Future diesel models - response from MB
 

It seems strange to discuss new cars on this forum, but I'll give it a try anyway...

I recently contacted Mercedes regarding their plans for future diesel models to be sold here (here = Canada, but the answer for the US is probably similar). The reply was discouraging...

I said:

And their response was:

I also contacted Audi, since I think that the new A3 looks interesting, and the A4 is a fantastic car with the most incredible interior I've ever seen in a vehicle. The textures, fit and finish, and 'atmosphere' of being in the car are all perfect. Reliability may be another story... but they're probably no different than MB in that respect. Anyway, Audi's reply was even more discouraging:

While I appreciate their honest answers, it wasn't what I wanted to hear! I guess this is an incentive to hang on to your existing diesel car as long as you can, because nothing new is coming any time soon... :(

Unfortunately, I don't think it is in MBs interest to put diesels in low end cars yet. In the US market they seem to introduce new technology at the high end and let it trickle down slowly. I don't think they are very interested in competing with VW TDIs in this market. I would guess that it will be quite a few years before we see small/cheap MB diesels on this side of the atlantic. Just my opinion.

yeah
 

Toyota kinda says the same thing. I think all manufactures (except VW) think selling diesel in the US is a bust. Such a bummer...

Actually from an inside source at VW they plan to exit the diesel market by 2007 because of emissions stringency the only leverage is mass production use of biodiesel teamed with a catlytic converter which is still overcoming design issues.

Hopefully with higher fuel prices more interest will be placed on clean burning high mileage cars.

No
 

Your next car will be a Microsoft programed plastic V16 GAS HOG, if the auto makers have their way. :mad: :mad: :mad:

I'm just hoping my 123s outlive me so I don't have to deal with it. :)

Unfortunately, I don't think it is in MBs interest to put diesels in low end cars yet.

Not entirely true. MB has diesels in their entire lineup in Europe with the exception of the SL's (K's, R's, etc). The US market is not ready to accept diesels because of a preconceived notion of diesels being dirty and noisy. The majority of the US public is completely oblivious to the fact that most present day production car diesels (MB, Audi, BMW, VW, etc) outperform their gasoline brethren in HP, torque, and fuel economy. They are quiet and actually quite clean. The US market needs to re-evaluate their diesel blends to become more in line with those produced in Europe.

Mercedes sells diesels in all their low end cars.....In Europe...

They just don't wish to sell affordible cars with diesels here....

Diesel on...
 

Hi,
Our new E320 CDI is doing really well right now on the current US poor quality Diesel fuel. It uses a catalist and 02 sensor to run cleanly. When the US has the new High grade diesel fuel for 2007 we might see the new tri-turbo V-6
diesel come over from Europe. This engine will not run well on current US available fuel. However, it can be fitted into darn near every current MB vehicle model, and with Urea injection it should pass emmissions in all 50 states. Time will only tell. The US has to get the diesel cleaned up first.
The first possible car to get it would be the new M/R/GL chassis.
MB wants to bring diesels back, but if there is no way to pass emmssions or
if no one will buy them, what would be the point?
Dr.D

I agree completely, I was referring to their marketing strategy in the US only. They have no interest in selling "economy cars" in this market. They are probably correct (from a business point of view) because they are not likely to be competitive, the profit margin on low end cars is much lower, it could cut into their E-series sales, and it would hurt their image in the US.

Nope, they're not convincing me. I have a gas hog but I drive that once maybe twice a month. :o :D

Watching Bill Ford's ad inbetween TV programming last night sounded the most promising for US automakers displaying a Escape Hybrid and promising technological innovation. Then there's DCX and GM cranking out Jeep Commander and silly artsy Hummer ads.

Around here having an SUV just seems to give people the license to drive like a-holes and it endangers everyone....sad part is that they think it's funny when they near kill you. :mad:

This whole thing with diesels in the US is some government BS. Ever since GM ruined the diesel market in the US in the mid 80s by trying to convert a gasser into a diesel, the government is trying everything to keep diesels off the streets. Why? Because the american autoindustry is still unable to build diesel engines for passenger cars (after 20years!). Mercedes diesels are sold in any class (A. B. C, E, S, etc.) in a range from 1.6litre to 3.2litre everywhere around the world except the US. In NY state they're going one step further: it is illegal (impossible) here to register a brandnew diesel powered passenger car. All the foreign automakers have the technology to build reliable, silent, fuel-economic diesel engines at reasonable prices, but the US government won't let them bring them over here, they rather destroy the environment with their gasoline eating cars just to keep the GM and Ford and Mobil manager's pockets filled. I swear I will never buy an american car and probably never again a gasser of any brand.

GM never converted any gasser to a diesel....thats pure horse manure...


Take a look at the diesels in the ford escorts...that did little to help things either...

Well, I don't know exactly what they did but I do know that they tryed to build a diesel engine for passenger cars some 20 years ago. In the mid 90s they still weren't done so Opel/Vauxhall, a GM company had to buy diesel engines from BMW (not the best choice either...) to put in their cars.

I don't think you'll see any more diesel cars in US until the ultra-low sufur fuel standard goes in effect next summer. It's simply too hard to build an efficient catalytic converter that can tolerate high-sulfur fuel. That said, it's just a matter of time before more diesel cars are sold in US. Fuel economy used to be a non-issue in US, but that's changing. Diesel engines used to put out too much NOx to pass CA and NY emissions tests, but that's changing too.

It's really cool that someone actually sends requests to manufacturers asking for these things. I work for a large corporation myself, and in my experience direct customer input like this is surprisingly effective. One would think that a company like MB already pumps lots of money into market research, and knows all there's to know, and a few customers asking for things would have zero impact. The reality is often more complicated. I personally believe that most "market research" is total BS, the results that marketing people come up with are simply what their boss wanted to see, for whatever internal political reasons. This is how you get things like GM saying "Americans don't want fuel-efficient cars, we have done market research so we know". Then of course Toyota proves them to be total idiots. So direct requests sent to sales offices (this is a different branch of company than marketing, which is important) do tend to have appreciable impact.

Unfortunately, no sales rep from any half-way-big company would tell you anything specific about upcoming product releases. The corporate mentality is to keep those things as secret as possible; you'd have to sign an NDA to find out anything at all about future plans.