The 65 mpg Ford the U.S. Can't Have

[aludanyi]

2. Reliability, diesel engines are allot more reliable than gas/petrol cars, you can easily pick up a diesl with 100,000+ miles on the clock and it will still run like new, aslong as it's been looked after of course.

engine maybe but not the other parts of this small car, and also engine is questionable if it's not large enough, there is a significant difference in "cubic inch" of a diesel engine of a Mercedes or Volvo and a small car it is not the same if you have a 5 or 6 cylinder diesel or a 3 or 4 cylinder one a 150-200HP or a 70HP. Usually gasoline engines are also very dependable on the fact are they a big engine and slow (2000-3000rpm) or a small one which need to be fast to get power (3000-5000rpm) the slow and big one will usually last twice the mileage.

[MR_Candyman]

can anybody tell me WHY they think a small car will wear out faster? It makes no sense. They are lighter, made wit many more aluminum parts (which are stronger than steel and don't perforate from corrosion).

and aludanyi: when you say "Usually gasoline engines are also very dependable on the fact are they a big engine and slow (2000-3000rpm) or a small one which need to be fast to get power (3000-5000rpm) the slow and big one will usually last twice the mileage." I'm pretty sure you meant diesel. You'll see very few high revving diesel engines.

And as I stated before, the european safety standards are far better than DOT.

[SIE]

engine maybe but not the other parts of this small car, and also engine is questionable if it's not large enough, there is a significant difference in "cubic inch" of a diesel engine of a Mercedes or Volvo and a small car it is not the same if you have a 5 or 6 cylinder diesel or a 3 or 4 cylinder one a 150-200HP or a 70HP. Usually gasoline engines are also very dependable on the fact are they a big engine and slow (2000-3000rpm) or a small one which need to be fast to get power (3000-5000rpm) the slow and big one will usually last twice the mileage.

This isn't the 80's m8, you can get a 1.6 diesel engine with 110+HP, one could also argue that the bigger the car/engine the more revs you need because of the weight, you could also say the same with the rest of the parts, lighter car = less wear and tear. Unlike petrol/gasoline, diesel is a lubricant, like for like, a diesel engine will far outlast a petrol engine, that is a fact. Besides, your arguement is flawed because you can get a big diesel aswell. Theres no reason at all to be using large petrol engines.

EDIT: MR_Candyman bet me to it, schweet! :D

[Fred Derf Veteran]

Well there is an old saying is that men compensate for a small penis by buying a larger car.

There was an TV ad that showed a young lad getting out of a small car and two women look at each other before one says "I wonder if the opposite is true..."

While funny, it must have been a poor ad because I don't remember the product (the actual brand of the car).

[Lant]

Just wondering but do the US actually not have diesel? I haven't seen it at the pumps when I've been over there, but I thought they would have it by now. It was crap several years ago, but now its only slightly more expensive than petrol and you get a load more miles per tank than on petrol. Is they any actual reason it hasn't been introduced, or is it one of those stupid reasons like the amount of money it would require to implement (stupid because it would save money/ the environment in the long run).

[aludanyi]

Well there is an old saying is that men compensate for a small penis by buying a larger car.

There was an TV ad that showed a young lad getting out of a small car and two women look at each other before one says "I wonder if the opposite is true..."

While funny, it must have been a poor ad because I don't remember the product (the actual brand of the car).

I don't want to sound racist or anything because I am not, but did you notice those rap musicians all driving a big SUV and I doubt they have any penis size issues :)

[Fred Derf Veteran]

Just wondering but do the US actually not have diesel? I haven't seen it at the pumps when I've been over there, but I thought they would have it by now. It was crap several years ago, but now its only slightly more expensive than petrol and you get a load more miles per tank than on petrol. Is they any actual reason it hasn't been introduced, or is it one of those stupid reasons like the amount of money it would require to implement (stupid because it would save money/ the environment in the long run).

I would expect that at least half of gas stations would offer diesel because it is widely used by trucks. The infrastructure should be there. The problem is the public perception of diesel. It's not in the cultural lexicon when it comes to passenger vehicles.

[Lant]

I would expect that at least half of gas stations would offer diesel because it is widely used by trucks. The infrastructure should be there. The problem is the public perception of diesel. It's not in the cultural lexicon when it comes to passenger vehicles.

Ah OK, that makes sense, was like that over here too. There's probably a good few Clarkson quotes on this topic :D

[aludanyi]

This isn't the 80's m8, you can get a 1.6 diesel engine with 110+HP, one could also argue that the bigger the car/engine the more revs you need because of the weight, you could also say the same with the rest of the parts, lighter car = less wear and tear. Unlike petrol/gasoline, diesel is a lubricant, like for like, a diesel engine will far outlast a petrol engine, that is a fact. Besides, your arguement is flawed because you can get a big diesel aswell. Theres no reason at all to be using large petrol engines.

EDIT: MR_Candyman bet me to it, schweet! :D

I don't know but I was amazed with the differences between say Toyota Camry and Peugeot or Ford Mondeo which isn't a small car as using cabs (Taxi) in Dubai, the Camry is usually almost noiseless and most of them are with 2-300000 or even more miles on and the Peugeot and Ford Mondeo are very noisy (compared to Camry) with much less mileage. It isn't usual to find cars (apart from Mercedes, BMW, Volvo and some Volkswagen's in Europe with more than 200000 miles on the counter and there are many cars in the US (American or Japanese made) with those kind of mileages.

[Sandor]

Yet while half of all cars sold in Europe last year ran on diesel, the U.S. market remains relatively unfriendly to the fuel. Taxes aimed at commercial trucks mean diesel costs anywhere from 40 cents to $1 more per gallon than gasoline.

should be noted that in the UK diesel is about 12p (20 cents) per litre more expensive than regular petrol (gasoline). so it'll be about 70 cents per "american gallon" more in fuel costs. if it's good enough for us then i dunno if its a valid reason "not" to buy it in USA

[BGM]

.... is it just me or gas companies have a monopoly over everyone .. (not even MS is as powerful as any gas company) ... which is crazy

it's actually an oligopoly... but yeah, it's called a cartel, look it up

I don't want to sound racist or anything because I am not, but did you notice those rap musicians all driving a big SUV and I doubt they have any penis size issues :)

LOL

[MR_Candyman]

Just wondering but do the US actually not have diesel? I haven't seen it at the pumps when I've been over there, but I thought they would have it by now. It was crap several years ago, but now its only slightly more expensive than petrol and you get a load more miles per tank than on petrol. Is they any actual reason it hasn't been introduced, or is it one of those stupid reasons like the amount of money it would require to implement (stupid because it would save money/ the environment in the long run).

The USA and Canada both have diesel at most stations. People generally don't want a diesel vehicle for a few reasons:

1: initial cost of the vehicle is significantly more

2: It is a bit harder to find than regular gasoline

3: a lot of people still associate them with dirty, gray fumed vehicles

4: they used to be noisy, and are still viewed that way

5: our diesel in north america still has too much sulfur in it, which has a bad habbit of killing engines, primarely turbo systems.

[SoCalledChaos]

The USA and Canada both have diesel at most stations. People generally don't want a diesel vehicle for a few reasons:

1: initial cost of the vehicle is significantly more

2: It is a bit harder to find than regular gasoline

3: a lot of people still associate them with dirty, gray fumed vehicles

4: they used to be noisy, and are still viewed that way

5: our diesel in north america still has too much sulfur in it, which has a bad habbit of killing engines, primarely turbo systems.

I've seen diesel trucks with well over 500,000km on them.

[revvo]

That's funny. the used cars with turbodiesel engines I've seen here for sale have loads of milage, close to 300,000KM ain't uncommon.

[kombolcha]

a lot of great points here

i want to add my view on a certain things.

These days most, if not all cars are dependable given that the owner does his/her part in maintaining the vehicle. Some cars are just plagued, like some European cars in the states they seem to have bad electronics, Honda with their bad transmissions, range rover with everything that can ever be wrong with a vehicle :p

It's what you put into it, if you can afford that BMW, then you can afford the service.

I am 100% convinced that most car owners don't know jack ****, especially women because it's evident even in my own family. They think they can just buy a car and drive it forever and then bitch and complain how ABC car company is the worst ever.

People in the states, especially in California DRIVE DRIVE DRIVE DRIVE i put on about 7,000 miles a month on my car and i even i don't think that's a whole lot.

a 3 year old car with 90k miles? it's still pretty new to me as long as all service records are available.

how i wish for smaller diesel cars here...

my dad's supercharged straight 6 LandCruiser averages 18MPG while my moms 2.4L I4 honda gets 16MPG.. **** me.

[Xeta]

Interesting topic. In the US here I can't recall the last gas station I've been at that does NOT have diesel as well as gasoline.

My complaint with diesel would be the engine noise. Unless this has been cleared up with more modern passenger diesels. The last passenger car diesel engine I've had experience with was my grandma's Mercedes from the 70s or 80s. And that thing was noisy!

If I could get the amazing mileage that is claimed by this article, I would be happy to own a diesel car. But if Ford and other automakers aren't willing to sell them in the US, then I guess I can't really buy one.

[Sandor]

a lot of great points here

i want to add my view on a certain things.

These days most, if not all cars are dependable given that the owner does his/her part in maintaining the vehicle. Some cars are just plagued, like some European cars in the states they seem to have bad electronics, Honda with their bad transmissions, range rover with everything that can ever be wrong with a vehicle :p

It's what you put into it, if you can afford that BMW, then you can afford the service.

I am 100% convinced that most car owners don't know jack ****, especially women because it's evident even in my own family. They think they can just buy a car and drive it forever and then bitch and complain how ABC car company is the worst ever.

People in the states, especially in California DRIVE DRIVE DRIVE DRIVE i put on about 7,000 miles a month on my car and i even i don't think that's a whole lot.

a 3 year old car with 90k miles? it's still pretty new to me as long as all service records are available.

how i wish for smaller diesel cars here...

my dad's supercharged straight 6 LandCruiser averages 18MPG while my moms 2.4L I4 honda gets 16MPG.. **** me.

most cars in the UK with 90k miles are from about the year 2000...

if you're doing 7,000 miles a month i guess you're buying a new car every 2 years then?

[kombolcha]

Interesting topic. In the US here I can't recall the last gas station I've been at that does NOT have diesel as well as gasoline.

My complaint with diesel would be the engine noise. Unless this has been cleared up with more modern passenger diesels. The last passenger car diesel engine I've had experience with was my grandma's Mercedes from the 70s or 80s. And that thing was noisy!

If I could get the amazing mileage that is claimed by this article, I would be happy to own a diesel car. But if Ford and other automakers aren't willing to sell them in the US, then I guess I can't really buy one.

have you heard the engine from those new Mercedes/Dodge sprinter vans? omg that thing sounds so sweet.

they're not noisy or smelly like the old mercedes we're all used to.

most cars in the UK with 90k miles are from about the year 2000...

if you're doing 7,000 miles a month i guess you're buying a new car every 2 years then?

for most people yes, but i'm one of those i'm driving it to a million miles. i'll never sell it.

doing a simple autotrader.com search i see that a lot of cars between 2000 - 2003 have 80K - 100K

[Sandor]

have you heard the engine from those new Mercedes/Dodge sprinter vans? omg that thing sounds so sweet.

they're not noisy or smelly like the old mercedes we're all used to.

for most people yes, but i'm one of those i'm driving it to a million miles. i'll never sell it.

doing a simple autotrader.com search i see that a lot of cars between 2000 - 2003 have 80K - 100K

guess its an advantage of being from Northern Ireland. the country is only about 100 miles wide and about the same up and down. if i do 10k miles a year i'll be surprised.

[MR_Candyman]

That's funny. the used cars with turbodiesel engines I've seen here for sale have loads of milage, close to 300,000KM ain't uncommon.

Older cars were meant to handle the high sulfur diesel. New cars aren't. Even a lot of semi trucks are switching to using low sulfur only. In Alberta even the pumps claiming they're low sulfur diesel for the most part aren't. This is burning up a lot of the turboes in trucks and a lot of the new diesel engines in cars as well.

[psionicinversion]

well diesel technology has caught up with petrols as shown on top gear here in the uk, lot of diesel turbos are on par if not slightly faster than same sized engine normally aspirated petrols now and with the higher degree of torque from diesels you can accelerate faster at lower rev ranges. fuel economy is higher also a diesel engine will out last a petrol engine by miles.

only thing with the US id prolly have to say is its not good enough unless it has a 10 litre W16 under the hood outputting 450bhp lmao. Clarkson "how the hell do they get so little power out of a massive engine", "well its easy european engineers are obviously a lot more clever", gotta love that guy.

Also not sure if the americans could handle european cars as they can actually turn a corner with out an airstrip of clearance, could catch alot of ppl out and start slamming into houses and shops and stuff.

Maybe if they made a diesel V6 dodge muscle car maybe theyd sell who knows but it would have to be designed in the uk or another european country otherwise it would just FAIL if designed by an american

[kombolcha]

well diesel technology has caught up with petrols as shown on top gear here in the uk, lot of diesel turbos are on par if not slightly faster than same sized engine normally aspirated petrols now and with the higher degree of torque from diesels you can accelerate faster at lower rev ranges. fuel economy is higher also a diesel engine will out last a petrol engine by miles.

only thing with the US id prolly have to say is its not good enough unless it has a 10 litre W16 under the hood outputting 450bhp lmao. Clarkson "how the hell do they get so little power out of a massive engine", "well its easy european engineers are obviously a lot more clever", gotta love that guy.

Also not sure if the americans could handle european cars as they can actually turn a corner with out an airstrip of clearance, could catch alot of ppl out and start slamming into houses and shops and stuff.

Maybe if they made a diesel V6 dodge muscle car maybe theyd sell who knows but it would have to be designed in the uk or another european country otherwise it would just FAIL if designed by an american

and we come to a screeching halt.

[MR_Candyman]

well diesel technology has caught up with petrols as shown on top gear here in the uk, lot of diesel turbos are on par if not slightly faster than same sized engine normally aspirated petrols now and with the higher degree of torque from diesels you can accelerate faster at lower rev ranges. fuel economy is higher also a diesel engine will out last a petrol engine by miles.

only thing with the US id prolly have to say is its not good enough unless it has a 10 litre W16 under the hood outputting 450bhp lmao. Clarkson "how the hell do they get so little power out of a massive engine", "well its easy european engineers are obviously a lot more clever", gotta love that guy.

Also not sure if the americans could handle european cars as they can actually turn a corner with out an airstrip of clearance, could catch alot of ppl out and start slamming into houses and shops and stuff.

Maybe if they made a diesel V6 dodge muscle car maybe theyd sell who knows but it would have to be designed in the uk or another european country otherwise it would just FAIL if designed by an american

Get a life troll. Even jeremy ACTUALLY knows he's kidding. Anybody who seriously spouts that crap is an idiot

[PGHammer]

Ok a few things, one i'm not 100% sure of but anyway.

1. I always thought UK safety standards were allot higher than in the US?

2. Reliability, diesel engines are allot more reliable than gas/petrol cars, you can easily pick up a diesl with 100,000+ miles on the clock and it will still run like new, aslong as it's been looked after of course.

3. Engine aside, allot of americans wouldn't be seen dead driving something like that, thats the reason why it's not going there.

Yet how many micro-cars are sold in the UK?

Further, micros in the UK are distinctly classed differently than even subcompacts, and so are regulated differently. Also, aren't most speed-governed (in fact, aren't most vehicles in the EU speed-governed, primarily due to much higher fuel prices)?

[chrisj1968]

this man makes a fair point, it would get laughed off the road in the US

not really. I was dating a girl in germany once who had a GF that drived a VW Corrado. it was a 1.3 or 1.6 ltr 136 HP four banger. The germans build much nicer cars in the sense of engine size to HP.

yes the compact cars are designed these days to rev higher and run hotter, longer.

the REAL point of this discussion is, how do the friends of the industry make big $$$? well, US auto makers make these huge gas sucking cars that fall apart before,at or just after the warranty expires. then you pay out your butts for gas which is almost like taking out a mortgage each time. something else; remember the old saying, "never buy a monday built car"? because cars built by over the weekend drunk assembly workers were often built faulty.

the next scenario is that car makers want to buy parts on the cheap and then you have the issues of massive recalls. the last one i heard was a car maker installed wiper blade fluid warmers and the faulty wiring could short and catch fire.

US automakers tried desperately back in the 1960's/70's to build cars like the japanese car makers did hence all that damn plastic to build a lighter, faster cheaper car..which was garbage anyway.

The whole car issue is about the US and it's huge massive excess..excess..excess. US people like BIG cars that are recall traps and you end up financing a car longer than it lasts.