Diesel Autos

I don't know.But I don't doubt more diesel engine equipped vehicles are sold in Europe and other Countries than in America.Diesel engines last longer and get better fuel mileage (miles per gallon) than vehicles equipped with gasoline engines.Sheesh,I would think diesel engines would be catching on big time here in Ameica.You can run a diesel engine on a dead cat. cuhulin

The only passenger cars diesels available as-of-now are VW's TDI and Mercedes-Benz's E300D (or whatever they're calling it exactly). The TDI is available in a range of cars, such as the Beetle, Jetta, etc. while Mercedes only offers the one.

Pretty much every car maker is talking about diesels. I read something about a new Hyundai diesel engine coming down the pipe in the near future. As for who actually comes through here, it will be interesting to watch.

Peace, Harry

I did a search for, Diesel Engine Automobiles America

I think I saw something about BMW (Bayerische Motoren Werk) offers,or will be offering) some diesel engine cars in America.

Many years ago,I read about Rudolph Diesel and his invention.At first,he tried to get his invention to run on coal,but the engine blew up.Later on,he was on a Ship going from America to Europe.He disappeared from the Ship before it reached Europe.To this day,no one knows what happened to him. cuhulin

The Jeep Liberty CRD was sold for a while, went off the market for a while (due to a change in emissions regulations), and I think is supposed to come back again. Also the Dodge Sprinter (full size fan) is available as a diesel. And of course the there are the millions of Dodge/Cummins, Ford/Navistar, and GM/Isuzu diesel pickups.

All,

Thanks for the responses. I did some Googling and the VWs seem to be about all there is and they seem kind of vague about what is available where. I'll have to ask them.

Lots of cars are available in Europe with diesel engines. Not only are they more fuel efficient, the slightly lower price of diesel (in my part of Europe at least) is a bit of an incentive.

I can't see any reason why these cars could not be imported directly into the US market, EXCEPT for the EPA/certification issues.

"EXCEPT for the EPA/certification issues" Which is a MAJOR item. Many of those vehicles won't come close to EPA levels with the current equipment on them. That means that the entire engine has to be gone through to design a US compliant version. Not worth it when your past experience says that they won't sell in the US.

And the fact that earlier diesels made the market wary of them. And the environmental nutjobs statements about how dirty they are. Mileage means NOTHING to the folks who believe them.

Yup, but there are ways around that by importing one yourself and keeping a low profile... Of course, it'll still be difficult to pass your state's emission test. MB, VW, and BMW are coming strong with their "bluetech" (urea, basically piss) emission cleaned diesel engines though.

Personally I wouldn't mind owning a 330d E46. Slightly faster than my

535 E34 but twice the mileage...

Ulf

Agreed, the certification issues are major. And the fact that the American public is probably not quite ready to lose the guzzling high HP SUVs, pickups, etc is clearly another.

But there is no valid reason why these vehicles could not be made available quickly if we are in a fuel dilemma.

I am of the impression that urea injection is only needed on the high performance versions of these cars. Is this the case?

This, to me, is a tweaky fix and would be a PITA to deal with.

I assume it's required for all the "bluetech" engines, not sure what other ways there are to reduce the NOx emissions enough, but I could be wrong.

Yup, but PSA (IIRC) has developed a way to produce urea in the catalyst without any additive. Having driven a truck with a urea (Adblue) emission system I didn't find it different, the urea tank lasted three diesel fillups. No big deal really.

Ulf

The state won't care. They won't have to put you in there jail. It is a Federal crime, they are the ones who will be talking to you. Unless you have already paid an import agent who will be tearing it down and refitting it with approved parts AND certifying that it meets Federal emissions standards.

On May 4, 4:12 pm, Steve wrote: > > The only passenger cars diesels available as-of-now are VW's TDI and

Heh, well, I did specify "passenger cars" and "as-of-now." I thought the Jeep CRD was an excellent idea and was very dissapointed when they killed it. Diesels are perfect fit for mid-size SUVs and its a shame it didn't have a chance to catch on.

Peace, Harry

Are the TDIs really available ? When I saw the original question I looked at the VW USA web site and it seemed to me that they didn't sold TDIs in the USA. (I didn't check all the models, but I checked the Jetta and now the Eos and the Passat.)

Hmm, searching for TDI in the web page I found this:

"In 2008 VW will offer the new Jetta TDI in all 50 states."So it seem they are not yet available, but they will be next year. If they are available, then you have acess to some of the best diesels (specifically in terms of power versus consumption). I have one and the only real downside is the embarrassing clouds of black smoke that it produces when you use full throttle. I think VW now has a particle filter, which should solve that.

And in Europe they are selling them (depending on the country and the market segment, the diesels can be more than 90% of the cars sold).

Apart from European brands that are present in the USA, like Mercedes, BMW, Ford/Volvo, the Japanese are catching up with the Toyota's 2.2,

177 HP and Honda 2.2 140 HP being good examples.

US diesel automobile emission laws are in a state of change right now. Some of the European diesels that were available last year can no longer be sold as they don't meet US emissions right now (the VW TDi and the Liberty CRD fell in that trap, IIRC). US diesel fuel itself is also in the middle of changing over to ultra-low sulfur diesel, which will ultimately allow more engines to meet emissions because additional emission controls that are damaged by high sulfur content can be added to the engines. Once everthing settles out, there should eventually be

*more* diesel cars available than before the changes, but probably not until late this year or early 2008.

Blame the eco-whackos. But in all honesty, expect the Liberty (and other mid-size and small diesel vehicles) to be back once ultra-low sulfur diesel is available market-wide and the builders can count on that for their emissions systems.

For the umpteenth time:

The TDi was sold here for a number of years. There are thousands on the roads, you see them every day. Then emissions laws changed, so now it is not sold in the US. But it will be back once the changeover to ULSD has been completed and the new emissions systems that need ULSD can be applied.

I had a 2000 VW jetti TDI 5spd for 4 years, I averaged about 45mpg and limited problems, brakes and tires and oil changes. I would gladly get one again. I have nothing bad to say. I believe that the newer version of the engine has more HP, so the automatic may be ok. With more than 2 adults in the car, you could feel the difference...

Enjoy, Joel