Quote:
Originally Posted by 04 Diesel
I still dont understand why American car companies didnt keep working on diesel powered cars. My brother had a 198? Ford car that was diesel and got great mpgs, if they would have stuck with that and improving the diesel motor every year they would have a great motor today. Way to go Cummins.
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Because, when gas was cheap, and stations selling dieel were relatively rare (still a problem today) the market just wasn't there. By the early '80s, when it looked like diesels would finally catch on in this country, the infamous Oldsmobile diesel helped to kill interest here. When the '80s diesel-fad passed, most manufactureres lost interest and dicontinued their US-market diesel cars. Just try finding diesel-specific parts today, for the surviving diesel Tempos, Chevettes, Toyotas and BMWs that sold here briefly back then.
Today, improvements in gas-engine technology, the weak economy, volatile fuel prices (remember when diesel was $1 higher than RUG recently) and tough new EPA regulations, coupled with the high premium most manufactureres charge for their diesels, make diesels a hard sell here.
I can justify my old Mercedes diesels because they allow me to drive a very durable car that gets acceptable fuel economy - 20 to 30 mpg compared with the 13-20 I got with most of my older gasser Benzes. But if I needed much higher fuel economy today, I'd probably get a used 5-speed Civic or Corolla.
Happy Motoring, Mark