Finally... BMW Confirms Plans to Launch New Line of Diesels in U.S. By Jonathan Spira Read the full story »
I'd love to see BMW offer a 120d and/or 123d here in the 'states. It would be all they could do to entice me back into their dealerships, if only for a stroke. What would tickle my pickle even more, is if they finally brought the MINI Cooper S D here! Then the only question is; are BMW's Diesel HPFP's better designed and more durable with USA ULSD than VW's semi-disastrous HPFP.
They are going to have to be Diesel hybrids to make any headway. The Diesel advantage over gas in mpg is not enough especially in US markets. Volvo has the right idea with the Diesel/Hybrid/EV V60 that is being introduced this year in Europe.
The BMW diesel engines are the best! The smaller BMW diesel engines are brilliant. But in America, bigger is better - apparantly, so no doubt you'll end up with the over heavy 3.0 litre versions with minimal benefits to the petrol versions. Shame.
US buys 140M Prius vs. Europe's 35M, so that would tend to stuff your grouse in the bag. As for Diesels that European manufacturers choose to ship to US, you'd have to put that on them. Their big Diesels don't sell well and despite the success of high mpg hybrids, they never tried to import their small, fuel efficient Diesels. A 30 mpg VW Tiguan would have sold well vs. Ford Escape and Toyota Highlander hybrids but VW never imported it. Diesel hybrids are certainly the easiest route to jump mileage from 50 mpg to 60 mpg in cars like the Prius. Volvo's V60 Diesel/Hybrid/EV/AWD is pretty much the perfect car. Hopefully they will import to the US and give it a chance.
It would be perfect, if it didn't cost $75,218. You will never make up the $25,000+ cost difference between it and a "regular" v60.
Must be missing something! Everytime I look into the Diesel argument, I keep finding numbers like these. Current price of gas! Shell - 13001 W Colonial Dr - Winter Garden, FL - Orlando Gas Prices The Lexus ES with a regular gas V6; and the Diesel Mercedes E350 Bluetec in this particular case, with Adblue costs and DP Filter in addition. Compare Side-by-Side
I didn't mean you don't have small engined cars, but meant that if BMW were to import a diesel engine they just wouldn't go for the best overall engine but the biggest. Sure enough, that's exactly what they've done, as do VW to some extent. Just shows that the guys at US HQ aren't entirely sure about the diesels either. I used to drive an Audi A6 3.0 diesel and whilst fast, I personally prefered the 2.0 diesel in the A4. It had the perfect balance of performance, economy AND driveability. The 3.0 diesel was just too much of a handful with a very narrow power band. Still not a fan of diesels BUT they do have a use and there is a market out there. Oh and to convince the naysayers, a friend of mine bought a new V8 diesel Range Rover and when he showed it to me, it was so quiet I actually thought it was a petrol!
Prius is not that competitive in Europe, because of cheaper diesel than petrol, and small 1,6 diesel engines. Even if those diesels consume 10% more than Prius they pay same price at the pump, and buying a Ford Focus estate manual is a lot cheaper than Prius, price difference can be huge (€ 5.000+) of course you then have lower powered car than Prius.
Actually you did. You just did again. Decision of German car manufacturer is blamed on US. People said Prius would never sell in US also, Toyota made a different decision about US market and won.
One should never assume that circumstances that exist in your country will apply to the other 20 odd European countries! I could say that diesel is more expensive than petrol as that is the case in my country. I think the reason why the Prius/hybrids are not as popular in Europe is very complex and not just based on the cost difference between petrol and diesel. Personally I think it has a lot to do with how rich or poor a country is as well as how seriously they consider air pollution. Excluding France and Germany that both have vested interests in diesel engines, you will find that hybrids are more popular in the richer countries such as the UK, Holland, Denmark and Norway. You will also find that those places all have the most expensive fuel in Europe/the World. Londons air quality stinks, literally, because of diesel engines and they were one of the first places to introduce an emission restricted area as well as a full, city wide restricted emissions zone. So it's not just as simple as diesel being cheaper in selectred markets, but also more to do with that countries priorities on air quality. One Prius emits the same NOx as 20 Euro 5 'clean' diesels or about 200 Euro 4 diesels of similar size. Doesn't take to work out that encouraging petrols or hybrids can quickly clean up city air quality. Encourage EV take up and things improve significantly.
Agree, in poor country like ours new cars just don't sell at the price point of Toyota hybrids. And if you are looking for a car at that price 99% of people will choose a bigger diesel car, it's like no one can calculate running car costs. A little off topic, are they really substituting London taxi with Nissan NV2000 Diesel? What's up with that?
Doubtful. They tried to change the London double deckers with bendy buses which are popular in Europe, but a few years later went back to double deckers, including the new Routemaster hybrid. New Bus for London - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia The residents and more importantly, the tourists expect to see a London double decker where you can hop on or off at the rear. Same applies to the iconic London taxi. They're dreadful to drive, unreliable, possibly dangerous (I've driven one so I know!), but everyone around the world knows them and expects to see them on the streets of London and many cities around the UK. There are ridiculous restrictions in London which keep the London taxis on the road, one being the amazing turning circle and the other being that they have to have enough head room for a gentleman to travel without removing his top hat! Virtually all the 200+ UK taxi jurisdictions have done away with this rule as it's just so outdated and that's why you will see more modern taxi types around the UK, including the London taxi, but only the London taxi in London. They have recently introduced a Mercedes van taxi into London but to be licenced it has to have specially modified steering to enable it to complete the amazing full turn in the road which the London cab does. Again, this vehicle has been available elsewhere in the UK for years without the modified steering. I think the new Nissan NV200 is to follow that lead and must have the new steering system to be licenced in London. They're already available elsewhere in the UK, just not London. I believe new EV versions, almost identical to the proposed New York cab are to be released too. So will they get rid of the London cab? No way. Will they clean it up with hydrogen or EV versions? For sure - the have to. Will other vehicles be licenced to be taxis in London? Sure. The cabbies need them as the London cab drinks diesel like no tomorrow. I was lucky to get 20 mpg UK in town, where I got 49 mpg UK on my Prius. At £1.35/$2.10 a litre, that's a big saving. TX4 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Hope that answers your query
