After a long drought, an American-made compact car will finally offer a diesel engine later this year.
The 2014 Chevy Cruze Clean Turbo Diesel will bring the diesel engine to the world of US automakers in July, and consumers in this country are expected to receive the technology with open arms. The introduction could be a step forward for Chevy, as well as for an American auto industry that's searching for solutions to looming corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) mandates.
"The time and place is exactly right for this," Michael Siegrist, assistant chief engineer of General Motors Powertrain, told Design News recently. "We think there's a pent-up desire for this product."
Click on the image below for a closer look at the Chevy Cruze Diesel.
With a starting price of $25,695, the Cruze Clean Turbo Diesel is expected to appeal to those who want to combine high fuel efficiency with an engine that offers high torque. (Source: Design News)
Indeed, the higher energy levels of diesel fuel could appeal to Americans, many of whom wonder why diesel technology has grabbed about 40 percent of the European auto market, while being virtually ignored by North American-based manufacturers of passenger cars. Chevrolet, for example, hasn't offered an American-made diesel compact since the 1986 Chevette.
But that will change over the next few years, experts say. Chrysler will market a diesel version of it Jeep Grand Cherokee SUV and Mazda plans a diesel for its Mazda6 midsize sedan later this year. Moreover, diesel car sales are expected to jump from 3 percent of US sales in 2012 to 6 percent in 2015, according to market research firm Baum and Associates.
Chevy's new product, slated to hit the streets in July, will take a step in that direction by using diesel technology to deliver a luxury twist to Cruze's entry-level customers. Instead of the 150 lb-ft of torque offered by the Cruze's gasoline burning inline four-cylinder engine, the turbo diesel will provide 258 lb-ft of torque at 2,000 rpm, while maintaining Cruze's fuel efficiency at approximately 42 mpg.
"If you're on an on-ramp, you won't need to squeeze the throttle and you won't need to downshift," Siegrist told us. "This engine has an immense amount of torque. It accelerates to highway speeds almost effortlessly."
The 2.0-liter diesel engine will also employ a turbocharger to help with low-end torque and high-end horsepower. The variable nozzle turbocharger, manufactured by Honeywell, employs a pneumatic actuator to change the position of its vanes when the engine's ECU decides it needs a boost.
Designed at General Motors' (GM's) diesel center of excellence in Torino, Italy, the Cruze engine already has served in several GM vehicles in Europe, including the Astra small family car, Insignia large family car, and the Zafira minivan. Engineers in Torino worked closely with counterparts in Michigan to tweak the design for US emissions and diagnostic requirements, as well as for the wider temperature swings and higher altitudes often experienced by American cars.
I was surprised; only $.06 more per gallon for diesel. Very interesting: some states stand out in their region (like NJ in the NorthEast with sub-median taxes all around; just don't ask about real estate ones!).
Charles, I think SOMEBODY (named Charles) needs to do a little bit of research on the tax issue. Like what exactly are the US Federal and average state taxes on diesel fuel vs. gasoline. I have heard (no hard facts though) that the total tax burden for diesel is WAY more expensive than gasoline; my experience in driving several different diesel vehicles in EU recently strengthens that belief, as diesel there is significantly cheaper per liter than gas! I know that EU has much higher tax rates on gasoline than US average, and suspect it is much lower (than US) for diesel! Other posters have noted (correctly) that diesels just aren''t economically feasible in the present US arena. There is also somewhat of an infrastructure issue with diesel fuel availability much lower in US than in EU (where virtually ALL fuel stations have both). Personally, I would favor CNG-fueled diesels, but that is an even bigger infrastructure challenge. However, the CNG issue does have something in common with EV: there are already "home recharging units" for CNG that could work great for even long-range commutes. The interstate travel trips would still need new infrastructure, however.
I had a great experience a couple years ago driving a Volvo station wagon on the A3 autobahn in Germany. It had a 4 cylinder turbo diesel engine that would keep the vehicle at speed, but needed some time to get there when I had to get out of the passing lane and slow down in the middle travel lane. Much of the time was spent between 170kph and 200kph (106mph and 121mph), while I did manage to get it up to 230kph(143mph) briefly on a long, straight downhill. That's much faster than I can legally drive my C5 Corvette in this country.
Someone please tell me the difference in the two grades of Diesel there: besides price, of course.
I do not have enough expertise on engine block design to comment on the conversion of a gasoline engine to Diesel. Pressures on a Diesell block and head have to be much greater than for a gasoline engine. The number and size of headbolts has got to be engineered, and I believe most gasoline blocks are stuck with the number of headbolts originally chosen.
My daughter was interested enough to ask about what is under the hood when I gave her a car for college. I'd do routine maintenance when she'd come home for vacations and breaks, and she would watch and ask how the engine works and what the various components were. Apparantly, she learend enough to talk knowledgably about engines with boy students because she said they would ask her what's wrong with their cars whenever they were having a problem. Of course, she didn't know enough to fix problems, but she apparantly knew more than they.
Thanks, but I guess the point that I forgot to make is that it really isn't any different than owning a gasoline powered vehicle. I have several gassers, and each seems to specify a different grade of oil, so the diesel is just one more bottle in the shop. Many more stations around here are carrying diesel, and the truck stops are even putting in seperate islands with lower flow nozzles for passenger vehicles. Some of the new diesel vehicles have a tank valve that makes it much more difficult to insert the smaller gasoline nozzles, reducing the possibility of putting in the wrong fuel.
Whereas electrics and hybrids seem to shine best for short trips, diesels excel on longer commutes, and I think the infrastructre is finally moving in the direction of US diesel acceptance.
I congratulate you on raising a fine daughter and contributing member of society. Being an engineer's daughter I'd expect nothing less of her! You do have to admit however, you know which group of late teen, early twenties folks I'm talking about.
"Can you picture a 19 year old tiny bopper going to college, who can barely drive, let alone figure out where the oil goes and forget what grade you're supposed to use with one of these?"
My 17yo daughter (wouldn't call her a teeny-bopper) has no trouble figuring out where to put the diesel or oil in her car, or how to address other challenges if fuelling up at a truck stop. It really isn't that difficult. She loves her 10 year old VW 1.9L TDI, but it's old enough that it doesn't have all the extra emissions stuff. This means it still has respectable power, and comparable fuel mileage as the Cruze even with the auto trans.
@ltron: The Cruze Eco is a very nice car that I seriously considered buying. The fact that you can get 42+ MPG in a standard-powertrain vehicle that costs around $17,000 really undermines the case for hybrids, in my opinion.
I wound up going with a base-model Nissan Versa sedan that gets about 40 MPG (combined city and highway) and cost me a little under $13,000. It's the best value, by far.
Yeah, I'm with you on this one. VW and Mercedes have been putting diesel passenger cars on the roads continuously for decades and that institutional knowledge of how to make them work is not trivial, even if GM incorporates a European design engine, because there is still much that has to be done to fully integrate it in your design.
My wife and I test drove a VW Jetta TDI back in '05 when we needed a new car. Loved the way it drove, but the price differential of $6,000 plus between the base gas model Jetta that they were discounting and the TDI in which dealers were putting a premium on the MSRP made that an easy decision. Not to mention that my commute is 5 miles each way. Even in '05, when diesel in Maryland was actually cheaper than regular, it was going to take 150,000 miles just to "break even".
I wish GM well on this endeavor, but I personally wouldn't buy a diesel passenger car from GM until this car gets at least five or six years on the market. I'll let others deal with the growing pains.
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