Can diesels make it in the US?
We hope so
Highlights from the Yahoo article:
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Detroit Roused by European Diesels Demand
Many Americans share similar memories of diesels as noisy, smoke-belching, smelly beasts only truck drivers would want.
A recent study by J.D. Power and Associates of 5,200 car buyers confirmed that most Americans have negative impressions diesels, contrary to the perception in Europe where diesels account for 40 percent of new passenger vehicle sales.
But the same study found that 40 percent of those Americans would consider buying a diesel engine car or truck after learning that today's diesels are not the loud and stinky engines of 20 to 30 years ago.
Diesel engines get about 25 percent to 40 percent better fuel economy than gasoline engines, and have more torque for quicker acceleration and better towing, which is why they are loved by U.S. heavy truck drivers. Diesel could also trim the U.S. dependence on foreign oil.
Though several automakers offer diesel engine trucks in the United States, Germany's Volkswagen AG is the only major automaker currently selling diesel engine cars.
Volkswagen's sales of diesels, available as an option on the New Beetle, Golf and Jetta, jumped 24 percent last year, but they still only totaled 31,220 units -- only about two of every thousand vehicles sold in the United States industry-wide.
"I think the American consumer is ready for diesel," said Jim Schroer, head of sales and marketing for the Chrysler Group, the U.S. arm of DaimlerChrysler AG.
DaimlerChrysler will launch two diesel vehicles in the U.S. market next year as an option on the Jeep Liberty sport utility vehicle and on the Mercedes E-Class luxury sedan.
DaimlerChrysler's Mercedes chief Juergen Hubbert said the German brand aims to offer more optional diesels engines in the future.
VW will soon also offer the a diesel engine option on its upscale Passat sedan, and other automakers are watching the market closely.
New U.S. regulations will make cleaner diesel fuel available in a few years, and "particle traps" under development could catch most of the dirty emissions from diesel engines before they are released into the air.
And with the price of fuel up to three times as cheap in the United States than in parts of Europe, fuel economy is a low priority for many Americans.
J.D. Powers Walter McManus said that, as cleaner diesel engines become available over the next few years, diesel-powered vehicles could account for as much as 12 percent of U.S. new car and truck sales by around 2007, he said.
But once Americans drive or ride in a modern diesel engine car, they'll find out how quiet they are now, McManus said. That should make automakers, and kids growing up in New Jersey, sleep easier.
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