Those of you who were hoping (and hoping and hoping) that Chrysler would lead America into a Euro-style clean diesel high mileage BIG torque paradise, fuhgeddaboutit. TTAC reporter Bill Montgomery caught-up with ex-Toyota exec and current Chrysler Prez Jim Press and asked him wither oil burners? Yup. "In the face of the new federal fuel economy standards, being a responsible corporate citizen means very soon everything will be hybrid." When pressed, Press went further, hinting that there's been a massive strategy shift within the Crisis Corporation. "As a privately owned company, we're quicker than the competition at reallocating resources." Does this new focus explain the hard stop to Getrag's $530m Chrysler transmission factory? Press' PR handler whisked the exec away before Bill could get the inside dope. So to speak.
Click here for more TTAC pictures of Jim Press' meet the press
[Reported by William C. Montgomery]
And this has nothing to do with more difficult access to Daimler’s diesels.
Can’t say I’m surprised. First the Venom goes front-wheel drive, then this.
Mirko Reinhardt :
And this has nothing to do with more difficult access to Daimler’s diesels.
As you probably know, Chrysler retains a 20% interest in the American automaker, so they SHOULD be happy enough to provide oil burners for their “partner.”
Then again, the story of Chrysler’s destruction is the story of Daimler’s failure to “bless” Chrysler with its engineering prowess.
They should… but there are other sources of diesels. Caliber, Avenger, Journey, Sebring have Volkswagen 2.0 diesels in Europe, Nitro and Voyager come with the Via Motori 2.8…
“Euro-style clean diesel”
The cleanest diesel today is about as clean as the dirtiest gas engine on the US market. Wow, that’s “clean”.
M1EK,
There is no free lunch. Cars aren’t clean, whether they be gasoline, diesel or hybrid.
On the bigger issue of Chrysler continuing to take the back seat to everyone, Nardelli’s “leadership” clearly hasn’t changed much since his days at the Depot.
Why does New Zealand get “affordable” diesel Grand Cherokees, but the US doesn’t?
Honda is bring 4 cyl and v6 diesels later this year and in 2009 – one’s that don’t need urea tanks to keep clean. Remember the CVCC – everyone said it couldn’t be done but Honda or Toyota just went ahead and did it.
I used to be a big diesel booster but as time goes on I think the bloom is off that rose. For one thing, the new “clean” diesel runs ~50 cents a gallon more than the cheapest grade of unleaded, at least around here, and with mandates to clean-up and de-sulferize the fuel, I don’t see that changing any time soon. Given the more expensive fuel + more expensive maintenance (even if it’s less frequent) it just doesn’t seem to me that diesel makes sense economically. Even with a 20% increase in MPG the ~15% greater fuel cost and high initial cost means that the ‘break even’ point on a diesel is going to be pretty far out there for most users.
That’s unfortunate. I suspect I’ll never consider buying a hybrid, but every “daily driver” vehicle I’ve owned has been diesel: VW Rabbits (x2), GMC van w/ 6.2L, and currently a Dodge pickup w/ Cummins 12-valve.
On the other hand, the hi-tech that they’re infusing into the latest diesels is making them as difficult for the DIY’er to maintain as modern gasoline engines. I’ve heard that they’re also considerably less rubust than my reliable-as-a-brick rides have been.
“There is no free lunch. Cars aren’t clean, whether they be gasoline, diesel or hybrid.”
Don’t be absurd. There’s a huge difference in emissions between the cleanest hybrid and the dirty diesels we’re stuck with today. HUGE. The “clean diesels” only bring them up to the level of the dirtiest gas engines – and that’s still a very large difference.
M1EK I’ll have to get a picture of the Liberty CRD leaving a stop light when another driver decides to cut me off/tailgate. At night you can barely see their headlights in the rear view mirror from the stop light when the turbo CRD “burps” ;)
Fast forward to September 2009:
Chrysler hybrids on sale: 0
Chrysler diesels on sale: Caliber, PT Cruiser, Journey, Sebring, Patriot, Compass, Cherokee, Wrangler, Grand Cherokee, Commander, Nitro, 300C, Grand Voyager, Ram HD.
And the diesel in the Caliber is the OM651 that debuted in the new E-Class.