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July 2007 - Posts
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In the July 13, 2007 Businessweek, there was a special report that showcased 10 diesel vehicles along with an article on The Coming of Clean Diesels. Not all are available in the U.S. just yet, but these clean diesels might be something to look forward to. The luxury models from Cadillac, light trucks from Chysler, GM and Ford, premium vehicles from Mercedes and Audi and the comfortable thrifty ones from Volkswagen should all eventually make it to our shores. The UK Honda model continues to stand out in my opinion; perhaps its the hopes for economy, power and reliability that traditionally has come from Japanese designed vehicle?
 2007 Honda Civic
Fuel economy: 55 mpg in combined city and highway driving
Honda
is expected to introduce its diesel technology into its U.S. cars in
2010. Look for a diesel Civic to start, and possibly a CRV SUV. The
British Honda Civic Diesel 2.2 CTDi is a "green car" with a super-clean
engine and very low carbon dioxide emissions. Honda has talked about
how its engineers hated diesel technology until they figured out a
clean system. An Accord diesel test car, though, recently set a record
of 92 mpg.
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Autonews.com reported that GM plans to bring diesel cars to America! This is big news. They'll start with Saturn and Cadillac, and who knows where they'll go from there. But they're clearly still struggling to meet CARB standards, as they say the cars will be 45-state legal.
From the article: DETROIT -- General Motors plans to put diesel engines in Cadillac and Saturn cars in the United States by 2010.
GM
confirmed it will use the fuel-saving diesel engine on U.S. passenger
cars, crossovers and light-duty trucks during a video blog by Vice
Chairman Bob Lutz on GM's Web site, http://fastlane.gmblogs.com
GM
sources say the automaker will show a diesel engine at the Frankfurt
auto show in September on an Opel e-flex. In GM's e-flex powertrain, a
traditional engine such as a diesel or gasoline engine, recharges a
battery pack that provides power for an electric motor.
GM will
show the same variant at the Detroit auto show in January on a Saturn,
most likely the Aura sedan. GM showed off the e-flex system on the
Chevrolet Volt concept car at the Detroit auto show this year.
"It'll
end up in a Cadillac, and there will be a front-wheel-drive version of
the engine in 2009 or 2010 calendar year," says a source familiar with
the program. "It's an Epsilon (mid-sized car) based product."
The
source said the diesel will go in the Vectra in 2008 and will come to
the United States as a Saturn for the next generation Aura if all goes
as planned.
Lutz cautioned that the diesel engine is not a panacea for upcoming stiffer corporate average fuel economy standards.
Says
Lutz: "There's a lot of hype on diesels right now. It's not going to be
a 50-state solution. It's going to be minus California and minus what
other states adopt California standards."
But he said GM is
charging ahead with diesels and that it will be one way GM will boost
fuel economy: "We're doing a bunch of them right now. We will be
introducing diesel passenger cars in the U.S. We are going to have a
V-6 diesel engine for passenger cars, crossovers and light trucks."
A
spokesman for GM confirms what Lutz said in his video blog, saying that
diesels are in GM's European products because European regulations are
more receptive to diesels.
"Getting those engines to be
compliant in the U.S. is a matter of cost and emissions compliance,"
says Chris Preuss, GM spokesman. "How we can market those in the U.S.
is still a question, but we still see diesel having some limited role
in the U.S. in the next couple of years."
GM has at least two
diesel engines under development. A 4.5-liter V-8 is due in 2010 for
light-duty pickups and SUVs. The other engine is a 2.9-liter V-6 being
developed with Italy's VM Motori S.p.A.. The V-6 will be launched in
Europe in the 2009 Cadillac CTS, which will later appear in the United
States.
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According to LeftLaneNews, Honda is developing a "low-emission diesel V6 engine specifically designed for the U.S. market for the 2010 model year."
The engine would be most likely to appear in the Odyssey minivan at
first, although installation in Acura sedans and SUVs is a possibility." According to Nikkei Weekly, a Japanese weekly newspaper,
the motor will be designed for vehicles currently using Honda's 3.5
liter V6 engine. Honda is also looking to import its newly developed
2.2 liter four-cylinder diesel engine to the United States. This engine
is designed to fit in cars such as the CR-V and Acura TSX.
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 Volkswagen hinted that the Rabbit (Golf) may be offered as a diesel in the U.S. market next year. (link) This should be a welcomed vehicle after a short hiatus in 2007. If history be the judge, the VW Rabbit TDI should be the lowest priced diesel vehicle sold in the U.S. and offer consumers an exceptionally thrifty utility hatchback.
A diesel variant of the
Volkswagen Rabbit may be coming to U.S. shores to be sold alongside the
German automaker's upcoming diesel Jetta, according to a report in Automotive News. North
American VW officials have hinted that plans are being considered to
drop the diesel mill into its subcompact Rabbit, due in part to the
previous success of diesel-powered Jettas. Diesel Jettas were last sold
in the U.S. in 2006 and managed to account for 40 percent of total
Jetta production that year. With the availability of low-sulfur diesel
fuel and new technologies designed to greatly reduce emissions, VW is
hoping it'll be able to capitalize on buyers looking for options other
than hybrids.VW's The new 140-horsepower,
2.0-liter turbocharged TDI diesel engine is on its way to 50-state
legality when it arrives in North American showrooms early next year,
and the automaker says the engine will pass the tough Tier 2 Bin 5
emissions regulations that high-sales states, including California and
New York, have adopted. Transmission options would most likely include
a six-speed manual and six-speed DSG twin-clutch gearbox.
Should
a diesel Rabbit make it stateside, it could provide a
practical, high-mileage option for buyers looking for something with
a little hipper image than the Toyota Prius. VW is reportedly
considering the TDI for use in other vehicles as well, and it's a good
bet the engine will also become available for the upcoming Tiguan small
crossover. The concept version of the Tiguan that VW introduced at last
year's Los Angeles show was equipped with a version of the engine.
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