Diesels Everywhere

I just spent two weeks in southern Spain on vacation. The rental car I had reserved before leaving wasn't available at the airport when I arrived, so they gave me a free upgrade - to a brand new (1600 kilometers on it) Opel Meriva 1.7 diesel w/5 spd. It looks like a F*rd Focus-sized minivan. Ran like a scalded cat! My imprecise observation was that about 40% to 50% of the cars on the road were diesel. You want a Honda Accord w/diesel? No problem. Same for GM, D-C, F*rd products. A lot of japanese sedans & minivans with diesels. Not to mention european products (Citroen, Peugeot, Renault, Fiat, etc). Not surprising, I guess, with diesel fuel over USD $4.50/US gallon. Gasoline tops $5/gal. heck, they even have a class of "cars" in Europe called micro cars that are so small they don't require a driver's license - and at least one of the mfgrs (AIXAM) offers a couple of different models with small Kubota diesel engines. You can do a search on AIXAM and look at them. Metal frame with plastic body. The locals call them "hijo de puta" because when you get stuck behind one, you can't get around them on the narrow roads and they really slow down traffic. They're registered, but carry a MOPED tag.
When will the manufacturers wake up and realize that a lot of these products would be good sellers here. I saw a Jeep Liberty with a diesel (although the badge on it said Cherokee, it was Liberty body). I have a GM SUV and a GM sedan in addition to my truck, but would sure jump on a diesel when it comes time to replace vehicles.
Charlie

I also would jump...I currently have an older American diesel and a new German diesel...when the time comes, I will probably opt for another. I can't see myself paying $40,000-$50,000 for a truck since I don't do that much hauling...so I'll keep my old Chevy running as long as I can...but my car...if we don't have any built here by American companies...I'll go German again. It's hard to beat a 50mpg turbo-diesel that will go well over 100mph without even straining!!! ;)

Gotta credit those europeans with something, they know a good engine(diesel)and support BioDiesel to boot.
It'll probably be 10 years in the US until we get their hand-me-down technology. :(
Friggin EPA :mad: They need to get up to speed on the real world environmental impact of NASTY gasoline engines. Volatiles gallore!! :eek:

Until the US fuel quality meets European Norms then there could be reliability issues in the US with European diesel systems.

The new systems use the fuel as lubrication for the pump and injection components. Unless the fuel has defined quality standards the contaminants and water in the fuel can cause lost of problems. Bosch has worked long and hard to improve the fuel quality standards in Europe. Until these standards come to the US, diesel owners can expect to have reliability issues.

An Isuzu V6 diesel engine, similar to the one shown here is rumored to become available in a select number of GM's mid-size vehicles by the 2007 model-year. Would be cool! :cool:

http://www.thedieselpage.com/images/IsuzuV6.jpg

MP

Hello More power,

Is ther any more info from the engine on the pickture?

What i see is 4 valve pro cylinder, wat are the red thinks on top of the valve cover? :confused: [img]smile.gif[/img]

The red objects are the tops of the injectors.

Isuzu currently produces a V-6 diesel (unrelated to the Duramax 6600) for its European luxo market that would have application to SUV and light-duty use here in the US. Isuzu’s DOHC 24-valve V-6 is currently produced with displacements of both 2.5L and 3.0L (this is subject to change), and has a V-angle of 66 degrees. This V-angle was created mainly for packaging into the smaller European cars, but would be an excellent choice for SUV and other light-duty use here in the US. As currently configured, this 3.0L V-6 produces 170 hp and 260 lb-ft of torque, and was originally intended for use in the 2002 model year SAAB 9-5.

The following image represents the Isuzu 3.0L V6 common-rail turbodiesel.

http://www.thedieselpage.com/images/Isuzu3LV6.jpg

MP

Hope that's not the engine going into the new Suburban. :eek: It would need at least a 130 more HP and 200 more ft lbs of torque to do any good, but might be a good choice for the "smaller" SUVs like the Jeep liberty, or S10 sized vehicles. Or, how about a mid-sized sedan with rear wheel drive and 5 speed auto or stick? Oh the possibilities... :D
JP

GM has shared the Colorado/Canyon platform with Isuzu and this is the result-

http://www.isuzu.co.jp/world/product/dmax/index.html

So I'd say the engineering is done for GM to introduce a diesel Colorado/Canyon. For someone like me commuting 100 miles a day, with light hobby farm chores on the weekend, it looks like a perfect solution.

I'll save the 2500HD for hauling the horse trailer.

One of the biggest problems these days, IMO, is the belief that you just can't have a fullsize truck without 300+ HP and 500+ lb-ft torque. Is it really necessary to be able to accelerate like a Corvette while towing a trailer uphill? If I have to stay in the right lane that's fine by me, what's good for a semi is certainly good enough for me driving my pickup. Don't get me wrong, I like power as much as the next guy, but the fact is most of us will NEVER use all that HP and torque, no matter what we're hauling. Meanwhile, those of us who would like an economical diesel engine for commutes, light hauling, reliability, etc, that won't set us back $5K or more are left hanging out to dry. I'd love to see a 4-4.5l V6 or I5 diesel for 1500s and 2500s, with the 6600 reserved for 2500HDs and bigger.

I agree with you NH....

The 6.2L diesel, introduced in the 1982 model year produced 130 hp and 240 lb-ft of torque, and was optionally available in GM's full-size 1/2, 3/4 & 1-ton trucks and SUV's. The above mentioned 3.0L Isuzu V-6 produces 170 hp and 260 lb-ft of torque.

Back "in the day", fuel economy was #1. It may become that way again.

MP

check this out.....http://www.bath.ac.uk/~ccsshb/12cyl/

I want one......in my back yard!!!!!! Damn....I'm gonna have to buy some more land!

If I could get a 200HP mid 400ft lb torque 6.6 at half the cost of the current 6.6, I would be happy with that setup, or an engine like Navistars new VT275, a V6 version of the VT365(6.0 PSD) with 200/440 specs. Those motors will move 15-20K lbs around at speeds that are plenty fast for me, granted in the slow lane, but better mpgs than the bigger HP motors. Geared correctly in both the axles and tranny, and you have a pretty peppy rig.
Look at the Dodge/Frieghtliner sprinter vans, or even some of the older Isuzu NPR with 150HP 4L Diesels. Granted not the quickest rigs around, but still plenty spunky.
Some of us need rigs with enough power to move just the rig, not 10-15K lbs rv trailers or equal, so the smaller diesel motors equal to todays small blocks would be a good choice to have.

Quote:

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Originally posted by NH2112:
One of the biggest problems these days, IMO, is the belief that you just can't have a fullsize truck without 300+ HP and 500+ lb-ft torque. Is it really necessary to be able to accelerate like a Corvette while towing a trailer uphill? If I have to stay in the right lane that's fine by me, what's good for a semi is certainly good enough for me driving my pickup. Don't get me wrong, I like power as much as the next guy, but the fact is most of us will NEVER use all that HP and torque, no matter what we're hauling. Meanwhile, those of us who would like an economical diesel engine for commutes, light hauling, reliability, etc, that won't set us back $5K or more are left hanging out to dry. I'd love to see a 4-4.5l V6 or I5 diesel for 1500s and 2500s, with the 6600 reserved for 2500HDs and bigger.

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I hear what you are saying, but the plain truth is I have an 04 Suburban with the 6.0 gasser and it can't get itself out of its own way until you reach 3000 rpms. Sure, 200 HP & 360 ft lbs of torque would be fine as long as it was available below 3000 RPMs...not up in the stratisphere of 5000 RPMs. AS for towing, I had a 94 CC Dually w/ 7.4L big block and it struggled to pull my 9500lb 5ver to 65 mph. I'm sure there are many variables, but when I step down on the accelerator I want my truck to start moving...it doesn't have to accelerate like a vette, but I would like to be able to keep up with traffic or be able to get out of traffic's way....because we know everyone drives 55 mph.....right??? :D
JP