy compared to gasoline, but the technology needed to meet stringent new emissions rules imposed here last year adds between two and three thousand dollars to the cost.
That’s less than the three to five thousand dollar markup on most gas-electric hybrids, which often fail to deliver equivalent fuel economy savings in typical US driving conditions.
But unlike in Europe, where higher gas taxes pushed consumers towards diesel, American consumers have been reluctant to buy diesels in anything but heavy-duty trucks following a disastrous introduction in the early 1980’s.
In response to an onslaught of small cars from Asian automakers during the last oil crisis, US automakers rushed diesel engines to market which were so poorly designed they would break down after about 30,000 miles.
Diesels currently only account for about 3.5 percent of vehicles sales in the US, compared to around 60 percent in Europe.
“When Honda is committed to a diesel, now I know it’s time for diesels,” Karl Brauer, editor in chief of Edmunds.com, said in a recent interview.
“We’re seeing enough items align in terms of fuel prices and really good versions of diesels that aren’t loud and clackety and smelly and smoky that diesel’s got a better chance now then it’s ever had in the past.”
The biggest threat to the expansion of diesel in the United States is the concern among automakers that emissions regulations could be tightened even further, said John Wolkonowicz, an analyst with Global Insight.
“Because diesels are very torquey at low speeds, they’re really fun to drive, so I think diesels could be a way to both maintain the fun to drive that Americans like so much while improving the overall fuel efficiency of the vehicle,” he told AFP.
“But the auto manufacturers are hesitant to bring lots of diesels into the US because the legislative picture isn’t clear yet.”

 

bah-hahahaha! I couldn't help but think Minidisc and BlueRay. and their retardedly slow dvd players!
I think the american market

"But the auto manufacturers are hesitant to bring lots of diesels into the US because the legislative picture isn’t clear yet."

I think that's the main issue, not the market demand or perception. legislation is set up with tax credits and whatever else in place so that the manufacturers get huge credits and loopholes for bringing in 'flex-fuel' vehicles instead of true efficiency. and the diesel emissions restrictions are wound up so unrealistically tight that between their pocket padding and effort to meet restrictions, they're much more willing to just go the easy route.

I can't even tell you how many people think it's illegal to bring a used VW diesel into California...don't get me started on those.

 

GM's CEO announced almost a year ago that by 2012 over 80% of GM's production vehicles will be diesel powered. Rest assured that the rest of the auto manufacturers will follow suit. Even with tight emissions on diesel powered vehicles they are still far more efficient than gas or flex full.

 

Yeah I read where Wagoner said that. I hope it's true but it sounds like Lutz is on a completely different page. IIRC when it comes to product battles between the two Lutz usually wins.

Of course Lutz's comments could be lip service in they name of trying to show our government how ridiculous the diesel regs are.

 

that didn't sound like Lutz has one thing against a diesel, that was definitely trying to get the word out about how ridiculous our restrictions are, even how ridiculous europe's are/are going to be.

 

I don't buy any the fact that GM and Ford are going to do anything different then they are already doing. Period. They are lazy big corporations with little initiative to push the envelope.

Let's be honest if GM put the effort into diesel that they did with antilock brakes and other items like air bags we'd be loving life but the simple fact is that over the last decade it has always been - soon, very soon and that to me is like saying free beer tomorrow...

Fool me once, shame on me. Fool me twice, shame on you.

Go back in history, 2003 was supposed to be the major introduction, then it was 2007 and then 2009 and now BEFORE 2012! Yeah, sure.

 

I have a feeling there's a lot more politics and money trail involved than the big 3 just being lazy and not wanting to introduce stuff. if they would've introduced the ranger/dakota/s10 to america with the little diesels they've been selling overseas for at least a decade, it'd be the same deal as the VW jetta, nobody can keep a new or even used one on a lot and people would be demanding diesels in their cars, half our country would be getting 25-50mpg in their mid-full size cars/small trucks from '03-'07.

the automakers have to know they'd be able to sell those like crazy and they ALREADY build them, they wouldn't have to R&D a new engine. they COULD have introduced them in '03 with all the other new diesel light duty trucks, before we went psychotic with our emissions regs...but then the general public would be able to see a decrease in efficiency when a compact diesel line goes from 35 down to 22-25mpg when they 'upgrade' the emissions equipment. now all these 'new' diesels are going to be introduced with meeting the new bin Jack tier Squat emissions regs, they're going to suck and get horrible mileage for a diesel (which will still be slightly better than gas) and like Lutz said, will no longer be a significant improvement over a gas engine.

it's something political and you have to follow the money, which at this point, that trail is unclear to me. how many trillion dollars did our gubment profit from fuel tax last year? do you think they honestly want that cut in half?

 

That's the thing... In Canada the fuel tax is actually higher on diesel than it is on unleaded. The government up here wants green (diesel, hybrid or even diesel-hybrid) but doesn't have the economy of scale (hence the USA) to pull it off. I read yesterday that this BS E85 thing that GM wants us to believe is the real wave of the future is a large tank of bunk as get this there are only 3 filling stations in Canada with this fuel and they are all located in Toronto! Canada is a huge place - most of us outside the major centres depend on our cars and trucks to get from A to B because we have no other way of travelling 30,000 + km per year to do so. Having diesel or at least something of true economy is the only way to go.

Any 12V dodge truck modified or not will get better mileage than a 24V which gets better than an ISBE which gets better that a 6.7 ISBE truck and so on it goes. The more complex "they" seem to make it the less efficient it becomes.


PS: Lutz is a goof.