Diesels in the News

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  • gagricegagrice Member Posts: 31,450
    If you read the article I think they threw in the 16% figure for their world wide sales. Toyota does that to cover any thing that looks negative. Toyota HOPES to have a 3% increase this year.

    UK Toyota and Lexus combined sold 140,000 vehicles in 2006

    What is the sales forecast for 2007?

    We plan to grow to 144,000 with Lexus staying the same so the growth will come from Toyota, with sales for the brand approaching 130,000 units.


    You have completely disregarded the news article stating that Toyota is scrambling to build DIESEL cars to compete with Honda in Europe. Honda is eating Toyota's lunch with their great new diesel engine.

    Honda UK:
    By the end of this year, the UK operation will be producing cars at a rate of 250,000 per annum
  • ruking1ruking1 Member Posts: 19,826
    Well it is given the (their) goals they have for the European markets.
  • ruking1ruking1 Member Posts: 19,826
    Indeed I am sure there are folks that think this is just marketing propaganda.

    However in the real world, I routinely make a one way 533 mile trip though 104 degree higher desert, to Las Vegas NV. I normally fuel in Las Vegas right off the strip, only because it is weirdly convenient and inexpensive. But if I want to get the best prices, I head toward some favored numbered exits. :) Naturally the trunk is fully loaded and up to 4 folks and with the A/C at full tilt.

    I also do this for a more coastal trip of 600 mile R/T where sometimes I dont even fuel till I am home again. Fuel tank is 14.5 gal. So if I get 48/52 mpg, that is a range of 672 to 728 miles. if I was going SF to NYC that is roughly 30% across the USA!!!

    Each trip can also have significant traffic delays (up to 45 mins)
  • jblaze13jblaze13 Member Posts: 152
    The only reason I'm considering a Jeep Grand Cherokee is for the Mercedes sourced diesel. I wish there were more diesels in the U.S.
  • jlbljlbl Member Posts: 1,333
    2004 BMW 530d; driver only :shades:, with a small case; AC on all time long
    Distance: 509 miles. From sea level up to 4,700 feet, and then down to 2,500. Back up and down to sea level along the same highway. Four toll gates crossed. Some slow traffic merged on the way

    Time: 6 hours and 52 min

    Average speed: 75 miles per hour

    Peak speed: 110 miles per hour (half a dozen of short times). Most of the time the speedometer pointed at about 90 miles per hour

    Consume: 39.9 miles per gallon :D

    About 6 gallons left in the tank when refilling after the trip :P

    USA units.

    Regards,
    Jose
  • bristol2bristol2 Member Posts: 736
    I took a look at the Grand Cherokee, unfortunately (depending on what you are looking to spend) they only seem to be offering the diesel on a high end model ($40k+)
  • blufz1blufz1 Member Posts: 2,045
    Forget that thing! Just wait for a diesel Pilot. :)
  • ruking1ruking1 Member Posts: 19,826
    Being as how it is one of the best in the segment, I can understand the anticipation.
  • moparbadmoparbad Member Posts: 3,870
    PRESS RELEASE:

    GM Plans First Light Duty V-8 Clean Diesel For North America

    High-efficiency V-8 scheduled for pickup trucks under 8,600 pounds Gross Vehicle Weight and HUMMER H2
    Low emissions, high performance and excellent fuel economy
    Expected to deliver class-leading torque, power and refinement
    Manufactured at the GM Powertrain Tonawanda engine plant
    TONAWANDA, N.Y. – General Motors Corp. will introduce a new, state-of-the-art 4.5L V-8 Duramax turbo-diesel that improves engine fuel efficiency by 25 percent, reduces CO2 emissions by 13 percent and cuts particulates and NOx emissions by at least 90 percent for North American light duty trucks and the HUMMER H2 built after 2009.

    The premium V-8 diesel is expected to deliver class-leading torque, power and refinement while maintaining a significant fuel efficiency advantage over comparable-output gasoline engines.

    The new dual-overhead cam, four-valve V-8 diesel engine will fit within the same space of a small-block V-8 gasoline engine. This compact size is made possible by using integral cylinder head exhaust manifolds, integral cam cover intake manifolds and a narrow block.

    "This new GM light duty diesel is expected to become a favorite among customers who require excellent towing ability and fuel efficiency," said Tom Stephens, group vice president, GM Global Powertrain and Quality. "It will meet the stringent 2010 emissions standards, and it will be compliant in all 50 states, making it one of the cleanest diesel vehicles ever produced."

    Environmental benefits of the new engine include a 13-percent reduction in CO2 versus gasoline engines, and at least a 90-percent reduction in particulates and NOx compared to diesel vehicles today. This will be GM's first engine to use a selective catalytic reduction NOx aftertreatment system with a diesel particulate filter to help achieve the Tier 2 Bin 5 and LEV 2 emissions standards.

    Technical highlights of the engine include aluminum cylinder heads with integrated manifolding; a variable-vane turbocharger with intercooling; a Compacted Graphite Iron (CGI) block for a stronger and lighter engine base (compared to lower-strength aluminum or heavier grey cast iron); and fracture-split main bearing caps and connecting rods for a precise fit. An electronically controlled, ultra-high-pressure, common-rail fuel system is used, which has the ability to inject fuel five times per combustion event to control noise and emissions.

    "This new V-8 is not only a clean diesel meeting the toughest emissions requirements in North America, it also delivers an effortless performance feel because of its high torque across the speed range," said Charlie Freese, executive director of GM Powertrain Diesel Engineering. "It is also significantly quieter than other diesels on the road today, with noise and vibration performance approaching gasoline V-8 levels."

    Freese said the new V-8's compact size enables it to fit in the envelope of a gasoline small-block engine, which provides GM the flexibility to introduce this engine in a wide variety of vehicle applications should there be future market demand.

    The premium V-8 diesel engine is expected to deliver class-leading refinement, horsepower and torque and fulfill multiple vehicle applications with ratings in excess of 310 horsepower and 520 lb-ft of torque.

    GM (Opel, Saab, Vauxhall and GMDAT ) currently offers 17 diesel engine variants in 45 vehicle lines around the world. GM sells more than one million diesel engines annually, with products that offer a range of choices from the 1.3L four-cylinder diesel engine sold in the Opel Agila and Corsa, up to the 6.6L V-8 Duramax diesel sold in full-size vans, heavy duty pickups and medium duty trucks in the U.S.

    GM first introduced the Duramax diesel 6.6L V-8 in the U.S. in the 2001 model year and since then, customer enthusiasm for this heavy duty diesel has been outstanding. In fact, GM's heavy duty pickup truck market share has jumped nearly tenfold in the six years that Duramax engines have been offered.
  • blufz1blufz1 Member Posts: 2,045
    I ain't buyin' no GM diesel. Gimme the Honda. :D
  • moparbadmoparbad Member Posts: 3,870
    Honda does not even build a truck to put a diesel into.
  • jkinzeljkinzel Member Posts: 735
    The "Ridgeline", if you can call it a truck.
  • gagricegagrice Member Posts: 31,450
    Would the Ridgeline be considered a cross over truck? Kind of like the guys that cut the trunk out of an old Caddy and put in a PU bed.

    I cannot believe that Honda is happy with the sales of the Ridgeline. Maybe that diesel would give it a second chance.
  • blufz1blufz1 Member Posts: 2,045
    The diesels are incoming for the Ridgeline,Pilot,CRV,etc.
  • blufz1blufz1 Member Posts: 2,045
    I think Honda projected about the sales level that they are getting. They didn't expect it be an F150 seller....oops!
  • gagricegagrice Member Posts: 31,450
    A nice diesel Pilot could be in my future. I will say it is hard to find anyone that does not like their Honda. I just have little time for arrogant dealers. My local Tipton Honda is the pits. The people I talked to at Poway Honda next door to my GMC dealer were decent. At least they offered to let me test drive the Civic Hybrid. I have to say the new CRV is not bad looking. I may have to sit in one.
  • jkinzeljkinzel Member Posts: 735
    I spoke with my sister the other day and she and hubby just bought a new 07 Honda CR V and they love it. Only 1500 miles and they are getting 32mpg highway. I don’t know if the 32mpg is paper and pencil or computer.
  • moparbadmoparbad Member Posts: 3,870
    2.2 i-CTDI diesel is available on the CR-V sold in Europe. Great vehicle.
    If Honda installs it's new diesel on the CR-V as well as the Accord they will really change some attitudes in the USA toward diesel.

    I sure as heck hope Honda uses the same ad agency in the US as they do in the UK
  • blufz1blufz1 Member Posts: 2,045
    The ground clearance on the CRV is really comfortable to enter/exit. Think you will like it. I am waiting for the diesel version. It should get 32/42 city/hwy. Potential for big fuel problems w/the mideast and the diesel reduces those costs.
  • blufz1blufz1 Member Posts: 2,045
    They have already stated both the CRV and the Accord get the diesel. It's not the european 2.2. It's rumored to be 2.4 or 2.5 for the U.S.
  • gagricegagrice Member Posts: 31,450
    I would just as soon it was the smaller version myself. I am more interested in the 42 MPG on the hwy than how fast I can go 0-60 MPH. I know there are a lot of skeptics when it comes to selling diesel cars. I think the Accord diesel could put Honda back in the lead over Toyota for the number ONE sedan. As long as they keep the diesel premium under $1000 it should sell great.

    Honda needs to give their dealers a course in "How to treat customers".

    I was very impressed with the Acura Salesman at Kearny Mesa Acura. Almost convinced my wife we should buy the MDX.
  • altair4altair4 Member Posts: 1,469
    Like many of you, I'm waiting for the Accord Diesel. Here would be my dream setup: an Accord diesel wagon. I don't need or want the size of a Pilot. I'd love it if the price differential was a $1,000 or less. What I'm not looking forward to is the potential for the Accord diesel to be popular and have the Honda dealer network price up the car way above sticker or load them with a bunch of dealer-installed garbage.

    I looked a Hondas in the '80's, and was completely put off by their sales approach. I bought an Accord in the late '90's, despite not enjoying the purchasing process or the service department's arrogance.

    Meh, maybe I'll wait for other turbodiesels to come out, now that I actually think about it!
  • kcflyerkcflyer Member Posts: 78
    I too am eagerly awaiting the diesel Accord. What I am not looking forward to is running the gauntlet of Western PA Honda dealers. I tried them in 2000 when the Odyssey was all the rage and was treated like a leper. So I bought a Windstar for the wife and two months later a Sentra for me.(liked the civic but the insult was too fresh) Since then we passed the Windstar (which is holding up great) on to the folks. In 2004 after being snubbed again by the Honda aristocracy while looking at a Ridgeline we bought the first of two GMC pickups. Total profit to Honda on the four vehicle purchases in the last 7 years.....$0

    Maybe this time around they will treat me like a customer instead of an inconvenience, if not the diesel Maxima will only be a few months behind.
  • hwyhobohwyhobo Member Posts: 265
    I would just as soon it was the smaller version myself. I am more interested in the 42 MPG on the hwy than how fast I can go 0-60 MPH.

    +1

    I know it will have enough torque to handle whatever I need, and I do not buy a diesel for rubber-burning starts. I want it for fuel efficiency. I hope Honda does not make the mistake with diesel it did with Accord Hybrid.
  • blufz1blufz1 Member Posts: 2,045
    How big do you guys think the new Honda V6 diesel will be? I vote for 3.0 liters. What do you think?
  • gagricegagrice Member Posts: 31,450
    A 3.0L V6 in the Pilot or Ridgeline would be good for pulling a 7k to 8k lb trailer.

    I think that a V6 diesel for the Accord or CRV would be total over kill. The 5 cylinder 2.8L engine in My Sprinter RV that weighed 8500 lbs was plenty of power.

    I am sure you have read all the reports on the 2.2L 4 cylinder that is used in the EU Accords. It was raced at 130+ MPH and still got 75 MPG in mileage trials. The 2.0L TDI in the Passat Wagon I had was plenty of power.
  • blufz1blufz1 Member Posts: 2,045
    Yes,the V6 diesel is for the bigger vehicles. The I4 is for the Accord/CRV.
  • altair4altair4 Member Posts: 1,469
    You wrote:

    What I am not looking forward to is running the gauntlet of Western PA Honda dealers. I tried them in 2000 when the Odyssey was all the rage and was treated like a leper.

    Heh, I'm in Western PA, too! Here's my story. When we looked at the Ody at about that time, I came in to the dealer with my wife, my baby, and my -in laws. The sales guy told me I couldn't even sit in one. And the topper...I'm there with five people, and the salesman says "you're really not minivan people." THEN he tries to show me a CRV. I laughed out loud and said "thanks" and we left. What a moron...
  • blufz1blufz1 Member Posts: 2,045
    That's really sick. In Dallas, the Honda dealers seem better than most brands.
  • jkinzeljkinzel Member Posts: 735
    Today I had some time to kill so I went to the Honda dealer in Tacoma, WA to look at the CRV. I was helped by a young man in his mid twenties and he was more than helpful and very polite. I made it very clear that I was window shopping and had no intentions of buying in the near future but wanted to look at the CRV.
    He was very professional and I felt good about the encounter.
    Now on topic. We talked about the diesel and of course he had no clue, but now that I have looked at the car up close I would think the 2.2L diesel would be more than enough.
    BTW, I was impressed with car, very nice.
  • blufz1blufz1 Member Posts: 2,045
    I particulary like the step in height on the new CRV.
  • tomcat63tomcat63 Member Posts: 82
    Yeah, that´s what I call real democracy!
    Before the Honda guys even have the slightest idea how to build an appropriate V6 diesel, you should put the displacement to the vote first....
  • blufz1blufz1 Member Posts: 2,045
    Honda builds the largest number of engines in the world. I think they can handle it. "Vote for" is a figure of speech.
  • tomcat63tomcat63 Member Posts: 82
    They probably build the largest number of engines in the world - I got a Honda lawnmower, too!
    Ok, sorry, I didn´t check you ran completely out of humor meanwhile. "Vote for" as a figure of speech is familiar to me.
    But what is wrong with sometimes screwing up the coffee-party a little bit? Otherwise one could get the impression you´re just a paralized rabbit sitting in a hole waiting for the lottery jackpot (a Honda diesel)....!
  • altair4altair4 Member Posts: 1,469
    How many of you are facing opposition from your significant other to the idea of buying a diesel? When I first mentioned it to my wife, she looked at me like I was insane. "They stink. They're noisey. They stink. Did I mention they stink?"

    Slowly, I've been breaking the thought to her...like pointing out how many of our local stations now carry diesel fuel, how the recent Mercedes don't smoke or make much noise.

    It's a slow process, but I should have the opposition pretty much knocked down by the time diesels hit the mid-size market. Really, I cant' wait for the Asians to bring their diesel game to our shores.
  • blufz1blufz1 Member Posts: 2,045
    Got a Honda lawnmower and a Honda motorcycle and an Accord. They learn more by building more types of engines.
  • hwyhobohwyhobo Member Posts: 265
    How many of you are facing opposition from your significant other to the idea of buying a diesel? When I first mentioned it to my wife, she looked at me like I was insane. "They stink. They're noisey. They stink. Did I mention they stink?"

    Invite her for a romantic trip to Europe. Rent a diesel. Tell her nothing. At the end tell her it was a diesel and show her the engine. Watch her surprise.

    Problem solved. ;)
  • kyfdxkyfdx Moderator Posts: 268,137
    That seems like a lot of trouble.. I just do whatever my wife says.. ;)

    The only bad thing about my Honda lawnmower? I may never get to buy another mower.. I'm at 17 years and counting... :)

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  • bristol2bristol2 Member Posts: 736
    Don't tell her it's a diesel, she'll never know.

    Of course that advice could really backfire if she ever fills it up......
  • blufz1blufz1 Member Posts: 2,045
    Yeah,they are like that. Btw my dealer told me to change oil every 10 mows. I have done so w/ mobil 1 high endurance synthetic. Going to 15 mows per OCI. :)
  • kyfdxkyfdx Moderator Posts: 268,137
    I change mine every 13-15 hours.. That equates to one year.. (I have a pretty small yard).

    Of course, I didn't plan on it being 13-15 hours... it just worked out that way.. ;)

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  • blufz1blufz1 Member Posts: 2,045
    Best then to change after the last mow in fall so you have clean oil in it over winter.
  • tomcat63tomcat63 Member Posts: 82
    How is your mpg then?
    I have absolutely no idea if and what kind of oil is in the crankcase of mine, but with 120 octane aviation gasoline I get some reasonable 25-30 mpg/hwy, depending on the density of gras.
  • altair4altair4 Member Posts: 1,469
    You wrote:
    Invite her for a romantic trip to Europe. Rent a diesel.

    Well, I could do that...but then I wouldn't be able to afford the dang car, with the USD being worth so little (2 bux = 1 GBP, 1.34 bux = 1 Euro).
  • altair4altair4 Member Posts: 1,469
    Well, there is that problem...

    Funny, but true story - in the mid 80's, my wife was travelling from Philadelphia to NYC to attend a conference with a co-worker. The co-worker drove his clapped-out Toyota Corolla. On the way home, he needed gas and accidently pumped in about a 1/3 of a tank of diesel fuel. Catching his mistake, he filled the rest of the tank with gas and finished the drive home.

    The car left a smoke screen that James Bond would have been proud of. The entire rear of the car was blackened with soot. He was probably personally responsible for inducing chronic lung problems on half the people on I-95 that day. But to the engine's credit, it made it through that episode and continued to run for some years more (albeit on only gasoline!).
  • blufz1blufz1 Member Posts: 2,045
    How's my mpg?. Sure, I get 3 mows per .29 gallons. ;)
  • qbrozenqbrozen Member Posts: 33,787
    you guys change the oil on your lawnmowers??
    i'm not even sure how to do that! I've probably run mine 60 or 70 hours on the factory oil so far.

    i believe its a 13.5 hp briggs & stratton.

    '11 GMC Sierra 1500; '98 Alfa 156 2.0TS; '08 Maser QP; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '11 Mini Cooper S

  • tomcat63tomcat63 Member Posts: 82
    Romantic trips can also end up with non intended results:
    Two years ago my wife and I spent two relaxing weeks in Miami to celebrate our 10th wedding day.
    Exploring some spots in South FL we rented a brandnew Mustang GT convertible...
    After hundreds of debates back home I finally had to trade in our old family-coach (´98 Audi A6 2.5TDI Station) three weeks ago and come back home with...?
    Have to confess - apart from its poor fuel mileage I begin to like the Mustang, too.
    Unfortunately the weather is pretty lousy here for the moment.
  • blufz1blufz1 Member Posts: 2,045
    Check out your manual or call your dealer. I just warm it up and tip my Honda over. It drains from the filler neck. It just takes 12-14oz to refill. I use the most expensive mobil 1 synthetic. Heck, it's a $400 Mower.
  • tomcat63tomcat63 Member Posts: 82
    What do you do with the used oil afterwards?
    Collect it for your bike or car...?
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