Has Volkswagen Killed The Diesel Market In The US?

While VW may have had something to do with it - remember that without VW there wasn't much of a market to begin with. Add in the low cost of gas - and ever increasing mileage of Hybrids - and it is almost impossible to make a case for paying a lot more for a diesel. Except in Trucks - where Diesel will continue one without a blip.

I'd still buy a VW diesel, but only after ensuring that whatever emissions changes they have to make doesn't destroy what I bought one for in the first place. Fuel economy and torque, if those are gone, so am I. So far, I can still go to BMW or MB for my fix.

That said, I'll still give serious thought to a hybrid if/when they buy my Passat back. An electric motor has that some low end torque, and mileage usually is OK as well. Just have to wait and see what's available if/when it happens.

The reality is that diesels are extremely complicated to make them smog legal and all that technology has a big price when it fails.

By contrast, hybrids and PHEV cars deliver equal-or-better MPG without any of the seeming downsides of diesel.

Hybrid/PHEV/EV is the future not diesel.

For non-commercial vehicles, the only place where diesels are advantageous is in pickups or possibly the Jeep Wrangler.

2016 Passenger car and light truck diesels are extremely complicated because of the EPA emissions rules. Even the vaunted MB Bluetek will have its share of problems over the long haul...

http://www.stephensservice.com/bluetec-diesel-issuesproblems/

Excerpt...
By now, everyone is aware of VW’s diesel engine problems. VW however, is not the only one having trouble with their diesel engines. The truth is, diesel engines are dirty & it’s hard to make them run clean. On the other hand, diesels make great power & get good fuel mileage. People remember older diesels as being rock solid dependable. Yes, they smelled & belched out black soot, but it was a small price to pay. Those days are long gone & new diesels are nothing like their grandfathers. Clean diesel technology is also anything but simple. Most dealer mechanics hate them & want nothing to do with them. There is no end to the Check Engine lights & comebacks are common. Mercedes doesn’t help matters when they tell owners they can drive 10,000 to 20,000 miles on oil changes.

Mercedes has not cheated with it’s BlueTec emission system. The emission system is all there & it generally works. Mercedes just didn’t explain the high maintenance to its buyers. Did you honestly think you could drive a BlueTec diesel 10,000 miles on a oil change?

So how did you get here & how do you get out of this mess? Government regulations for fuel economy & emission controls are at the heart of the problem. The regulations are so complicated, I don’t think anyone knows what’s going on. Just ask the presiding Judge in the VW case.

Here are just a few of the technical problems. First & foremost, Mercedes does not consistently know what oil should go in their BlueTec diesel engines. They are so worried about emission problems in cold weather, they forget the cars in hot climates. Oil is not simple any more. It’s a integral part of the emission & fuel economy requirements. What a manufacture “recommends” for oil, is not what’s best for your engine or wallet. BlueTec engines run very very hot. Heat destroys oil. That means you’ll need a oil with a high viscosity. Oil needs “film strength”. To “regenerate” the Diesel Particulate Filter (DPF), the Engine Control Unit (ECU) injects extra fuel into the engine. That causes the exhaust temperature to climb to the 1800F needed to burn the soot out of the DPF. Take a guess what that kind of exhaust temperature does to the engine oil? It gets better; not all of that fuel gets burned. (This is the reason VW cheated.) The un-burned fuel washes past the piston rings & into the oil in the crankcase. It’s called “fuel dilution”. After 5000 miles, the engine oil is half diesel fuel. After 10000 miles, you’ve got a real mess cooking in the crankcase. Heaven help you if you let your car idle a lot or drive in slow moving traffic.

Ask a FedEx driver what happens to his BlueTec Sprinter. To make matters wor

If you tow diesel is the way to go. So add in mid to large SUV's to that list. If they offered plug in hybrids that could tow 7000# I sure would have gone that way, but they don't. Comparing the Jeep GC diesel versus a hemi GC to do the job, the diesel is an easy choice. Even cruising without a tow all that torque with great fuel mileage is a blast.

Indeed, for tow vehicles, a turbodiesel is great.

Diesel market never really recovered after the 70s, for the consumer market.

VW was trying to make it viable again.

Diesel hybrid is still an option, but I think electrics will hit critical mass before the VAG scandal fades.

Now you're talking complicated mixed with complicated, the very reason diesel hybrids don't exist.

Diesels really should be limited to vehicles capable of towing above a certain capacity with the rest of the lot relying on gas or alternatives. I could be wrong, but I think it will be decades or longer before we can replace diesel engines for our large, personal towing needs.

By that time, we'll either be dead or the earth will be overpopulated to the extent requiring us to have more efficient mass transportation, with goods transport still requiring diesel fuel.