Diesel Autos in the US (Sales up 27%)

[RedBaronF2001]

As a diesel proponent I'm happy to see the statistics for the past year in sales.

U.S. diesel auto sales up 27% in 2011 while hybrid share shrinks

Gone are the days of dirty and sooty diesels of the late 70s and early 80s. Modern efforts are powerful and economical. They also hold their resale value very well. The dealer where we take my wife's car begs us every time to sell her car to them.

What are your thoughts on diesel cars in the US?

[BH13GMT]

The big 3 German brands have helped with Diesels that outperform similar sized petrol engines with way better economy. When fuel prices rise in the states to somewhere near european fuel prices (prob never happen), the numbers would grow more for sure.

[bayerische]

Diesel...

Diesel is 1,52 euros a litre here right now. Not long ago it was under 1 euro... So don't buy into it, it will start slow and end up in taxes.

If it can be taxed, it will be taxed.

[F&Iguy]

what brand of car do you have? I mean wife's car

[RedBaronF2001]

Originally Posted by F&Iguy

what brand of car do you have? I mean wife's car

Jetta SportWagen. It was in the shop recently for annual service and they offered once again to buy it from us (for a very compelling price) on the spot. Apparently they cannot keep these on the lot. New or used.

I hate to get rid of it because it costs us nearly nothing to maintain and insure and fuel (we typically get over 400 miles out of a tank in the city alone). I foresee it becoming our around town beater.

[rustedmetal]

My wife bought a Jetta TDI in 2005. Kept up on regular service check-ups and warranty recalls. Without changing her driving style much, she gets mid 40's mpg. She has 220,000 on the odometer and really doesn't want to think about getting rid of it till it hits 500,000.

[blackmsport]

same here Diesel cars are up ... Hybrid is too expensive to maintain and people stay away from hybrid

[blackmsport]

Originally Posted by bayerische

Diesel...

Diesel is 1,52 euros a litre here right now. Not long ago it was under 1 euro... So don't buy into it, it will start slow and end up in taxes.

If it can be taxed, it will be taxed.

I saw on TV last night Prediction petrol price will be $8 a litre in 2018

6 years away...5 times we currently pay here..... so in six years time It will cost me $125 to fill up a week (from $25 a week now).... I am buying a horse in 6 years

http://news.smh.com.au/national/petr...0711-3dc1.html

[Demosthene]

Good.
If all you want is a daily commuter then there is really no reason to ever purchase a petrol car.

[bellvederecar]

Diesel's are awesome. I just picked up a ecoboost which is basicly a diesel motor minus glow plugs and the need to run on diesel great motors.

[RedBaronF2001]

Originally Posted by bellvederecar

Diesel's are awesome. I just picked up a ecoboost which is basicly a diesel motor minus glow plugs and the need to run on diesel great motors.

[gmh1013]

I never saw any reason to buy a diesel car....in AZ its about 75/80 cents a gallon more.
My wife's friend bought a new gas 2009 Jetta and sold it in 2 years because it was in the shop most of the time....she bought/trade on a new Versa 4 door
I can get close to 500 miles on a tank of gas (19.1 gallons) in my 4 cyl Toyota highlander at 70/ 75 mph.
We got to 468 miles before buying gas and it held 16.9 gallons on a trip.
I use Mobil one oil.....I think it helps with gas and use nitrogen in the tires
At my age I hope we never have to buy another SUV and it lasts to 250k+ miles
I think we will see close to 5 dollar a gallon gas very soon in the states

[F&Iguy]

Originally Posted by RedBaronF2001

Jetta SportWagen. It was in the shop recently for annual service and they offered once again to buy it from us (for a very compelling price) on the spot. Apparently they cannot keep these on the lot. New or used.

I hate to get rid of it because it costs us nearly nothing to maintain and insure and fuel (we typically get over 400 miles out of a tank in the city alone). I foresee it becoming our around town beater.

thanks for the info, VW diesel's are great sellers at our dealership I'm a mgr at a toyota store. we'll buy it from you 2

Originally Posted by blackmsport

same here Diesel cars are up ... Hybrid is too expensive to maintain and people stay away from hybrid

really? we sell lots of hybrids and people love them and at times we can't keep them in stock.

[RedBaronF2001]

Originally Posted by gmh1013

I never saw any reason to buy a diesel car....in AZ its about 75/80 cents a gallon more.
My wife's friend bought a new gas 2009 Jetta and sold it in 2 years because it was in the shop most of the time....she bought/trade on a new Versa 4 door
I can get close to 500 miles on a tank of gas (19.1 gallons) in my 4 cyl Toyota highlander at 70/ 75 mph.
We got to 468 miles before buying gas and it held 16.9 gallons on a trip.
I use Mobil one oil.....I think it helps with gas and use nitrogen in the tires
At my age I hope we never have to buy another SUV and it lasts to 250k+ miles
I think we will see close to 5 dollar a gallon gas very soon in the states

468/16.9 = ~27 MPG about what it's rated for on the highway. If you put 16.9 gallons in at 3.13/gallon then you spent $52.90 on fuel. The Jetta TDI (diesel) is rated at 50 MPG so during that same trip you would have used 9.36 gallons (nearly half) and spent 3.83/gallon on fuel or $35.84.

What's more beneficial is the range. You can go further between fill-ups with a diesel car vs a petrol car.

I read recently that the only reason diesel fuel is more than gasoline (besides the seasonal fluctuation at the moment due to home heating oil) is that we don't use enough refinery capacity to process it. It is, in fact, less refined than gasoline and therefore could free up some capacity (and lower prices) if diesel cars were to "take off."

The disparity between gasoline and diesel prices is certainly something to consider at the present moment, but eventually they will be congruent.

[RedBaronF2001]

Originally Posted by F&Iguy

thanks for the info, VW diesel's are great sellers at our dealership I'm a mgr at a toyota store. we'll buy it from you 2

The service manager told me that they make a lot more money on the used TDIs than they do with the new ones so they're pushing current TDI owners to "upgrade."

[TuonoRider]

Originally Posted by bellvederecar

Diesel's are awesome. I just picked up a ecoboost which is basicly a diesel motor minus glow plugs and the need to run on diesel great motors.

I think I hear what you're saying: Your Ford gets great mpg. (Glad to hear since we're thinking about one for a commuter as well...) But just know that the similarity between your ecoboost and a turbo diesel ends pretty much at the turbo.

Originally Posted by RedBaronF2001

...

I read recently that the only reason diesel fuel is more than gasoline (besides the seasonal fluctuation at the moment due to home heating oil) is that we don't use enough refinery capacity to process it. It is, in fact, less refined than gasoline and therefore could free up some capacity (and lower prices) if diesel cars were to "take off."

The disparity between gasoline and diesel prices is certainly something to consider at the present moment, but eventually they will be congruent.

Interesting. I bought a diesel pickup truck back in '04 and it was INCREDIBLE. And, diesel fuel was easily .50 / gal less. Then, that alllll changed and it flip-flopped. *sigh* I miss that truck. Sold it for a gasser.

Yes, I drive a pickup truck, but my wife's 36mpg Civic averages out our overall fuel consumption...

[fusionstorm]

My SUV is a VW Touareg V10 TDI. Love the horsepower and especially the torque. Hate that the gas companies are gouging us for the price of diesel as compared to super unleaded (which I put in my MBZ E550).

Glad I also bought the 100K mile extended warranty, as there was an oil leak issue. Runs great otherwise.

[TheVTCGuy]

What about emissions? Is Diesel any better or worse then gasoline when it comes to pollution?

[gmh1013]

Originally Posted by RedBaronF2001

468/16.9 = ~27 MPG about what it's rated for on the highway. If you put 16.9 gallons in at 3.13/gallon then you spent $52.90 on fuel. The Jetta TDI (diesel) is rated at 50 MPG so during that same trip you would have used 9.36 gallons (nearly half) and spent 3.83/gallon on fuel or $35.84.

What's more beneficial is the range. You can go further between fill-ups with a diesel car vs a petrol car.

I read recently that the only reason diesel fuel is more than gasoline (besides the seasonal fluctuation at the moment due to home heating oil) is that we don't use enough refinery capacity to process it. It is, in fact, less refined than gasoline and therefore could free up some capacity (and lower prices) if diesel cars were to "take off."

The disparity between gasoline and diesel prices is certainly something to consider at the present moment, but eventually they will be congruent.

gas mileageOne is a mid-size SUV and the the other is a econo car....cant really compare

I just want to get 500 miles a tank

[Demosthene]

Originally Posted by TheVTCGuy

What about emissions? Is Diesel any better or worse then gasoline when it comes to pollution?

Better.

[bayerische]

Originally Posted by blackmsport

I saw on TV last night Prediction petrol price will be $8 a litre in 2018

6 years away...5 times we currently pay here..... so in six years time It will cost me $125 to fill up a week (from $25 a week now).... I am buying a horse in 6 years

http://news.smh.com.au/national/petr...0711-3dc1.html

Upon the diesel price at the gas station, we have a separate "Diesel-tax" here in finland. It varies a bit, but can easily be close to 1000 euros / year.

So you have to put a good bit of milage on your car each year to get better economy with a diesel car.

[bayerische]

Originally Posted by Demosthene

Better.

In Co2 you mean?

Diesel spew particles that are very bad for air quality.

[Bob from GVA]

Time to buy a brand new Land Rover Defender.

Is that model sold in the USA ?

[swatty]

Originally Posted by bayerische

In Co2 you mean?

Diesel spew particles that are very bad for air quality.

Thats why manufacturers now put particle filters on the exhaust system that are very expensive to replace every 90-100k kms

[bellvederecar]

Originally Posted by RedBaronF2001

twin turbo, direct injection, fuel rail, small displacement , high torque. Ford originally want a small diesel to put into their medium sized trucks in the US but the market wouldn't have it so they designed the eco which is a 3.5 litre and has the block from the diesel ford had designed.

[bellvederecar]

Originally Posted by TuonoRider

I think I hear what you're saying: Your Ford gets great mpg. (Glad to hear since we're thinking about one for a commuter as well...) But just know that the similarity between your ecoboost and a turbo diesel ends pretty much at the turbo.




Interesting. I bought a diesel pickup truck back in '04 and it was INCREDIBLE. And, diesel fuel was easily .50 / gal less. Then, that alllll changed and it flip-flopped. *sigh* I miss that truck. Sold it for a gasser.

Yes, I drive a pickup truck, but my wife's 36mpg Civic averages out our overall fuel consumption...

twin turbo, direct injection, fuel rail, small displacement 3.5l, high torque, and not a ton of horsepower

[RedBaronF2001]

Originally Posted by fusionstorm

My SUV is a VW Touareg V10 TDI. Love the horsepower and especially the torque. Hate that the gas companies are gouging us for the price of diesel as compared to super unleaded (which I put in my MBZ E550).

Glad I also bought the 100K mile extended warranty, as there was an oil leak issue. Runs great otherwise.

I always wanted one of those. It boasts something like 550 ft-lbs of torque

[RedBaronF2001]

Originally Posted by bellvederecar

twin turbo, direct injection, fuel rail, small displacement , high torque. Ford originally want a small diesel to put into their medium sized trucks in the US but the market wouldn't have it so they designed the eco which is a 3.5 litre and has the block from the diesel ford had designed.

In an effort to meet CAFE standards, engineers have had to look in their toolbox to make gasoline engines more efficient. They're using tricks first tried on diesel motors such as the ones you mention.

While they share similar broad technology, the fundamentals of diesel burning and gasoline burning engines are quite different.

I see your point, though, and small displacement turbo gasoline engines are the wave of future. Just look at how relatively fuel efficient gas burners are these days while providing some decent performance too.

[RedBaronF2001]

Originally Posted by Bob from GVA

Time to buy a brand new Land Rover Defender.

Is that model sold in the USA ?

Nope. Not a chance. I wish though. A diesel Defender 110 would be high on my list.

[RedBaronF2001]

Originally Posted by TheVTCGuy

What about emissions? Is Diesel any better or worse then gasoline when it comes to pollution?

Diesel cars imported into the US have to qualify for Bin 5 (or LEV II) emissions ratings, and qualify for a lean burn technology tax credit (upwards of $2,000 - depending on the car). Our restrictions on diesels in the US are much stricter than the rest of the world and therefore our diesels are cleaner at the expense of MPG. For example, the same 2.0 TDI motor in a Jetta overseas can achieve upwards of 65 MPG.

The point is they're as clean as any other LEV II rated vehicle in the US. Often cleaner.