OK, I will expose my ignorance here in a search for knowledge....
It is clear that many smart owners and reservationists would prefer to have had the opportunity to own diesel powered smarts rather than gas powered if they had that choice.
I recognize that the diesels get better MPG than does gas. Are their any other reasons to prefer diesel over gas? What are they?
If smarts were available in the US for the same price as either gas or diesel would you have chosen the diesel?
What has been the experience in Canada which I believe had diesels prior to the 451s? Are Canadians happier with the gas or the diesel models or is there any consensus?
At what difference in fuel costs does Diesel lose it's advantage from a fuel cost perspective?
I have read that refineries are maxed out on their ability to produce more diesel and that there is a limit as to how much diesel they can produce as part of their product mix. Is this true?
From what I recall, the diesel smarts in Europe got about 80mpg. I don't think there's any advantage other than fuel economy as the diesel has less HP and not a great cold weather engine. It's about the fuel economy.
Make mine diesel, thank-you. There is a whole crop of EU diesel cars that get over 60 mpg. Diesels except a service life of 300K or more and some have much longer service intervals like 10K between oil changes.
The maxed out on diesel capacity won't last. There was an article in the WSJ stating some retired oil exec is going around buying up small refineries to start pumping out diesel. He believes as many do that small diesel engines are in our future. Diesel is easier to refine than gasoline; when there are a fleet of cars running diesel the production will ramp up to meet the demand. American attitudes toward diesel cars will change real fast when the first person on the block shows up with a car that gets 80 MPG.
Here is a web page about the advantages of gas over diesel for trucks.
A diesel smart should get about 68 mpg. The diesel version has a smaller engine than we get here now, and while it is true that the diesel has less horsepower, that is not what you feel when you drive. It's torque, and diesel engines provide more torque than gas engines.
An example would be the VW Jetta, which has a 2.5 liter gas engine that has 170 hp and 177 lb/ft of torque/
The diesel version of the Jetta is a 2 liter with only 140 hp, but 236 lb/ft of torque.
Torque is a lot more fun than HP any day for me, and I don't care that diesel fuel costs more, when the diesel motorization will provide better mileage than the gas version by a long shot.
The gas version of the Jetta gets 21/29, and it has yet to be announced what the EPA will say about the new diesel but I expect it to get ratings over 46 on the highway, and you should be able to achieve 55+ mpg.
If they would have just brought the diesel over, it would have been a much better option for me.
But why don't Americans LIKE diesel? I blame it all on GM. Back in the late 70's early 80's the Rabbit diesel came on the scene and my mother bought one in 1980....it got 59 mpg on the highway, 44 city. The Rabbit diesel became all the rage, and GM wanted to get in on the diesel thing buy had no motors ready, so they just converted their 350 Olds BB into a diesel and shot it out onto the market. Turns out they sold like hot cakes too, but they were total crap. It turned Americans off to diesel and they have never came back.
I was fortunate that I grew up with VW and Mercedes diesels, and I have even owned several Peugeot diesels over the years while I was living in France, so I have always seen the value of a diesel. Most people I talk to about cars when I tell them I want a diesel think I am crazy because they smell, they are unreliable, and those diesel Caprices and Olds of yore went South real quick.
My father thinks I am foolish to even get a smart, because the 190d gets better mileage and is a full size car. I didn't order a smart for the mileage, it's not bad, but it's not the major motivation for me. I can think of many other cars that do better on mileage, spcifically because they are a diesel.
So smart....diesel please. I hope I do not have to wait long to get one from them either.
I am not concerned about the price of diesel either, as I have neighbor that makes his own and sells it for 2.75 a gallon to his friends. Smells like a Chinese restaurant, but who cares.
A diesel smart should get about 68 mpg. The diesel version has a smaller engine than we get here now, and while it is true that the diesel has less horsepower, that is not what you feel when you drive. It's torque, and diesel engines provide more torque than gas engines.
Talking about torque, my diesel Sprinter based RV has all the torque in the world. It's a 2.7 L M-B CDI that only develops 154 hp. Oh, but those 154 hp are one powerful devil. In exchange, I average 20mpg on a rig that was in excess of 8K pounds.
Bring on the Smart CDI. I might even order two, one for me and one for the Mrs.
ok, if that IS the case, then WHY is diesel so much more EXPENSIVE than gasoline? (.50-.60/gal)
it didn't use to be that way.......
Supposedly supply and demand, yeah right. Some think it is a conspiracy to try and prevent the 70 mpg diesel cars from coming to the US. In Mexico and most of Europe it's cheaper.
Diesel is much cheaper in Europe, when I started buying it in France years ago, gasoline was about 5f and diesel was about 3.20f. Consider also that 72% of that price is tax, and diesel may have had tax benefits. Current plans for the French gov't are that they will augment diesel taxes to bring the price up even with gasoline. I think we, and especially truckers, are getting seriously jerked around by the current diesel prices.
Diesel sales still make up over 60% of the European market.
I thinkin two more years we will be seeing many new small diesels arriving in our country, but it will be a while before we really start seeing them.
I would like to see these over myself....
Peugeot 207 with HDi common rail
Nissan Micra diesel
Honda Civic Diesel
Yaris Diesel
and the big one for me ..... 120d by BMW (will never happen)
BTW, Sprinter motorhome is the best thing right now for RV'ers. I just did a big trip with my tent trailer and I saw almost NO Americans RV'ing out there this summer. I did however see incredible numbers of Europeans taking advantage of the exchange rate, gobbling up every rental RV in the country and hitting the national parks. Amazing.
Aviddk, I bet you are pleased with you choice of RV now? I mean, I am sure you were when you bought it, but especially now, eh? At 20mpg you would be one of the few that could afford to actually get out there anymore. My neighbor has a Tioga Chevy, 350 V-8, and he nevers ventures more than 50 miles from home anymore. Can't afford to.
Talking about torque, my diesel Sprinter based RV has all the torque in the world. It's a 2.7 L M-B CDI that only develops 154 hp. Oh, but those 154 hp are one powerful devil. In exchange, I average 20mpg on a rig that was in excess of 8K pounds.
Those things are amazing... we had a couple of them in college as paratransit vehicles (I drove buses for my school)... they never stop pulling until you hit the speed limiter.
I haven't driven a new one, but the 3.0 CRD V6 has big shoes to fill over the 2.7 liter.
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