Craigslist and other deals

[Real Recognize Real]

fat chance.  look for my "you're too stupid" thread.  you'll see a hybrid small truck with fairy wings first.

Found it! Actually reading it made me more frustrated - the cynical part of me thinks the auto manufacturers are reluctant to bring them over here so people like me will feel compelled to buy and spend more truck than I need. The compact truck sales are decreasing because the options are not compelling imo. Hence if compact diesels were offered, sales would improve, I think/hope. If I had a need for a full-sized truck, I wouldn't mind purchasing one but since most of my commutes are in Nova and DC, a big 'ole truck is a disadvantage for me. Basically I want a mini Turbo Cummins diesel quad cab with a 6 foot bed. Maybe it's a good sign that Chevy has stated they will sell a diesel Chevy Cruze in the near future.

[ducatiz]

Maybe it's a good sign that Chevy has stated they will sell a diesel Chevy Cruze in the near future.

Promises, promises...

Mazda said they'd bring over a diesel CX7..
VW said they would bring the diesel Anarok..
Jeep said they were going to offer a diesel option in all their models..

sweet little lies.

[Zaster]

I'm with you.....If more people would contact the domestic manufactureres and tell them what they would buy or are in need of ...maybe, just maybe they might listen. Been there done that.

[ducatiz]

I'm with you.....If more people would contact the domestic manufactureres and tell them what they would buy or are in need of ...maybe, just maybe they might listen. Been there done that.

I would be fine with an F150 with a diesel.  Something like a medium sized V8 or even a large V6.  They had some plan to use a 4.3LV8 for the 150 and then it disappeared.

"Ford F150 Diesel delayed.."  (from 2009).. yeah, no shit.. delayed until the 32nd of Never.
http://www.autoweek.com/article/20090504/carnews/905049995

[The Mad King Pepe']

It's funny (for lack of a better word) how in Europe cars like the VW Touareg, like Land Rovers, mostly come with Diesel engines and yet there's pretty much nothing here in the US.

And I don't believe it's a matter of demand, that's bull! VW will throw a gasoline Jetta (or Golf/Rabbit) at you, but you pay premium for the diesel engines, IF you get one. How do I know? I tried (and failed ). Used cars aren't much better, the only reasonably priced diesels were old Mercs from the 70s & 80s.

I'd love me a Tiguan (or any small SUV) with a TDI. But for now the closest I can come to it is a Land Rover Defender (or Disco, or Range) with a coversion: http://www.eastcoastrover.com/Tdiconversions.html We'll see in a couple years...

[ducatiz]

Part of the reason is the tax scheme for fuel is different in Europe.  Pump diesel is also very different, in Europe, it is something like 55 and 65 cetane, in the US it is 40 or 45.  Euro diesel is subsidized in most countries so the price is competitive, and most is actually synthetic or synth-enriced.

There are some differences in the fuels that allow the engines in Europe to be a bit less complex in their emissions systems. 

That being said, it wouldn't take much to up the cetane and formulations here, it would just knock the price up even more.  diesel road taxes are already 50-75% highter than gasoline.  i

[bikepilot]

We got the diesel Toureg, it didn't sell all that well.  I think diesel cars here are sort of a grass-is-greener thing -- folks say they want them 'cause we don't get most of them, but when actually available few people buy them.  Our current diesel fuel is pretty crappy and more expensive than gas.  Combined with more expensive servicing its really hard to save money with diesel and if its a close call why put up with the narrow power curve, annoying/smelly refueling etc., general lack of power, etc. that usually comes with small diesels?  Gas motors are getting more efficient all the time, a smallish, turbocharged DI gas motor is the way forward for most cages imo.  Big diesels will still rule for heavy towing for quite a while, but they don't make a ton of sense (unless subsidized) in small things.  I lived in the UK for a while and can attest to the crappyness of all their little diesel cars.  

One other thing to note, those super-high mpg figures you see quoted for UK spec cars are high in part 'cause they've got bigger gallons and in part 'cause they test them differently.  

Once you load them down with all the US safety and emissions stuff and fill them with US spec diesel fuel the mpg figures won't be so astounding.

[zooom]

VW said they would bring the diesel Anarok..

VW has NEVER said they would bring over the Amorok....because my Subaru Baja would be on the block to trade in for one in a heartbeat...even though I think they should bring it...

I'd love me a Tiguan (or any small SUV) with a TDI. 

they sell more Tiguan TDi's over in Europe than you would imagine...in TDi variation, they easily sell twice the amount of those in Europe than all of the Tiguans in North America...

We got the diesel Toureg, it didn't sell all that well.   

which did you get?...the 04/05 with the V10 TDi or a newer incarnation V6 TDi?....and I think on the old V10 TDi's as to why they didn't sell well is quite frankly due to how astronomically expensive they were at the time, but currently we have 3 Russian customers who want to buy any V10 Touareg they can get their hands on for exporting purposes....on the newer ones, there is definitely an inherent premium applied to them due to how few of them that are here, and how well appointed they seem to be coming in at package wise....

[ducatiz]

VW has NEVER said they would bring over the Amorok....because my Subaru Baja would be on the block to trade in for one in a heartbeat...even though I think they should bring it...

around 2007 or so one of the trade blogs i read quoted a european VW official saying they were looking at bringing it here, so perhaps "said they would" is too strong.

[zooom]

around 2007 or so one of the trade blogs i read quoted a european VW official saying they were looking at bringing it here, so perhaps "said they would" is too strong.

Amorok wasn't even started in development yet....they started development of that vehicle in 2009 for to deploy as a support vehicle for the race Touareg's and realized they made a home run for rural markets based on how it performed...

[ducatiz]

One other thing to note, those super-high mpg figures you see quoted for UK spec cars are high in part 'cause they've got bigger gallons and in part 'cause they test them differently.  

The mpg difference in imp gal and us gal is about 15%.  The Toyota Yaris in UK gets 58.5 mpg (imp) and 49 mpg (us).

Their "combined" test cycle is about the same as EPA's.  Their urban test is different and yields a lower number.

[tocino]

but currently we have 3 Russian customers who want to buy any V10 Touareg they can get their hands on for exporting purposes

Interesting. I was talking with my Norton guru and he said he knows a guy who's exporting British bikes to Russia (or rather, he's a guy who packages things up for a Russian importer). Seems to be a trend here - a while ago it was the Japanese bringing containers full of stuff back from the States and now it's the Russians. Shows who has the money right now. Also shows how hard it is to import via normal channels into Russia. Same friend was talking to another dealer who said they were getting requests all the time from Russia, but they couldn't sell directly and had to direct callers to a middleman. The one thing they *could* send was t-shirts, but no hardware.

[zooom]

bikepilot - sell the TL and jump all over this one....

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=330652626813+&viewitem=

[bikepilot]

I like that a lot, but I'll never sell the TL 

On a completely different note, I might be selling my DR250SE soon - I know some folks from here wanted dibs if/when I sold it, but I've forgotten who? I've gotta talk with the wife since its sorta her bike, but she hasn't been using it much since she got the monster and I haven't been using it much since I got the buell...

[eltristo]

bikepilot - sell the TL and jump all over this one....

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=330652626813+&viewitem=

Sweet creator of creation and stuff, I love that bike.  I've missed my RZ 350 since the day I lost it, and I'm thinking this guy might just have the beans to make me forget my old love.