Toyota, Isuzu Agree To Develop Diesel Engines

As far as I know, environmentalists in the US worry just as much about global warming as the next European person. So why not development a car for the USA as well. Everyone is talking about a Hybrid Diesel. It may very well happen, but if its only in Europe, then dam. The USA is sheit out of luck.

Because American can have better thing, hybrid.

Diesels are dirty and destroy the environment. A hybrid on the other hand allows the environment to regenerate. Hybrids are saving the planet and diesels aren't. It's that simple.

Diesels make the world go round. Hybrids are just a trend. Besides, where you gonna take your old batteries when they're not holding a charge anymore? A landfill...don't think so. You'll be storing them in your garage and violating yet another EPA regulation.

Japanese aren't smart businesses like DaimlerBenz and BMW. Japanese will fall of the face of the planet very soon, right along wit America.

lol

If the Japanese aren't smart then tell me why Lexus has destroyed BMW and Benz in global sales? It took the Germans 100 years to do this and Lexus has done it in less than 20 years. Stupid German fanboy.

So how much did Daimler lose on the whole Chrysler fiasco?? Good business decision there buddy. Whatever.

david989, what makes you think that Lexus has destroyed BMW and Benz. American marketers hired by Lexus have created a brand that many non-car-guys believe in but BMW, Mercedes and Audi continue to deliver more of the luxury promise of their brands than Lexus.

I point to the example of the S-Class front seats vs. the LS front seats. Both S-Class front seats have fully independent seat cushion length adjustment which Lexus provides for the driver only (makes me think of half a car). Lexus tried to clone the Maybach rear reclining seats but again for one side only (makes me think of half a car again). Lexus had a nice in-line 6 engine for the base GS model but replaced it with a V6. In-line sixes are inherently in much better balance. BMW continues to offer a superior in-line six engine. the Audi A8 has a rust-free aluminum body which Lexus does not have. The Lexus RX originally had a full-size spare on a matching alloy rim in a proper wheel well inside the vehicle but changed that to a mini spare mounted under the vehicle exposed to winter salt and mud.

By the way, early Toyotas imported North America rusted even faster than Fords. What product quality was that Toyota? Lexus cars are nothing more than Toyotas with fancier interiors and styling tweaks. One gets better value for the money by buying an Avalon.

BenzW124: you may want to enlighten yourself by studying numerous lists of the worlds largest companies. Type "global 500" in any search engine.

If you were just trying to make a funny remark, you ought to look through the list anyway.

Nice poem - touching...

Dude, your poem was....horrible.

Wasn't Lexus designed to compete against Cadillac and Lincoln as well as the German autos in America?

Limiting the number of cylinders will do nothing. Only limiting total engine displacement may curb fuel demand, and, even then, some tiny engines that rev up to very high RPM to get more power can be just as thirsty as lower RPM larger displacement engines. The only proper way to curb fuel demand is to tax the fuel and use the proceeds to repair our roads and bridges.

The only hybrids that make any sense at all are plug-in hybrids for strictly urban use. Even then power companies would have to have a special low electicity rate for customers charging up their plug-ins during off-peak hours.

Diesel offers high torque and good economy and cellulose ethanol is a renewable resource so these are the two alternatives to gasoline that I support. Right now we import some refined gasoline from Europe and ship our surplus diesel fuel to them -- this involves senseless cross-ocean transportation which can be eliminated by the adoption of more diesel vehicles in North America.

Hybrids are an add-on technology that is combined with an internal combustion engine (ICE) for propulsion.

A diesel is a different type of ICE and has no bearing on whether or not one prefers hybrids or not hybrids; so these continual arguments about how well non-hybrid diesels compete against gas-electric hybrids makes no sense. One should rather argue for hybrids or against hybrids or electric versus ICEs, but not arguing for a gas-electiric hybrid and comparing that to a diesel that does not have an electric motor. Of course a hybrid should be more environmentally friendly than a non-hybrid diesel, because the diesels don't have an electric motor to help reduce these emissions. It would be the same as comparing a Toyota Camry hybrid to a regular Camry and telling everyone how smart you are because you figured out that having an electric motor saves gas and reduces pollutants.

The emissions argument against diesels has no validity it today's world. Every new diesel that comes to the American market will be at least as clean burning, in every category, as gas-powered cars (tier 2, bin 5); so there can be no argument stating that they are too dirty, unless y'all want to conclude that the only vehicle to be allowed in America is the Toyota Prius. All non-hybrids--although equally clean whether diesel or gas powered--are just too dirty, even as we have the most stringent emission rules in the world.

Duhhhh!