Some of the biggest import auto manufacturers are pushing diesel at the Detroit Auto Show, but not much came from the Americans. GM in particular seems to want to be the Sony of the car world, and push E85 while all the rest push diesel.
I have no problem with other ways to be green it’s really just Lutz’s seeming open hatred for diesel. His quote from the Frankfurt show, “We have the gravest of doubts that diesels are the solution. But we’re forging ahead anyway just in case they become easily fathomable or the cost of the hardware drops or with the fuel economy some of the extreme emissions regulations get lowered.”
I just want to know how all the other manufacturers can be profitable, but GM can’t. At least they and Ford will soon be offering smaller diesels in their trucks, but that’s little consolation for the average driver trying to save on fuel costs.
Anyway, below is an article from afp.com talking more about this, difference in opinion, in the industry. I think GM and Ford should take heed from Karl Brauer of edmunds.com when he says if Honda’s going diesel it’s time to pay attention.
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(Business 2.0 Magazine) — It’s a wonder criminals get caught in this country. I recently spent a week on the lam, and not once did a policeman give me a second glance.
And it’s not as if I was being inconspicuous — my getaway vehicle was a shiny 2007 Mercedes-Benz ML320 CDI, one of only a handful of such rides on the road in California.
Of course, therein lay the problem.
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DETROIT, Aug 9 (Reuters) - Chrysler LLC will introduce diesel-powered versions of its light-duty pickup trucks after 2009, improving fuel efficiency of the vehicles by up to 30 percent, Frank Klegon, Chrysler’s executive vice president of product development, said on Thursday.
“We anticipate that diesels will comprise up to 15 percent the next decade,” Klegon said.
From CNNMoney.com
FRANKFURT, Aug. 5, 2007 (Thomson Financial delivered by Newstex) — Volkswagen AG is to end its cooperation with DaimlerChrysler (NYSE:DCX) AG and will end the Bluetec diesel campaign started in the US last year in favour of a return to its own TDI branding for diesel vehicles, VW spokesman Hans-Gerd Bode said, confirming a report in the German magazine Wirtshaftswoche.
According to Bodes, the reason for the change can be traced to sharpened US emissions regulations where VW currently has no new diesel products on the market.
‘We will begin in 2008 to offer new diesel vehicles,’ he said.
The report in Wirtschaftswoche said that the cooperation is being ended because the brand Bluetec is associated first-and-foremost with Mercedes, and is therefore problematic for VW.
Bode, however, denied this: ‘We already have 800,000 diesel vehicles running in the US, for that reason we want to go ahead with our TDI brand,’ he said.
From Automotive News Europe
LONDON – Mercedes-Benz will launch its clean-burning Bluetec diesel engines in European markets in early December, at least six months earlier than the automaker originally planned.
The V-6 diesel will be available in the E-class sedan, said Thomas Weber, head of research and development for DaimlerChrysler.
Weber spoke at a media event to demonstrate future hybrid and electric powertrains for Smart cars. He said Smart would offer a start-stop engine option, starting in October.
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From thecarconnection.com
Chrysler has outlined some of the line items on their ambitious $3 billion plan to bolster the fuel efficiency of the company’s engines and vehicles.
Frank Klegon, executive vice president for product development, said the company pushed ahead with the investments on the assumption that fuel economy standards were going to get tougher.
The technology behind the push - from diesel engines, to cylinder deactivation and new lightweight axles - reflects Chrysler’s continuing dependence on Mercedes-Benz for new technology and technical assistance. Except for the hybrids in the new lineup, Mercedes-Benz had a hand in several of the technical initiatives Chrysler announced, Chrysler officials acknowledged.
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From just-auto.com
The new ZF ‘8HP’ transmission will, like its 5HP and 6HP predecessors, be used in passenger car applications with longitudinally mounted engines, and rear-wheel or all-wheel drive configurations. It will, therefore, be no surprise to learn that the 1st application for the 8HP will be the new BMW 7-Series [F01], which CSM Worldwide is currently forecasting to launch in late 2008, rather than 2010.
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New York, NY – At a press conference presented by the MIDWAY GROUP and hosted by the New York International Auto Show at the Jacob Javits Convention Center in Manhattan, New York, the MERCEDES-BENZ E320 BLUETEC was declared the 2007 World Green Car.
The MERCEDES-BENZ E320 BLUETEC was chosen from an initial entry list of fourteen contenders nominated by World Car jurors from 22 countries throughout the world.
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Who:
The Diesel Technology Forum (DTF), an association of companies that manufacture diesel engines, components, fuel and emissions control systems.
What:
An event — The Clean Diesel Technology Tour, the largest-ever gathering of clean diesel executives, vehicles and technologies. Environmentalists, manufacturers and legislators will all come together at this groundbreaking event.
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From Canwest News Service
DaimlerChrysler’s Dodge and Jeep truck divisions will expand their diesel engine offerings in 2007, with the Dodge ram pickup trucks to become the first Chrysler Group vehicles to benefit from parent company Mercedes-Benz’s ultra-clean BLUETEC diesel engine technology.
The 2007 Dodge ram 2500 and 3500 series heavy duty pickups will be fitted with a new 6.7-litre Cummins turbo diesel engine that uses a self-cleaning diesel particulate filter designed to “virtually eliminate particulate matter emissions” (aka soot) and an exhaust catalyst that the company says reduces oxides of nitrogen — known as NOx — by up to 90 per cent. The new engine replaces the 5.9-litre Cummins turbo diesel that was available in 2006 Ram 2500 and 3500 models.
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