I'm here

Welcome to the Prius forum.

You'll be pleased to see that there is a diesel section to discuss the benefits of the modern clean diesels.

 

I dont have a problem with diesels, they are just generally used in larger vehicles with horrible engines that arent efficient anyways in the states.

If they made a deisel hybrid, I would be all over that. Even if they just imported some of the vehicles from the EU/East Asia with deisels in it, that would make me a happy camper.

 

I have no problem with people with large trucks that do large truck things. Generally people around here buy one to show off to their friends or because they are overcompensating for something. Never take them offroad, never even tow a uhaul trailer. Just a big waste.

 

But I still don't get why you need a huge pickup like the F250 diesel? We have diesels in Europe that are used for towing. People still tow trailers or horses or boats yet somehow manage it without having an enormously huge vehicle.

It has to be overcompensating for something. If it wasn't you could still tow your horses or boat with a smaller truck. Of course I'm sure I'm going to hear many reasons why this can't happen, but everyone else in the world manages to tow without a massive 6 litre diesel truck.

(this is not an anti American post or anti anybody, but is said half tongue in cheek!)

 

It's mostly about availability. There seems to be a huge gap between family cars and work vehicles here. The low end trucks are just not powerful enough, and the only option is the megacab of death.

Personally I would never need a truck. I have done house remodels using my 2dr coupe and a small SUV. This includes carryinf 4x8 sheets of wood, lots of 2x4's, cement board, piping, planks, and lots more. If I can fit that in a 2dr civic coupe, I sure dont think I will ever need a truck. Also I just recently used the Prius to move a 300lb laser accross country.

 

But do you need to tow all this stuff? I don't know what you do for a living that needs all this equipment but builders, plumbers, electricians over here all manage without having to tow an entire workshop around with them. Maybe scaffolders need a large flatbed truck?

It can't just be what's available, can it? Or maybe you have one vehicle fits all and I mean all possible scenarios, rather than maybe having a choice of vehicles as here. Maybe it's the low cost of fuel relative to us? Or is it just a legacy thing in that you've always had big trucks/pickups and therefore it would be hard to imagine being without? Or that the trailers are big to fit the big trucks and it would take a huge shake up to amend the existing infastructure?

I understand that Ford have started selling the Transit Connect Van in the US, and this small economical van is ideal for small city based businesses (florists etc), yet apparently it doesn't sell well. I can imagine parking in any city in the US would be at a premium like here in Europe, and this van would be ideal.

I still don't get the big truck thing. Surely any company looking to cut costs would look at fuel costs and if they replaced their fleet with equivalent trucks like they have elsewhere in the world, they could reduce their costs and still manage to do their job. Even with the low fuel costs you have, cutting an annual fuel bill by 40% is a significant saving.

Put it another way, the Prius is fuel efficient and people are happy to replace their existing cars with them. If the same occured with the commercial side of things, then you would save costs and reduce oil dependency on our 'friends' in the middle east.

 

I have nothing against truck owners, I am surrounded by them. As a rule they do a better job of running flashing lights when needed than the specialized farm equipment. Which is a plus when they are doing 35 in a 55. I suspect the effect some Prius owners get is the difference between actual work trucks and 'urban cowboy' trucks.

Similar to hybrids that get 50 MPG versus those hybrids that don't get good mileage but allow the owner to put on huge Hybrid Decals. If it is all about show, it is pretty obvious, in a truck or a hybrid.

I am lucky, every day I see real farmers USING their trucks, just as I use my hybrid.

 

Ford restricts how it sells it, just as Dodge does it's best to hide the Sprinter (5000 pounds towing) from public sales.

 

So they're deliberately holding these vehicles back? Or are they just testing the water, so to speak? Or maybe the American public just don't want them - yet?

We have the Sprinter vans here but badged Mercedes, and they are very popular for economy and long term reliability.

 

Daimler owned Chrysler for awhile, and marketed the Sprinter as a Dodge. But they (and Ford) only see them for fleet sales, they are not marketed to small businesses or individuals.

 

You see Grumpy here in the UK towing a 39 foot trailer would be illegal with the 'smaller' trucks...You need to go up a class to stay safe and legal...

I'm using a Nissan Navara (Frontier in the US) which is huge in the UK and a small truck in the US...But mine is with a 2.5 common rail diesel which has much more torque than the petrol versions in the US....And also a diesel particle filter and cat....

They are the number one choice for fifthwheelers in the UK and across Europe and are absolutely fine getting it across the Alps...That brings me to my reason, I tow a 23foot bowrider hence I need the towing capacity and like to have a bit of spare as getting it across the Alps can be a job. Especially as I prefer the Pass to the tunnel [ame=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gotthard_Pass]Gotthard Pass - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia[/ame]

I am a little concerned about the comments regarding black smoke though, I'd be worried as that is just pure unburned fuel. There really is no need to have smoke coming out. Mine is tuned and produces 232Hp with 510Nm torque from a little 4 cylinder 2.5l common rail diesel....And when watching the EGT you can see a direct correlation between smoke and the EGT going up...No good for the engine and you are wasting power

Anyway I am new on here, so I guess part of my interest in the Prius is to offset my guilty pleasures (diesel Pickup and V8 petrol powerboat doing 20gallons/hour)

 

What is the terminal velocity of a swallow in a dive?

Tom

 

African or European?

 

roflmao :d

 

Welcome aboard DieselDan
Very few people, Prius drivers or otherwise, have issues with people that use their trucks for their work/livelihood.
As stated by yourself and others, it is mainly the wasteful posers that many of us take issue with.
There are some awesome diesels in Europe. With the added pollution requirements in the USA, they tend not to do quite as well as hybrids in the USA. However, they get superior gas mileage over non diesels.
I also agree with others that would love to see a diesel hybrid.
However, odds are high my next vehicle will be neither, pure EV instead. After that, our Prius may be replaced (when it needs to be) with a diesel hybrid if one is available that is superior to the Prius available at the time.