Just got back from a month long R&R in Italy and France and I must say I was amazed by the quality of our econo box rental car and a little annoyed that the Europeans seem to get much better products from Ford than we do in the small car category. We were driving around in a Ford focus diesel that was so refined that you couldn’t tell it was a diesel at idle or cruise. Very torque fast car with 4 people and there luggage. Handled great on the twisty roads of Tuscany and was rock solid at 160 KPH + that Italians cruise down the highway at. Returned over 50 mpg over the entire trip. For daily driver a nice diesel Ford like this would be great. Shame they are not available in the US it really was eye opening how good diesels have become. Why have the complexity of a hybrid when a simple diesel gets great MPG is fast comfortable etc. Maybe the US will get over its diesel phobia.

Nick

it's all about oil, brother. the politicians in bed with the oil companies and car companies.
a threesome of megalomaniacs that conspire to keep us enslaved to the juice.
we all know about the current administrations' commitment to this, but the telling part is a guy like john edwards, a democrat populist supposed "progressive" and all he can come up with is that "america needs to give up it's s.u.v.'s".

it's pathetic. and wrong.

Eh, I think it is a bit less interesting a reason as that. Europe has a cleaner burning diesel. It costs more to make in the first place and also requires more modern refiners. The reason europe has it, is because their emissions laws have mandated it. That engine may not burn clean enough here for it to be viable. Another reason is that diesels just do not sell. My family has owned 2 vw jetta tdi's, 2 passat tdi's, and even a 330 diesel sport *while in england*. VW stopped making the passat tdi here because it just won't sell. My sister still has a TDI Jetta and Diesel costs more than gas right now. Once you figure in the cost of the extra maintenance they require the savings is moot. Sadly, mechanics charge through the nose to work on the cars with little reason, for example oil changes cost her double what a gas engine would.

Most of the manufacturers offer diesel options to the rest of the world. Nissan has an optional 2.5l turbo diesel for the Pathfinder, which has more towing power than my gas version. It gets 33mpg. I think I would buy one if it's ever offered here. I'd like to see biodiesel become more available. It's cleaner and should be a cost effective option over dino diesel if produced in a large enough quantity.

One day....

actually, you made my point. thanks.

the key is your word "mandated". that is the evil "anti-market-driven-capitalism" ideology that is behind this mess. it will only be after the fact that our leaders will recognize those mistakes. don't get me wrong, i believe in capitalism, but we have gone way too far down a "self-governing" or "market-driven" economic policy.

I disagree about the cost of upkeep for the diesels. We have 4 vw diesels. They get about 45mpg city/hyway. Sure diesel cost more and maybe maintenance costs more but you can get up to 300,000 miles on a car. We bought these cars with about 100,000. miles on them for an average of about $8500.00 apiece. In the long run they will be cheaper to operate then a gas version.
When the big 3 are losing market share to the japs it doesn't make sense to not bring in diesels. What the goverment should do is help with this process, change the epa crap and encourage more diesel production and logistics.
If Ford would bring out the tarus with a diesel that gets about 35 -40 mph when gas is going over $3 per gallon they could sell them by the butt load.
Look at the price for used diesels vw and 1998-1999 mb E300 diesels. They have increased in resale value over the last 3 years. There is a reason for this. It is called economy.

lotus,
I think you are misinterpreting the word mandated
in europe the gas tax is significantly less for diesel versus gasoline.
so they could be "mandated" in the US too if we would only hike up the gasoline tax by $1.00/gallon (maybe $2)

then suddenly people would feel "mandated" to buy the cheaper diesel fuel

brant

I love my TDi! Wife does, too! Our fuel bills are less than half what they were when she was commuting in the A6. 17 gallons ($65+) of premium every 4 days vs. 13 gallons of diesel every 6 days at about $37. Uses the same synthetic oil as all the other VWs, and the filter costs the same........ I change the oil at 4K instead of 7, so there IS some extra expense. Timing belt intervals are about the same, and the parts costs are, as well. Plenty of acceleration "zip", no bad smell, and very little extra noise, especially with the windows up. We get around 45mpg mixed, with commute speeds of 75+. We pay a premium for TDis in CA, because they haven't sold them here for 4 or 5 years, I think. The Cap'n

admittedly secondary, my thesis is based on the latter definition of the transitive verb:
man·date



one can, and should in some cases rely on our leaders to do what is right for the whole, in deference to power. citing the above example, the racist power of the south yielded to desegregation (notwithstanding the ongoing issues).
on the whole, the federal government has easily as much ability to use existing and perhaps new funds (taxes or fees) to "mandate" both the oil and auto companies to provide an affordable option to the existing paradaigm.
it's currently not allowed due to the auto/oil/legislative tryst previously mentioned. once the public has a true and real alternative, they will consume it.

brandt, i'm not disputing the financial implications, i'm just saying it's not happening, and will not until the political environment is corrected to make these options possible here. the SOCIAL environment is already established!

paul

The new diesels are coming here. VW will start selling their LEV cars here next year. Honda , Subaru and others to follow. TDI sales were almost 50% for VW in the US so they must be hurting this year.

What do you think about a engine from this guy in the 914?
http://blogs.edmunds.com/Straightline/3653

What I like about the new Honda engines over the VW ones is they are smaller, lighter and have a timing chain. We still have a TDI but I drive a new Fit now as my non P car.