Diesel News: POST HERE

[michaelgroves]

Here's a list of new diesel powered vehicles we'll see in the 2010 or 2011 models years, as reported by Winding Road magazine

Acura TSX, RDX......2.2L 4..... 258 lb-ft......41 mpg highway
Audi A4......3.0L V6.....406 lb ft......43 mpg highway
Chamco pickup.....small diesel ??
Dodge 1500......5.0L V8......500 ft-lb...... ?? mpg
Ford F150......4.4L V8......430 ft-lb...... ?? mpg
Mahindra pickup......2.2L 4......300 lb ft.......35 mpg?
Mercedes GLK.....3.0L V6.....398 ft-lb.....32 mpg
Nissan Maxima......3.0L V6...... ?? ...... ??
Porsche Cayenne......3.0L V6......406 ft-lb...... 25 mpg?
Subaru Forester, Outback......2.0L 4..... ??..... ??
Toyota Tundra, Sequoia.....4.5L V8.....479 ft-lb.....23 mpg
VW Touareg2.....3.0L V6.....406 ft-lb.....25 mpg

It's the power figure that makes/breaks a diesel's performance, though. Torque can be pretty much taken for granted (and also is only really meaningful when it's seen as a curve, else gearing is a perfect substitute).

 

[haven]

The Jetta diesel is sold out for 2008.

VW made 1300 Jetta diesel powered cars available
for calendar 2008. The cars are now all spoken for.
The manufacturer is now planning to increase the
allotment of diesels for USA. They will make a diesel
version of the new Rabbit available when the new
model is introduced next year.

Chip Haven

 

[haven]

Audi is sponsoring a coast-to-coast drive as a way to showcase the diesel-powered versions of its vehicles. The vehicles include
-- Q7, a large SUV with three rows of seats, powered by a 3.0L V6 diesel
-- Q5, Audi's version of the VW Touareg, 3.0L V6 diesel
-- A4 sedan, same V6 diesel
-- A3 four door station wagon, 2.0L diesel, also used in VW Jetta

A fleet 23 vehicles will be used. Drivers are a collection of international auto journalists. The 4600 mile route will take six days of mostly freeway driving.

After two days, the fuel economy numbers are impressive:

Q7 29 to 31 mpg
Q5 32 to 38 mpg
A4 36 to 41 mpg
A3 43 to 46 mpg

At this point, Audi has announced plans to sell only the Q7 with diesel engine in USA. VW is selling the 2.0L diesel in the Jetta, and has plans to offer the 3.0L V6 in the Touareg 2.

Chip Haven

 

[4Rescue]

It's the power figure that makes/breaks a diesel's performance, though. Torque can be pretty much taken for granted (and also is only really meaningful when it's seen as a curve, else gearing is a perfect substitute).

How do you figure??? An engines torque numbers and curve (as you rightly stated) are directly responsible for they're fuel economy over a broad spectrum of use... Much more so than horsepower. Maybe I mis understood your statement though.

What I find so lame about the Diesel market here in the US is how so many loser contractors/construction workers feel they NEED some HUGE truck even though it's lifted 16 inches and never get's used to haul stuff like it was intended (nor could you load it or would it be able to). Whereas most of the rest of the world makes a Toyota 70 Series Ute do the same job without comlpaint. So in the US there's a percieved lack of intrest in smaller diesel powered trucks. I for one want a D4d or 1kzt powerd truck. Diesel is the way of the future plain and simple.

Cheers

Dave

 

[haven]

"so many contractors/construction workers feel they NEED some HUGE truck"

It's the "my dog is bigger than your dog" imperative. High fuel prices
have put a serious dent in this market. Pickups with 10 inch lift kits
are common on the used car lots in my area.

I'm still waiting for a decent small pickup with diesel engine. The Toyota
and Nissan pickups sold in other markets would be perfect. I'm still hoping that
Mahindra, Tata and the Chinese trucks make it here some day.

I will be interested to see what customizers are showing at SEMA
in a few weeks.

Chip Haven

 

[cruiser guy]

I'm still waiting for a decent small pickup with diesel engine. The Toyota
and Nissan pickups sold in other markets would be perfect. I'm still hoping that
Mahindra, Tata and the Chinese trucks make it here some day.

They did have the Nissan and Toyota small diesels sold stateside and in Canada in the early/mid '80's. They were non-turbo generally and did not sell well (American's want power and those trucks did not have power!). I had an '83 Toyota diesel pickup in Canada and the worst decision I made was to sell it when the box was rusty. I should have just put on a newer box and kept going. We have an '81 or so Nissan diesel pickup here in Guatemala that was originally from Texas.

As for the Chinese or other trucks, I'm not so sure I'd be eager to buy one of those. Reliability of the one we have at school here in Guatemala is less than impressive. maybe in a couple of years they'll have the reliability issues sorted out but for now...

 

[haven]

Toyota confirmed again that their plans to put a diesel into the Tundra are now on hold indefinitely. Last January, Toyota announced that they would put the 4.5L V8 turbodiesel in the Tundra. This engine is used in the Land Cruiser everywhere except North America. But then diesel fuel prices went through the roof, and big truck sales all but ceased. Tundra sales were down 60.7 percent in September 08. So Toyota won't be adding a new engine to the Tundra lineup. However, if the new Ford F150 and Dodge 1500 diesels are successful, Toyota will re-visit their decision.

It's unclear if the North American Land Cruiser will be available with the V8 diesel. Land Cruiser competitors Audi (Q7) and Mercedes (GL320 cdi) have diesel powered models for sale in USA. These models post significantly better fuel mileage figures than their gas engine counterparts.

For example, in the Audi Mileage Marathon, teams of journalists driving coast to coast in the Q7 with V6 diesel are averaging around 30 mpg. The Q7 with V8 gas engine with about the same torque gets about 18 mpg on premium fuel.

So diesel fuel is still the most economical choice for a big SUV.

Chip Haven

 

[haven]

Now Ford is saying "maybe we will, maybe we won't" about their 4.5L V8 diesel engine. The diesel provides about 20% more mpg than the 5.4L V8 gas engine, and offers comparable torque. The problem lies in the fact that diesel fuel costs about 20% more than regular gas. So the miles per fuel dollar figure for the two engines is about the same. Add the fact that the 4.5L diesel will cost more to purchase, and you've got an engine that might not find many buyers.

Ford is more sanguine about their new EcoBoost 4 and 6 cylinder gas engines, which use direct injection and turbocharging to produce power similar to today's gas V8. The EcoBoost engines are likely to cost only slightly more than today's gas engines.

Ford, Chevy and Dodge have a problem that is entirely of their own making. By increasing the size of the "standard" pickup (e.g., F150) over the years, they have created a vehicle that is larger and heavier than it needs to be for its primary functions.

What's needed is a new design that is smaller, lighter and more aerodynamic. Let the industrial users who need extra towing and carrying capacity buy the large, heavy duty pickup. The rest of us can do fine with a more fuel efficient mid-size model.

Chip Haven

 

[haven]

VW of America announced that they will build the next generation of Passat in a new plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee. The new model should begin production in 2011.

The vehicle design will be for North America only, which may mean it could suffer from the "longer, wider, heavier" syndrome displayed by Honda in the difference between Euro and USA versions of the Accord. There's a chance that VW will give this vehicle a new name since it will be quite different from the Euro model.

A diesel engine will be optional in the new Passat. The European Passat uses the 2.0L turbodiesel, the same engine as the USA Jetta. But VW may choose to use the 3.0L V6 turbodiesel instead.

The V6 diesel produces around 360 ft-lb of torque, up from 250 ft-lb in the 2.0L four cylinder diesel. For reference, VW's 3.6L V6 gas engine makes about 260 ft-lb.

The 3.0L V6 diesel is the engine VW will use in the new Touareg 2 SUV. Audi is using the same 3.0L V6 diesel in the A4 sedan and the Q5 SUV. So the V6 diesel will be an important engine for VW in North America.

In the recent coast-to-coast Audi Mileage Marathon, A4s and Q5s with V6 diesel consistently achieved 35 mpg or better in mostly highway driving. The smaller A3, with the 2.0L diesel, is recording 40+ mpg.

Chip Haven

 

[haven]

http://www.dailytech.com/article.aspx?newsid=13252

Greenfuel Technologies is a USA company that is looking into ways to use algae (aquatic plants) to produce biodiesel. It's possible to extract lots of oil from particular strains of algae. The oil can be used as diesel fuel without much additional processing.

While other companies are experimenting with algae for biodiesel production, Greenfuel is ready to start commercial production. Greenfuel has a $92 million contract with Aurantia, a Spanish alternative energy company, to build a 250 acre/100 hectacre algae farm. The highly automated farm is expected to be completed in 2011.

Once the oil is extracted, the algae biomass can be used in the production of other useful products. Algae can be used as food for livestock, as fertilizer, and to produce a number of industrial chemicals.

One environmentally friendly angle to algae production is that algae, like all green plants, absorbs CO2 during photosynthesis. Commercial algae farms can use waste CO2 from power plants or industrial production facilities as food for the algae. Most other biofuel projects generate more CO2 than they use, but algae farming captures CO2 that would otherwise go into the atmosphere or require expensive pollution control equipment to remove.

Different strains of algae produce varying yields of oil, carbohydrates and proteins. If you want to optimize biodiesel production, choose an algae that produces the most oil. If you want to produce ethanol, choose one that produces more carbohydrates.

However, ethanol production requires additional inputs of energy to process and distill the carbohydrates. That's the beauty of algae for biodiesel -- the oil is relatively cheap and easy to extract. However, algae requires large capital investment (land, growing facilities, access to water and feedstocks of fertilizer and CO2, etc) to get started.

Although no algae growing facility has yet achieved it, an acre of land growing algae is estimated to be able to produce about 5000 gallons of biodiesel per year. This is as much as 30 times more fuel per acre than other crop-based sources of biodiesel.

Algae is worth watching as an alternative source of energy.

Chip Haven

 

[haven]

GM has reiterated that its new 4.5L turbodiesel V8 will produce 300+ hp and 500+ lb-ft of torque. The new diesel will be 25% more fuel efficient than the 5.3L V8 gas engine in the Silverado pickup, and will fit in the same space that the gas V8 does today.

Unlike Ford and Toyota, GM continues to say they will offer the new diesel engine in 2009 model pickups. Dodge is expected to offer a 5.0L V8 diesel in 2010. Let's hope this includes the Power Wagon. Logically, full-size SUVs would be the next recipients of the new diesel engines.

Now we just have to hope that GM and Dodge won't charge a huge premium for the new V8 diesels, and that diesel fuel prices will stay close to regular gas.

Chip Haven

 

[charlieaarons]

The Big 3 are still hung up on a HP/torque war. How about some vehicles with half a 6.6L Duramax (3.3L 4cyl), like a SUV, or half a 4.5L (2.25L 4cyl, 150hp, 250 ft-lb) in a smallish car or crossover for some really impressive mpg figures? Does someone really need 300hp/500 ft-lb in a 1/2 ton pickup or SUV?
Will they ever catch on? Will we ever see a collection of small diesels like in Europe?

Charlie

PS: The Sprinter van is the right idea: full sized vehicle, 3.2L diesel with high specific output. Built of course by guess who.

 

[Gurkha]

Actually the Mercedes OM611 with 141bhp makes a superb plaform for a small diesel off roader on lines of JEEP etc.

 

[Dmarchand]

Diesel BMW 3 series is coming. nearly 425ft lb of torque from a 3.0 liter with 265 hp.

http://www.boston.com/cars/car_revi...veils_50_state_legal_diesel_and_fixes_idrive/

Looks pretty exciting. 600 miles per tank.

 

[lowenbrau]

The Big 3 are still hung up on a HP/torque war. How about some vehicles with half a 6.6L Duramax (3.3L 4cyl), like a SUV, or half a 4.5L (2.25L 4cyl, 150hp, 250 ft-lb) in a smallish car or crossover for some really impressive mpg figures? Does someone really need 300hp/500 ft-lb in a 1/2 ton pickup or SUV?
Will they ever catch on? Will we ever see a collection of small diesels like in Europe?

Charlie

PS: The Sprinter van is the right idea: full sized vehicle, 3.2L diesel with high specific output. Built of course by guess who.

I totally agree. An F150, 1500 Silverado, Ram 1500, Titan or Tundra with a 200 HP/350 ft lbs diesel would serve me just fine. It would easily tow a trail rig on a trailer. and should get reasonable mileage when empty. I always thought Dodge should have put the 4BT Cummins in the Dakota. It would have fit that scale of vehicle nicely. In South America, they sell the Ford Super Duty F250 with a common rail version of the Cummins 4BT. That would be a fabulous truck which I'd buy in a heartbeat over the 6.4l Powersmoke.

I was skeptical of the newest version of the Sprinter when they swapped their tried and true 2.7l inline 5 cyl for the v6 but one of my contractors bought one and he let me test drive it and it seems like a fine powerplant. It pushes that big breadbox into a headwind with a ton of cargo in the back, no problemo. I'd be really interested to see it make its way into the Wrangler.