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Proposed Diesel Fiesta salesperson job aid
The ”Green Car of the Year” award winner at this year's LA Auto Show was a diesel - again. This year it is the Audi A3 TDI. Last year it was the Volkswagen Jetta TDI – also diesel-powered.
Maybe now the powers that be at Ford Motor Company will re-think their position on bringing the diesel-powered version of the Fiesta to the U.S. market. Why wait until gasoline spikes at five bucks per gallon when you know it’s only a matter of time? Either a shortage will force gasoline prices up -- or a cash-hungry federal government will tax the price up.
Diesel cars in the U.S.
In 1975, Volkswagen introduced the Rabbit as the replacement for the Beetle in the U.S. Sales were so-so until 1979. Suddenly, the oil crisis crippled the U.S. economy, and along came the Rabbit with its optional 1.5L 4-cylinder diesel. The diesel-powered Rabbit achieved an unheard-of 45-mpg city/57 mpg highway. Remember, this was 1979, when the average family land yacht tipped the scales at over 4,000 pounds and got around 12 mpg. The Rabbit had waiting lists at dealerships. When was the last time people lined up in a Ford showroom to get on a waiting list?
It's complicated
Ford introduced a version of the new European-only Ford Fiesta Econetic at the British Motor Show last April. It featured an 89 HP, 1.6-liter TDCi turbo diesel engine that is capable of 62.5 mpg. So far, there are no plans to send the European diesel-powered version to America. The reasons why it won’t happen soon - if at all - are complicated. The issues include foreign exchange rates; European safety and emission standards; the cost of producing diesel engines in the U.S., and the ever-changing price of diesel fuel relative to gasoline.
Consumer acceptance of diesels
Then there’s the question as to whether Americans will buy diesel-powered cars. Back in the 1980's when I was doing medium-duty truck training, diesels weren’t as evolved as they are today. There were issues with cold weather starting, white smoke on startup, induction air heaters, glow plugs, not to mention black smoke, noise and extra cost. But that was then. Consumers need to be educated about the features and benefits of modern diesel technology. This is a marketing challenge.
Here’s a real marketing challenge
Years ago, a little-known company in Highland Park, MI named Ex-Cell-O Corporation invented a machine that would fold paperboard cartons, fill them with milk and seal them shut - with blazing speed. But there was a problem. People didn't believe a paperboard carton could hold milk. They didn't think it was sanitary. In many states, it was actually against the law to sell milk in anything other than glass bottles. That’s a marketing challenge! But Ex-Cell-O’s marketing gurus and their ad agency, Campbell Ewald, changed the way the world drinks milk. When was the last time you saw milk for sale in glass bottles? Still think selling diesels is too much of a marketing challenge?
"But it gets 62.5 miles per gallon!"
But it gets 62.5 miles per gallon
If I were a Ford dealer, I would jump at the chance to park a diesel-powered Fiesta in front of my dealership. I’d light it up with spotlights all night long. No rebates. No zero percent. I’d give every salesperson a pocket-sized job aid with a single sentence on it to counter every conceivable customer objection: “But (insert customer name here) this car gets – 62.5 miles per gallon.” And I’d have my waiting list right out front so customers could sign up.
Check out the diesel powered Fiesta on Ford’s UK website here.
Read more of my Examiner articles about Fiesta here.
Option and pricing info on the 2011 Fiesta.
Reader Debate
In response to some reader comments about diesels: One reason why American consumers are wary of diesel engines is because of the disastrous Oldsmobile diesel introduced in 1978. GM built close to one million of them and put them in many of their car lines including Cadillac. Don't take my word for it. Read Worst Automobile Engines of All Time.
Bio diesel issues
Poor quality diesel fuel (and lack of a fuel-water separator) also helped kill the Oldsmobile diesel. If bio diesel becomes popular, there will have to be strict standards for purity. Diesel injection pumps are not tolerant of impurities, dirt and water. It would be a shame if bio diesel were to kill the reputation of diesel engines all over again - especially if people start making bio diesel at home. No manufacturer can be expected to honor engine warranty claims when people start brewing their own fuel.
NOTE: This article originally appeared April 28, 2009. It has been updated and reprinted in response to reader comments regarding diesel engines and the LA Auto Show "Green Car" Award.
Photo: Ford Motor Company
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Comments
When people think of diesels, they think of loud, noisy, smelly trucks. But you are absolutely right--the technology has changed so much in the past years that diesel engines in cars could be the wave of the future. And right now diesel and gasoline are the same price. Just my opinion, but the main problem with marketing diesel cars in the USA would be the "Green" movement--no offense intended, but I would bet that just the mention of the word "diesel" drives tree-huggers nuts.
Au Contraire, W. Hall! It costs very little extra to build a vehicle bio-diesel compatible. It's just no one's producing bio-diesel in a sufficient quantity.
"Bio-diesel compatible?" Either they are not being produced because the "extra" cost may be a little too much, or that basically nobody wants it. And who makes a bio-diesel vehicle? Never heard of one.
I agree that the public perception of diesel meaning that they are all noisy, smoking 18-wheelers has a great deal to do with the lack of more diesel car options in the US.
Well, there's advertised as running on biodiesel, like the Jeep CRD, and there's will run safely on biodiesel. VWs and Mercedes Benz are the two main groups of vehicles, at least some of the which the makers bless as ready for biodiesel.
Diesels perform well in cold temps--just watch "Ice Road Truckers." More fuel efficient and more power. They will gel up when it gets really cold--app. zero degrees F. if just sitting. But all truck fuel stations use a winter additive, and winter additives are available for non-commercial diesels.
As for bio diesel--from a first-hand source, it eats gaskets, and is not as clean or fuel-efficient as regular diesel.
Performance in cold weather is not the problem--it's getting it started. And because of the design of the diesel, when you see a pick-up truck plugged in during cold weather it's not because of the fuel--it's to keep the oil warm.
Unfortunately I don't think diesel cars will ever get another chance in the States. As Mr. Karagozian essentially recognizes, diesels just have a bad reputaion that will take a huge marketing campaign to overcome. But no company has the money for that now.
Biodiesel doesn't eat gaskets. Biodiesel has different solvent property than petrodiesel and it degrades rubber. Most gaskets are made from FKM and that's nonreactive to biodiesel. It is safe and clean. Do some research on your own and find out.
B20 can be treated for winter use, just like #2 petrodiesel. Biodiesel is in use in some rather chilly climates.
www dot biodiesel dot org/cold/
With all the US automakers going down the tubes, why would they want to introduce a car into the market that would last a couple of hundred thousand miles??
Diesel pickups are on the market-VERY efficient vehicles. 200-300 thousand and up miles easily on one (from a first-hand source). Maybe GM/Ford/Dodge don't go out of their way to sell them for a good reason--the last thing Detroit needs right now is a boatload of cars that will last 20 years.
The durability of diesels is a big selling point, but I think the real downside is that a lot of people, myself including, are playing wait and see. There's the potential for vehicles that completely change the game and offer huge increases in fuel efficiency in the next few years. However, as W. Hall correctly points out, the only thing that's going to turn around Detroit right now is a large increase in vehicle sales.
This I believe is where Detroit and the car industry globally is going to change. Planned obsolescence might now be, well, obsolete. High gas prices combined with an economic downturn has people scared. I doubt many believe cheap gas prices are here to stay and that last summer was just a fluke. They're expecting $4 and $5 a gallon gas to return and remain.
People are going to hang onto their cars longer and only buy when they NEED to get a new or different vehicle, or when something really significant changes. For me, I'm pretty well resolved not to buy until I can buy something that plugs it--whether it's a plugin or an electric vehicle (EV).
Car industry might have to evolve and offer upgrades to existing vehicles rather than expect people to trade in their old vehicle. This is going to be particularly significant with hybrids, plugins, and EVs as newer, better, smaller, lighter, more powerful batteries become available. If I'm right, then the car industry will shrink as fewer new vehicles will be built and sold each year.
Does anyone think that 65.6 mpgs would OVERCOME any type of diesel perception? I certainly do.
Modern diesel cars run cleaner than hybrids. As for cold weather, the Europeans use mostly biodiesel now, and they don't seem to have a problem with it. Diesel is safer, cleaner, easier to produce, and the engines require less maintnance. I think diesel is an obvious choice.
BIG OIL controls the Auto market they are keeping the high mileage cars out of the USA
I am all for green fuels but no one ever talks about how soy, corn or other oils are extracted from the seed. Just so you know the most common method is hexane extraction. It draws the oil out as a solvent then can evaporate leaving the oil. Hexane comes from crude oil.
Gas is $4 - $5 a gallon.
Commercial: "This car gets 65 miles to the gallon."
Consumer: "I dont know, arent diesels loud and smelly?"
Salesman: "But this car gets 65 miles to the gallon."
Consumer: "Sold!"
Late post . . . (Dec)
Bring it on, . . . then let the consumer decide.
Simple. But NOT Gov't controlled.
Make mine twin-turbo-charged please!
Audi A3 TDI $29,900 for 42 mpg, VW Golf TDI $22,189 for 42 mpg, Ford Fiesta $13,320 for 40 mpg on GAS, not diesel. An extra $10k for 2 mpg on a more expensive fuel, this makes sense how again? Also as I recall, the 62.5 mpg is based on European estimates, which are different than the standards used in the US which would be much lower. For example the European A3 TDI is rated in the UK for 68 mpg combined. Well above the 42 US and is probably the same engine.
I have never seen so many BS in a single post, a3 tdi rated at 68 uk miles per gallon? only the subcompacts with 1000cc diesel engines have that kind of mileage.
Also you know sh*t about diesel fuel. A 40 mpg diesel will go further, much further, than a 40 mpg gas engine, both with the same fuel tank size because diesel fuel is more energy dense.
Bio diesel: What will people do when they make their own their bio diesel fuel amd then find out their engine warranty is void?
I have a 2010 Golf TDI, it is by far my favorite car I have ever driven.
I have no idea how the EPA came up with 42 mpg, I drive like the cops are after me and have yet to get less than 44 mpg on my 120 mile commute. I'm sure that if I tried I could easily be hitting 50 mpg. It does cost more to fill up with diesel but mile for mile it's cheaper. I'm saving over $50 a month in fuel costs compared to my old car which got at best 30 mpg if you left it on cruise control at 65 mph. I don't have to baby my Golf to get good mileage, I gun it every opportunity and still come out ahead on mpg.
This car is so much fun to drive, it will knock you back in your seat if you let it. I've had it up to around 110mph and it still handled great.
To me it is completely insane that the US market has so few diesels available. It just doesn't make any logical sense.
Why are the car companies not producing a diesel hybrid? I think this would come close to 100MPG if not better. Imagine a VW Golf TDI Diesel or a Ford Fiesta Diesel Hybrid.
Having lived in Europe it is not uncommon for Diesel Cars to get 60-70 MPG combined City and Hwy. Germany and others are pushing Electric Cars installing Charging stations across German Cities powered by Renewables such as Wind Power. Germany plans on installing over 1000 Hydrogen Fuel Stations and other Europeans Countries have plans for Mass Produced Hygrogen cars in 2015.
Wind Power, Solar Photovolatic, Solar Thermal Power Stations, Battery and Molten Salt Storage, Hydrogen and Electric Powered Vehicles, Green Buildings includeind Zero Energy Houses and Commercial Buildings, Green Roofs, Ocean Energy including Tidal and wave farms, Geo-Thermal Power Plants and Geo-Thermal Cooling and Heating, Huge Offshore Wind Farms in the North Sea, huge Solar Thermal Power Plants Across North Africa Europe is at the fore front of a new Green/Industrial Revolution. China is following Europe's Lead along with many other Countries will America Miss the Boat and become Third World?
There is no "bio-diesel" engine. Any diesel engine can run both diesel and biodiesel.
Plenty of people buy a VW diesel. Offer the Fiesta with a TDCi option ! It will not compete with a Fusion Hybrid.
I'll buy the Honda diesel or the Ford diesel , whomever makes one first. I wont buy the VW, because of a history of poor electronics....
Ladies and gentlemen, Google Toyota Eco Spirit. This is a 100+ mpg working concept vehicle Toyota showed at car shows in the early 2000's, but never produced! Where the hell is it now?
I don't think most people are even aware of the diesel cars that are already available in the US. I own two jetta tdi's and I don't think 99% of the people who see my cars are aware of any difference between them and their lesser efficient cousins.
I agree with the big oil comment. They've invested a lot in refining gasoline and controlling its supply. They want to be able to continue selling it.
there are many diesels in foreign countrys that get50 plus miles per gallon.
i drove the vw here and was very impressed with performance,and no it did not stink or sound like a trash compactor
whant one very good reason that these cars are not here-----remember it is the fuel tax that keeps the roads in repair,if suddenly you would start using half the fuel the taxes would need to be doubled to sustain the present income.
As much as i hate to admit there are other factors like this involved.
WHY NO TOYOTA ECO SPIRIT, REPUTED TO GET 104 mph? WE ARE LEMMINGS, NO, STUPID, FAT MORONIC LEMMINGS. GOOGLE TOYOTA ECO SPIRIT AND POST A REPLY...................
Anyone really think people will buy the Volt at $41000 but not buy the diesel Fiesta?
If they would build it I would get one in a hart beat.
I'm with you, Mike! The thing gets 62 MPG! I own a '95 Ford F250 SuperDuty with 7.3L Powerstroke. It is an excellent truck. I love it. Except when I have to fill it up. I would love to have a diesel Fiesta to run around town when I just don't need a pickup. Whatever the real reason for Ford's inability to get us that engine, it's a very short-sighted strategy. I see an opening for GM to grab a large share of the market.
The reason that there arent more people buying diesels is because they costs allot more and in Utah, diesel costs at least 50cents more per gallon. Why does it cost more to make a diesel engine? Why is diesel fuel more? Diesel is an easier product to make than regular fuel. It just doesnt add up. If diesels were available for the same price as regular engines and the fuel was not so much more, I guarantee people would be buying them. Oh, but wait, we will never know because no one will make them available. Ok VW has them available, but at a much higher price. It is like buying a hybrid, not allot of people buy them because there is very little if any at all price benefit. HOw many middle income families can afford to buy the new chevy volt at 50 grand. Its insane!! I think I will just go out and buy a geo metro and throw a kubota diesel ingine in it like the guys in the x prize competition and get near 100MPG's. And for a fraction of what a VW diesel costs.
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