Actually, common rail diesels are pretty quiet. I have an '09 Jetta TDI and I have no problem pulling up behind pedestrians without them hearing me. Now, the earlier ones were a different story.
That's to control the emission. It has separate tank for it and it is expensive! Diesel emission control is complex and not maintenance free.
That was a classic M-B dealer ripoff. You can buy the stuff at truck stops, auto parts stores, etc. and fill the tank yourself for about $10. The diesel exhaust fluid is currently called for with diesel engines larger than 2.0 and/or larger cars. The funny thing about the DEF is that it helps eliminate some of the emission systems and gives the diesel better fuel mileage.
Are there any new diesels that are not common rail? Try the new BlueMotion Polo if you want to hear the clatter I'm talking about. Even my not-too-efficient diesel is noisy in cold weather.
No Polos here, but I believe up until very recently they were still using the PD injectors which are noisy.
I hope it ranks up there with the Jetta and Golf MPG HWY at least. The small diesel cars are excellent for freeway driving and often give the Prius a serious run for the money when conditions are right. I wish they could increase their city/stop&go MPG though.
My brother had a 1974 Vega Kammback. He had to get rid of it because his family outgrew it. Me, I had a 1975 Cosworth Vega. Drove like a truck, but went like a bat out of hell. I got an offer I couldn't refuse from a guy from GM, so I sold it.
Does GM offer any Diesel Cars in the U.S.? Though they offer the cruze in other countries, is it really that easy to get it here and meet epa standards? Been my perception that Chevy does not offer any bargains and does not promote (via sales) the new technology that they offer...
Have we all forgotten so soon how GM makes outlandish claims, then backs away when delivery time approaches. I will get excited about this when and if it appears.
IIRC, the last GM diesel passenger car was around 1985-6. If they do bring the Cruze here, it'll be the first since then.
No. It's getting easier. Combine toughened European standards with a desire to improve fuel economy and you end up with cleaner-burning engines with lower emissions. The key issue has been NOx. It seems now that manufacturers are going for the cheaper urea solution route and if GM wants to keep the costs down I expect they'll do the same. Although diesel cars are a niche, they're a growing niche that will help the company meet the tougher CAFE standards. They're behind Toyota, Ford and Honda in hybrids but right now the only diesel competition would be VW, with a possibility of Mazda if they can get their Sky-D working.
City vs highway mpg. I am so tired of this illegal tactic of using highway mpg when city is THE number to compare.
I drove a Chevy diesel last week, the Captiva. it had a 2.0 engine, 5 speed auto, and achieved a whopping 26mpg (US) on a three hour cross country run. on a trip to the local petrol station (about a mile across town) it achieved 9.8mpg(US). What a pile of shit.
You drove a Captiva? Eeeooou. That's thoroughly dreadful. And 10 mpg (15 mpg UK) will quickly bankrupt you at $8+ a US gallon over here in the UK. It's not like it's a nice car either. You wouldn't mind so much if it was a Range Rover or S500 getting that consumption.
No it isn't. The combined number is what should be quoted. There's a reason why the EPA combined value is 55% city. It's especially important not just to quote city mileage when it's a lot easier to make improvements to mileage in city driving.
How about the "500mi tank" the SUVs now flaunt. These things must be 30+ gallons because we would get 250-275 out of 16 gallons in our explorer. Must be nice to carry around a fat person's worth of gas in your trunk so you can go as far as me on a 1/4 of that.
