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What Would It Take for YOU to buy a diesel car?

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  • gagricegagrice Member Posts: 31,450
    Except in the torque and towing department.

    Although, some of the pure EVs have torque to spare too (Tesla at least), so I could see the gas hybrids upping that number.


    Looking at the GMC hybrid 1500 and the small gas engine 1500. The non hybrid is rated almost double the towing capacity. Even though the hybrid is rated higher torque. I don't think that high torque is sustainable for any distance in a hybrid. That is why the Toyota/Lexus hybrid SUVs are not recommended for towing or off road. Very low tow ratings. And the highway mileage of the non hybrid GMC is higher.

    When Ram offers a 1500 class PU with a diesel, Ford and GMC will be scrambling. I don't think Eco Boost will cut it.
  • dudleyrdudleyr Member Posts: 3,469
    I find ecoboost to be underwhelming in truck applications and even worse for cars.
  • steverstever Guest Posts: 52,454
    edited February 2013
    The engine issues could have been luck of the draw. Went through a couple of 02 sensors, several CV boots, brake equalizer and a timing belt (under warranty) too, but the transmission was perfect (unlike other Chrysler vans). We were advised to get the 6 but couldn't afford it. The minivan was the first concept I ever really got excited about. That was the last rig we had that had real rain gutters too. :sick:

    We went from AK to NY to CA and home and put 20k on it in '89, hauling bikes, a canoe, and camping gear and still had room to drag an "heirloom" cedar chest back from NY. Calmed down after that. Lifetime mpg was 18.08, TCO was .32 a mile (traded with 89k). TCO would have been bad without the warranty.

    My brother didn't opt for the Ecoboost in his new F-150, Dudleyr. He tows a big pop-up and a bass boat, but I think he was more concerned about the engine not being "proven" yet.
  • gagricegagrice Member Posts: 31,450
    What little I have read is eco-boost will produce a lot of torque but at a severe price in gas consumption. Unlike diesel you cannot have your cake and eat it too. Ford is behind the 8 ball with their eco-boost PU shuddering and the small 1.6L version catching fire. What companies will do to avoid building a decent diesel engine for the US market. Looking at the Focus sold in the UK. The 1.6L eco boost vs the 1.6L tdci, there is no comparison. The diesel gets 67 MPG combined the eco boost gasser 47 MPG combined. I guess the automakers will continue to feed US grits when we should be getting steak for the prices they charge.
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    2010 Accord

    FWIW that was before it got DI.
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    Has always bugged me to have never hit 30 - may have to make a "Taylor" run sometime.

    10mph under the limit, or just draft a Semi. ;)

    Our Sienna can break 30 if you keep speeds down.
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    At least Ford has moved 2l EB production to Ohio.
  • dudleyrdudleyr Member Posts: 3,469
    "2010 Accord

    FWIW that was before it got DI. "

    Also before it lost 200 lbs, improved aerodynamics, improved transmissions (CVT or 6 spd manual), electric power steering, LRR Tires, econ button (changes throttle response and a/c) and a few other minor tweeks.
  • ruking1ruking1 Member Posts: 19,826
    edited February 2013
    Indeed, so can any other vehicle get better fuel mileage if up to "no" speed is used. The elephant in the room that wants to GO unacknowledged is the 30% on up better fuel mileage on "like model" diesels.

    So for example on the fuel efficient Acura MDX (using www.fueleconomy.com) VW Touareg TDI is 105 % better. The percentage better is a bit less (38.5%) for VW Touareg gasser. (20 mpg vs 13.5 mpg) As noted in other posts on this thread my side by side competitor experiences are more like 38.5%+ better (20 mpg vs 31 mpg= 55% BETTER)
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    Steve is talking about minivans, why go to a less efficient class (SUV)?

    There exists no like model diesel for him, no diesel minivan at all. There's nothing to discuss.
  • ruking1ruking1 Member Posts: 19,826
    edited February 2013
    So how many diesel minivans in the US market can you compare with/against?

    I just did it against one/two you CAN compare with. You are correct, YOU do have nothing to compare it with. :blush:
  • steverstever Guest Posts: 52,454
    edited February 2013
    Well there are other reasons that I've referred to in here that nix diesels for us. But I'm all for a diesel minivan. I'm for anything that'll keep the breed alive, lol.

    Next ride will be a big hatch or wagon though.

    (Check out Forums Future-Member Feedback Please! btw.)
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    105 % better

    Way to cherry pick data from a tiny and bad sample!

    The claim smelled very fishy so I checked, sample size TWO vehicles! Not significant at all.

    That's for 2012, no sample at all for 2013, and the 2011 and the average is much better. 2010 MDX also better, 2009 MDX also better, 08 also better, sounds like a broken record, but let's ignore all the good numbers from the EPA site.

    I could cherry pick data from fuelly, where the 2012s are getting 20.6mpg from a sample size 4 times bigger than yours.

    Why intentionally mislead people?
  • ruking1ruking1 Member Posts: 19,826
    edited February 2013
    I think it is interesting that Ford has adopted the Dodge/MB "SPRINTER" platform, (seemingly) going forward. Indeed if I read other folks postings, it will include a diesel option. It has the additional advantage of being "tested, verified, etc. under @ least 2 oem monikers and many broad applications: (to name a few) business/commerical, professional and business transportation, commuting, RV, etc. Even Gagrice had one as MB RV iteration.

    The full sized van platform has always had its " issues". The "minivan" platform has had to correct a lot of those issues and because it is normally FWD had to correct its own "breed's" issues in addition.
  • ruking1ruking1 Member Posts: 19,826
    ..."Why intentionally mislead people?"...

    My take is that is the way you chose to roll !! Why do you do it? YOU need to explain why.

    If I don't pull the numbers, you say why don't you pull the numbers? If I pull the numbers and you don't like them, you say I am misleading. If I give the source, you don't like it :mad: . If I tell you what I did side by side like I did, you totally disregard the context in which I said what I said and how I said it.
  • steverstever Guest Posts: 52,454
    Nissan too, at least for delivery type vehicles. Passenger vans are morphing I'm afraid.
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    Want to see what it's like when people cherry pick data?

    My van is a 2007, so I'll look at that model year. What if I had picked a Quest, like Steve, and compared to a Toureg TDI?

    Quest - 31.4mpg
    TDI - 20.1mpg

    OH MY GOD the Quest is 56% more fuel efficient than the diesel!

    See?

    It's meaningless.

    Grab a bigger sample. Average out the MPG for all MDX of that generation, perhaps from multiple sources.

    You will see that 13mpg is nowhere near the real average.

    BTW, there was one MDX owner reporting 11mpg that year that threw the whole thing off. Would make sense to throw out the highest and lowest numbers in a case where you have such wild outliers, but with a tiny sample size of 2 that means you would be left with no data at all.

    Insignificant.
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    If I give the source, you don't like it

    I have no problem with the source, but you forgot to account for the tiny sample size and a single outlier that threw the numbers WAY off from the real average.

    You can cite meaningless data, but it's still meaningless.

    See my example above.

    Also meaningless.
  • ruking1ruking1 Member Posts: 19,826
    edited February 2013
    I think this is a tad off- topic but anyone that I know of anyway (it has been a LONG time) who had an earlier Chrysler minivan product had @ least 2 transmissions !! The smart ones got rid of it before the first ones craps out !! I have a close relative that had THREE transmissions. Two were paid for by the oem. The third ones expenses were severely discounted.
  • ruking1ruking1 Member Posts: 19,826
    edited February 2013
    So what you are saying is like model diesels offer no mpg advantage and gets worst fuel mileage than like model gassers? The math at any level disproves that. Rant on !! I am sure that enhances your credibility.
  • steverstever Guest Posts: 52,454
    edited February 2013
    That was the rap; one reason we got the Voyager was because of the 7/70 warranty offered at the time and we figured if the transmission crapped out, it would be sooner rather than later. Turned out needing it for the motor instead.

    I think the 4 cylinder may have been easier on the transmission (although we didn't baby the thing and often had it loaded to the gills).

    Actually that's long been the rap on minivans and Odysseys had a lousy transmission rep for many years too. The two my brother had/has have been fine though (an '05 and the current '12).

    There's a marketing idea though. Since "reliability" is assumed, rightly or wrongly, for diesel engines, VW and the rest should do a Hyundai warranty on diesel drivetrains. Make it 200k and advertise the heck out of it.
  • ruking1ruking1 Member Posts: 19,826
    edited February 2013
    Actually if the minivan's oems took care of the issues when they happened, I think people would care a lot less. The real issues are pretty simple, " on whose nickel?" and the concept (code) durability/reliability. My relative got gas for the up to 6 weeks at a time he had to do without his minivan (app 18 weeks or 1/3rd of a year total in his case)
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    edited February 2013
    What I am saying is when you cherry pick and don't look at the whole picture you are being misleading, whether you know it or not.

    Here is all the data for that generation MDX, in black & white:

    2013 - no data
    2012 - 13.5 sample of 2 (ruking1 uses JUST this data!)
    2011 - 17.5 sample of 2
    2010 - 17.4 sample of 2
    2009 - 18.9 sample of 3
    2008 - 17.2 sample of 5
    2007 - 18.0 sample of 11

    No one can look at the whole picture and conclude the MDX gets 13.5mpg.

    Well, you can. :P

    2007 models have the most miles and have been on the road the longest. That also happens to be the largest sample. Either use that, or do a weighted average for all model years.

    The weighted average is 17.5mpg from EPA users. And Fuelly is higher.

    No way, no how can you use 13.5mpg. It's simply ridiculous. Credibility, really? LOL
  • dudleyrdudleyr Member Posts: 3,469
    edited February 2013
    One could also cherry pick the other way and conclude that a 2012Civic HF (CR 49 mpg Hwy) is more frugal than a 2012 Jetta TDI (CR 45 mpg Hwy).

    I am not saying gas cars get better mpg, but I do believe the delta is closer to 15 % (Maybe 20%) when comparing to modern gas cars designed for efficiency. Certainly not 105% better for the diesel.

    It is pretty hard to compare - after all what is parity on the other performance parameters? Do they need to have the same 0-60 time (will favor gassers), the same top gear passing ability (favor diesels).
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    Certainly not 105% better

    Yet that's the only data he used, and then he questions other people's credibility.

    I think your 20% number is realistic. In some cases as much as 40% better, but that's usually because the gasser it's being compared to is not DI.
  • ruking1ruking1 Member Posts: 19,826
    edited February 2013
    I am thinking it is fairly common knowledge acceleration is better with "like model " gassers. The fact that I always say like model is a redundancy for the ranters that chose to misrepresent.

    So if like model acceleration (better) is an important parameter, the best advice is to go with the one that has .... (better) acceleration. The price is normally less mpg.

    On the difference/s: ALL EPA's are expressed in RANGES despite the tendency for most folks to PAINT the 2 ( C/H) EPA numbers as GOSPEL. To say there are NO ranges is to totally ignore reality and realities and the new car stickers on which ranges are actually... EXPRESSED.

    So for example if you get 30 mpg on a Honda Accord gasser, you really need to get the same AVG for a like model diesel. The issue of course is there are no US market 2013 Honda Accord 6 speed manuals. I am sure you would agree that would be a more equalized comparison that most folks as a matter of realities do not do, and in this case CAN'T.
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    EPA numbers as GOSPEL

    EPA numbers are nonsense.

    No one here has said they're gospel, AFAIK.

    We should use large, real-world samples.
  • ruking1ruking1 Member Posts: 19,826
    ..."To say there are NO ranges is to totally ignore reality and realities. "...

    And you do ! :lemon:
  • ruking1ruking1 Member Posts: 19,826
    ..."We should use large, real-world samples."...

    YEP and I copied it right from the www.fueleconomy.com web site and you vilified the very same thing that you ... advocate !!
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    This is not about me.

    This is about you.

    There is a range, that's precisely my point.

    You cherry pick the absolute lowest point of that range for the MDX.

    Your bias against Honda/Acura is becoming obvious, since you previously attacked the Honda Fit as well.

    Disclaimer - I've never owned a Honda or Acura product, new or used.
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    edited February 2013
    YEP? 2 is a "large" sample?

    Nope.

    fintail, gagrice - care to chime in here? You don't think it's unfair to use the 13.5 mpg number to represent the MDX?
  • ruking1ruking1 Member Posts: 19,826
    edited February 2013
    ..."There is a range, that's precisely my point. "...

    No that has been my point !! So if you finally agree (about range) , then yes there is some progress, albeit not much.
  • ruking1ruking1 Member Posts: 19,826
    edited February 2013
    ..."This is not about me.

    This is about you. "...

    Again you got it wrong. This is about YOU, YOUR ranting.

    I posted several times about the (competitors gasser vs gasser) Acura MDX 20 mpg vs VW T TDI 30 avg/31 mpg for same trip. IF it was a perfect world you would have the MDX getting 30/31 mpg just like the VW T TDI. You ignore it and/or the realities or can't integrate it. That is YOUR problem. I do not have an issue with the MDX getting 20 mpg on PUG and neither does its owner.

    You can rant about EPA numbers all you wish. The ones for the 2012 VWT TDI are 19c/28 h. The ranges are from 15 to 23 C and 23 to 33 H, I get in the RANGE/s. It also says "Your actual mileage will vary..."
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    edited February 2013
    Why use the lowest possible mpg in the range of sample data for the MDX?

    Bias. Admit it.
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    Where's the 105%?

    You are back tracking now. LOL
  • ruking1ruking1 Member Posts: 19,826
    You might want to ask www.fueleconomy.com why they let a "biased" and nonsensical Acura MDX owner print what you consider bias and nonsense?
  • ruking1ruking1 Member Posts: 19,826
    edited February 2013
    Back track? No ! What he got is probably within the MDX's range also ! LOL !! I don't have the new car sticker for an Acura MDX in front of me.
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    Yet you used that data in your calculations without a 2nd thought.

    13.5 didn't raise an eye brow to you? Honestly, you didn't look at any other model years?

    Either you misled or you were very naive.
  • ruking1ruking1 Member Posts: 19,826
    Rant on !!
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    Direct question - was it fair to use just the 13.5 number?

    2013 - no data
    2012 - 13.5 sample of 2
    2011 - 17.5 sample of 2
    2010 - 17.4 sample of 2
    2009 - 18.9 sample of 3
    2008 - 17.2 sample of 5
    2007 - 18.0 sample of 11
  • ruking1ruking1 Member Posts: 19,826
    edited February 2013
    ..."Your bias against Honda/Acura is becoming obvious, since you previously attacked the Honda Fit as well.

    Disclaimer - I've never owned a Honda or Acura product, new or used."...

    I have owned two (new,new) Honda products. I still own one Honda product. I have said that more than once on this board . I also have gone into some detail, which you obviously have ignored or can not integrate. I have loved BOTH of them. IF Acura MDX had a diesel option, I could have just as easily gotten an MDX TDI. If anything, MDX sets a very high bar for this CUV segment. If anything , the choices would have been an almost complete toss up.

    What you assert and claim is nonsensical. But then, that is par for your course. :surprise: :

    I could see a new "FIT" if it were a TDI. ;)

    But then a 2004 Honda Civic TDI would have been BETTER ! 38-42 mpg is good over 150,000 miles . But then on the other hand a possible 52 mpg on a TDI would be.... even better.
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    Gary owns a Toyota, have you heard what he's said about Toyotas? ;)
  • ruking1ruking1 Member Posts: 19,826
    edited February 2013
    So what you are advocating, that if Gary had BAD experiences about his Toyota/s that he should rant (like you) about how great his experiences were? HMMMMMM !! I think I just got sucked into the twilight ZONE or have been there for a few too many posts.
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    edited February 2013
    Owning one just doesn't mean you won't bash them. Often the most vocal critics are owners.

    What do you have against the MDX?

    And you still didn't answer - was using only the worst data point fair?

    You're just mad because you got caught with your hand in the cookie jar.
  • ruking1ruking1 Member Posts: 19,826
    edited February 2013
    ..."What do you have against the MDX? "....

    LOL. Seems that you do. What's wrong with 13.5 mpg?

    Works for me. !!

    You are mad because you are creating a twilight zone situation to deny the obvious.

    We should have moved on a very long time ago.
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    edited February 2013
    You got caught lying and now refuse to admit it.

    Telling anyone to expect 13.5mpg from an MDX is misleading, no response will change that.

    Can a diesel do better, yes. Should we tell people to expect 105% better?

    That's silly.
  • ruking1ruking1 Member Posts: 19,826
    edited February 2013
    ..."That's silly."...

    And you have been !! Moving right along !! But yes if it was 13.5 mpg, it would be pretty easy to project that a diesel would have gotten app 17 mpg.
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    Nice edit...

    Let's move on, I agree 105% but first I have to stop for gas because all gas cars only get 13.5mpg and I'm out of fuel again.
  • ruking1ruking1 Member Posts: 19,826
    edited February 2013
    ..."because all gas cars only get 13.5mpg "...

    There you go, .... being silly again. I take it it takes you a good bit to get out of a twilight ZONE. :(
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    Silly, yes. But I was joking, you were actually being serious.

    Now that's funny.
This discussion has been closed.