Maintenance & Restoration

Donna D. · 01-16-2010, 06:21 AM

Has there been any actual US pricing given for this truck yet? I just read a link on Yahoo about the world's cheapest car that's made in India and sells for $2,500, but the US version is going to cost about $8,000 (unconfirmed). By time importers add/change the items necessary to meet US standards, it really drives the price up.

Cheap car $2,500 from India could cost $8,000 in US

GeorgeR · 01-17-2010, 12:22 AM

Quote:

.........................Ford's diesel Focus in Europe has a huge marketshare; if introduced here, I'm not sure many would choose to pay the premium, or even look at a diesel alternative, even with the huge savings in mpg.

I tend to agree. Grass root efforts will likely not be sufficient for diesel technology to penetrate the US market. Without a major marketing push diesels are doomed here. Many folks know that biodiesel is good, but not many are concern that we don't have cars able to use biodiesel fuel, except big trucks and a few VWs. The whole biodiesel hype is groundless. My wife was once warned by a driver driving a diesel truck about putting the wrong fuel into her car. She replied, this car takes diesel fuel and his comment was that there are no diesel powered passenger cars. This phenomenal lack of information is common and to overcome this understanding deficiency would require as major a marketing effort as Toyota used in pushing their Prius.

It seems we are bypassing technologies available elsewhere such as Diesel or CNG. EV1 was killed by the bogus hydrogen powered fuel cells. The hydrogen powered fuel cell sham was heavily promoted by Oil Companies to help kill a very feasible battery or hybrid electric car. These days, GM claimed a phony 230MPG Volt, another way to sway folks away, from currently available diesel or CNG elsewhere.

About 3 months each year we live in EU. It is truly frustrating not to be able to purchase cars or SUVs in US available in EU from our own US brands.

George.

Andrew Gibbens · 01-17-2010, 05:40 AM

About 10/15 years ago, the EU did allow diesels to meet a lower pollution standard than gas engines (I can't remember which pollutant - NOx maybe?) in order to get the benefit of the diesels' greater fuel economy. I believe that part of this problem was addressed through reformulating the diesel sold, rather than changing the engines.

The US took a different course and the cynic in me can't help noticing that US automakers now don't have diesel engines to offer, so who (with a decent lobbying budget) is going to be pressing to either relax the one emissions standard slightly or change the diesel sold?

Catch 22, I think.

Andrew

Alan Rh · 01-17-2010, 05:29 PM

Quote:

so who (with a decent lobbying budget) is going to be pressing to either relax the one emissions standard slightly or change the diesel sold?
Andrew

My understanding that the newest diesels are able to meet all emission standards. I almost fell to the temptation to insert my first ever smiling icon on a post ever thinking about that. I really want diesels.