If you want a diesel engine but don’t want to spring for a heavy-duty pickup, your only option is the Ram 1500.
Categories:
Tag: Diesel
Heresy can be fun. Certainly it is so for an Irishman, what with Behan’s, “wonderful lack of respect for everything and everyone.”
And so, it has to be said, I’ve developed a certain fondness for Porsche’s big fat trucks and sedans precisely because they get up the nose of the purists – folks who think that Stuttgart’s time would be better spent trying to figure out how to build a durable, engaging sports-car experience rather than some donk-wheeled gin-palace with an expiry date like a lit fuse. I mean, they’re not wrong, it’s just a wee bit amusing to see how mad they get. Look – that one’s just bitten a policeman.
This two-tonne blasphemy is even better than usual, it’s a diesel. A truck-engined Porsche! Well, we’ve been here before: 924 fans eat your heart out. (Read More…)
Having taken my driver-training classes, circa 1982, in a VW Rabbit Diesel, I thought I’d experienced the slowest car available in the United States during the second half of the 20th century. I was wrong! The oil-burning Dasher (which is what the V.A.G. called the first-gen Audi 80 aka VW Passat in North America) had the same 49 (!) horsepower diesel as the Rabbit, and it weighed between 100 and 400 pounds more. I hadn’t seen a Dasher of any sort for at least a decade, and I don’t recall ever having seen a Dasher Diesel, so this find in a San Jose-area self-service wrecking yard was startling. (Read More…)
The above photo making its way around the internet is supposedly the first uncovered photos of the 2015 Mazda3. Based on prior shots of camo-clad prototypes, it looks like this could be the final design.
“Have you driven the new Jetta Hybrid?” popped up in my Faceache message box. It came from Captain Leslie, an E-3 Sentry driver, consummate professional, a current Jetta TDI pilot (with a manual), and friend from a tour in the Middle East and Oklahoma City. Unable to resist her profile smile, I went in search of the elusive electrically motivated VW in a sea of 2.5L sorority mobiles. As she has saved my ass in the past, I shall attempt to repay the favor. Leslie, skip the Hybrid, get another TDI… but make sure its a Golf…wagon…in brown…with a manual.
God bless the blogosphere. All it takes is one throwaway remark for something to become a widely reported rumor heard ’round the world.
There probably is no other major car market where oil-burners play less of a role than in Japan. Even diesel-averse Americans buy more. Excitement about brown diesel wagons notwithstanding, diesel-powered cars limp along at around 3 percent market share in America. In Japan, where diesel-powered cars were banned from the streets of Tokyo 14 years ago, and where they carry the onus of being smelly, their market share is below miniature one percent. In both markets, there are hopes for a big diesel turn-around. (Read More…)
A new four-cylinder diesel set to debut on the GLK crossover will make its way to both the Mercedes C-Class and E-Class starting this year.
Looking a bit like a hybrid between the Range Rover Evoque and a Subaru Outback, the VW CrossBlue Coupe Concept is the smaller companion to the larger CrossBlue that debuted at Detroit. The Coupe has a twin-turbo V6 and a plug-in hybrid system making 409 horsepower, but don’t expect that to make it into production. Hopefully the CrossBlue’s diesel engine does carry over to the production version, which is rumored to be the next Tiguan.
Maserati was supposed to debut their smaller Ghibli sedan at the Shanghai Auto Show, but the pictures have managed to surface prior to that. Not that it’s such a big shocker; it looks just like a slightly smaller Quattroporte. Powertrains will be limited to turbocharged six cylinder engines using either gas or diesel engines, mated to an 8-speed automatic engine. Ten points for anyone with enough of a sense of humor to affix “Biturbo” badges to the car. All-wheel drive will also be available.
The Chrysler 300 is already equipped with a diesel for world markets, and there’s a possibility we may see an oil-burning 300 on our shores as well.
What a day for TTAC readers. Not only did Volvo revive the wagon with the Euro-tastic V60, but BMW is about to bring us two new diesel powered cars.
Both sedan and wagon versions of the 328d will be offered, offering 180 horsepower, 280 lb-ft of torque and 45 mpg on the highway. BMW says city fuel economy should be in the mid 30’s. No manual will be offered, but all-wheel drive will be. Unfortunately, you’ll have to spend about $40,000 to get all this. Also on tap is a diesel 5-Series. BMW didn’t say much about that, but look for it in 2014.
Fans of the old BMW 335d won’t have to wait much longer for an all-new 3-Series diesel. On the other hand, Audi lovers will have to sit tight for an A4 diesel.
TTAC commentator horseflesh writes:
Hi Sajeev!
I’m sending you the third installment in a series of linked Piston Slap queries. A while back, I hit Piston Slap with a question… what’s the best way to unload Grandma’s Buick? Now I’d like to share the story of how one large, white, wallowing ride was replaced with another vehicle, also white, but more enjoyably absurd in every measurable dimension. This new addition to the motorpool is the conclusion to my second Piston Slap query–What is the Poor Man’s TARDIS? (Read More…)
The French government is planning on raising taxes on diesel fuel, branding it a “health issue”, much to the chagrin of consumers and the country’s auto industry.
Recent Comments