Subaru brings diesel back to the US
 

I'm not a big fan of Subaru's junky fuel economy, but the wagons are definately better than SUVs and in many cases the extra traction is necessary for commuters in the more northern lands.

ABG has just announced that subaru will be bringing it's new diesel engine to the US soon, so for those people who drive subies, this'll be a decent goodness.

Linky: http://www.autobloggreen.com/2008/01...ing-to-the-us/

My other ride is a Forester, and the FE is teh pits. It looks so neat and nippy, but all that extra driveline and the roofrack - Sweetie isn't keen on taking it off, she thinks I'll lose the bits - and the phone booth profile add up to a steady 25mpg. Dumb.

And as for the roof rack: why should I care? I have a truck. That's what it's for.

Diesel Trend
 

The trend in the U.S. lately has been mid-sized applications of Diesels, unfortunately (or the traditional pickup/van). I haven't seen anything in the 2.0L range for this engine option, since the big changeover to low-sulfur/low-particulate, and the 1.9L VW offerings. Since then, Mercedes and VW (and Jeep from the Daimler days) now have Diesels in large vehicles.

I can't recall if the SMART will have a diesel, otherwise, lower FE options have trended toward the larger vehicle section. The article's comments mention a 2.0L option for the Impreza in Europe -- that sounds like a good idea.

With its edge on being different from the rest, I bet Subaru could pull off a small diesel car. The problem may be in the colder climates, where these cars tend to be the most popular in North America -- but I'm sure they've improved on cold starts, etc. Still, it's interesting to see the option in the larger engine coming over -- hopefully a trend.

RH77

They reintroduce diesels right as diesel prices climb even further above gasoline (at least here). Doesn't sound so smart to me.

It's seasonal for the most part IME. Come summer they'll drop back down...

Toyota...Honda...BMW...Subaru all have terrific diesels that they sell in other countries, but which they do not offer in the US. I think that's a shame, but I'm glad to see Subaru joining VW and MB.

You read it over and over from us TDi nuts...load the car to the gunwales with people and luggage...blast up the freeway at 70 mph with the a/c on full tilt boogie gettin' 50 mpg. I mean geez, how much easier does doubling you mpg get? ;)

Oh yeah...Ford and GM's European subsidiaries both offer PDG diesels over there, too. But do you think they'd sell them here? Nooooo, don't want to rock the boat.

Speaking of Ford, do you guys remember a few years ago when Ford came close to signing a follow-on deal with International to replace the 7.3 PSD? Well, the engine under consideration was totally modular, meaning it could be built in V-6 thru V-10 versions. If they hadn't all started pointing fingers and blaming each other instead of working together to address the issues, Ford would have had a nice little V-6 diesel to put in everything from mid-size cars to light pickups.

That would have been cool! :thumbup:

To dig this thread back up, Subaru have unveiled the intricate details of their Boxer Diesel Engine at the Paris Int'l Auto Show.

Jalopnik has a nice write-up and lots of detailed pics.

I'm poised to see if we'll get one here. I'd especially love to see one being thrashed on the Rally circuit :D

RH77

You guys see the new Mercedes-Benz E320 diesel?

2008 Mercedes-Benz E320 BLUETEC -- Test drive and new car review -- 2008 Mercedes-Benz E320 BLUETEC turbodiesel

60 large for a 30 MPG car? My brother's 1983 300SD does that. Tier II ruins twenty-five years of tecnological advances.

Dave, you really should stop tilting at this windmill. Comparing the 2008 E320 to the 1985 300SD:

2008
EPA Est. MPG 23/32
Tons CO2/yr 8.1

1985
EPA Est. MPG 19/23
Tons CO2/yr 10.1

(EPA numbers only go back to 1985.)

So the 2008 gets BETTER mileage and pollutes less. I bet it also runs rings around it in any measurement you'd care to test. Yes, 60 large is a lot, but these folks could care less about a 25 year old car. I'm sure the '83 was plenty pricey when new, and the same type of buyers back then are the ones looking at the new one.

It's time to move on here.

2009 E320
City: 23
Highway: 32
Crub weight: 3860
Engine: 6 cyl 3.0
Power: 210 hp

1985 300SD
City: 19
Highway: 23
Crub weight: 3625
Engine: 5 cyl 3.0
Power: 120 hp

Yup, Tier II really ruinned everything.