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Automotive News & Views What Would It Take for YOU to buy a diesel car?
1503 messages, Last post on Nov 14, 2009 at 1:11 PM
You are in the Automotive News & Views Forum. Your Hosts are steve_ & claires
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Replying to: bumpy (Aug 10, 2008 6:13 pm) I've scanned a lot of diesel talk around here, especially over in the Jeep Liberty CRD discussion. I don't remember cloud talk, but there's lots of additive talk about cetane boosters and the like. Trying to pin down the diesel cloud point is hard but 6°F seems common. Fuel Gelling Challenges I'll invite the CRD crowd over here. Better to hear it from actual owners than from the likes of me. 
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Use this handy widget to compare costs between Diesel and Gas versions. My real world mileage with my Diesel Jeep Liberty still compares favorably with the real world mileage of a gasser (I have a coworker with a 3.7L gas). Even comparing EPA estimates, I come out slightly ahead. Downsides are that my oil changes with synthetic oil, even at extended intervals, are an eye watering $80. The only thing worth noting is that resale on the diesel is much better compared with an identically equipped gas version. I think it's a matter of personal taste and believe eventually we will see diesel moderate. Then the economic argument will be clearer. Here's the widget URL... http://widgets.mslideas.com/dieselcalculator |
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Replying to: steve_ (Aug 10, 2008 6:23 pm) If I find a clean 1995 or older Ford Powerstroke I will buy it to replace this gas guzzling Ford Ranger. |
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It would take cheap diesel fuel for me to buy a diesel car. Why would the average consumer buy a car that gets 20% better mpg than a gasoline car, only to pay 20% more for the fuel?
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Replying to: 1stpik (Aug 11, 2008 6:22 am) If you had a gasoline Jetta getting 29 MPG and a diesel Jetta getting 44 MPG, the price of diesel would have to be MORE THAN 50% higher than gasoline before you'd spend as much on diesel. If regular unleaded was $3.51, diesel would have to be $5.33 before the diesel would not be a bargain. At those prices, it would cost virtually the same in each car to drive 10,000 miles.
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Replying to: larsb (Aug 11, 2008 6:42 am) So fuel price is your sole motivator for choosing/not choosing a diesel car in the future?
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Replying to: larsb (Aug 11, 2008 6:42 am) This is the kind of false comparison I keep seeing all over the place. Right now people are comparing diesel Jettas to gas Jettas because Jetta is the only diesel game in town. But the reality is a lot of people are just looking for something, anything, that will get their fuel costs down, and the gas Jetta was never in their radar sights at all. They can get mid- to high-30s in some of the most economical Japanese cars, or they can spend $5K more to buy a gas Jetta and pull mid-40s. Or they can spend the extra $5K and buy a Prius and do mid- to high-40s, and not hunt around for stations that sell diesel. A guy in my complex has a Dodge heavy-duty diesel that rattles all the windows and wakes everyone up every time he starts it and drives out. I know the new diesels in passenger cars don't make as much noise, but they are not as quiet as gas engines either. With all that said, I would buy diesel if someone would offer it in a sub-$20K car making at least 50 mpg (combined average) and with a stick shift. I am not fond of the power profiles of diesels - I like gassers with high redlines that pull harder and harder all the way there - but I WILL buy whatever reduces my combined initial outlay and ongoing fuel costs the most. The Jetta diesel aint it. I am pulling almost 42 mpg in my gas Echo, and I have several friends tracking their mileage that average more than 50 mpg in their Priuses. And that's now officially the OLD Prius - the one due next year is supposed to boost mileage by 10% or more while being more powerful at the same time (a controversial choice on Toyota's part if you ask me - I would have shot for the same power and all the improvement going to boosting fuel economy). |
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Replying to: Mr_Shiftright (Aug 11, 2008 7:27 am) I just posted that for the people who were doubting that diesel was a good deal right now or not. It still is. As far as me personally? I most likely would only buy a 5-passenger 4-door diesel/hybrid. That's the only diesel that would outperform my TCH and still have all the creature comforts and still make financial sense to trade for. And it's because almost all my driving is City driving. If I drove 15K miles a year on the highway, I would try to buy a clean diesel Jetta or Passat. |
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Replying to: nippononly (Aug 11, 2008 7:54 am) Finding stations that sell diesel really isn't that hard anymore is it?
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Replying to: nippononly (Aug 11, 2008 7:54 am)
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Automotive News & Views What Would It Take for YOU to buy a diesel car?
