You'll NEVER get the folks that have never experienced a nice new diesel to believe in diesel, unless you can have them drive one. In the 70's Detroit single handedly killed the diesel market segment in the US when they slapped diesel heads onto standard gas engines and created notoriously unreliable and smoking, belching engines.
I myself have a Golf TDI currently and would SMART have come with a diesel engine I would have ordered one in an instant.
yes, a diesel is a little bit slower (at least most of the time) but with the right transmission it will give you mpg which gas engines can only dream of. But again, someone who has not experienced a diesel engine and still believes the hype about the hydrogen cars (Ever thought of where the hydrogen will come from in case H2 powered cars get mainstream) just will not believe you.
I have seen and experienced the numbers of the PSA engines, where in normal cities the air that enters the engine is more polluted than the air that comes out of the exhaust. SERIOUSLY! But until we in the US get there will take about another 10 years. Until then only the EU guys will have all the fun.
Just a note here and it's something I've read elsewhere and that is that the diesel vs gas is a wash.
Putting aside the good and bad (health wise) of the various fuels and what's quicker off the line - one can look at the total cost of ownership and some say it comes out about even between a high mileage diesel and a lower mileage gasser. In short, when you pay the premium for a diesel engine and the unbelievable sky high price of diesel fuel in the US and compare that with the lower cost gas engine and its premium fuel requirement the cost to own either could come out about even.
Let's see today, my smart is getting 43 mpg at $3.20 a gallon. Driving 50,000 miles that will cost me $3,720 in gas (if gas vs, diesel fuel costs remains relative). If I had the Canadian CDI that get 63 mpg at $4 a gallon that will cost $3174, but that doesn't take into account that the CDI has no spark plugs to change. It also doesn't take into account that the price of diesel has been less than gas several times over the last 10 years that I have owned diesel cars and trucks. Usually diesel is about a $.25 a gallon more, but right now they are gouging us - especially since it costs less to process crude into diesel than gasoline. Plus the very newest European diesels are cleaner, faster and have better mpg than ever before. And then there is the argument that it costs more to buy the diesel powered car, but having bought and sold two TDI Jetta diesels they sell fast and WAY above the selling price of a gas Jetta.
If smarts comes out with a diesel then I have a very low mileage gas '08 smart for sale that same day. But that is my opinion and we all have our own.
... but right now they are gouging us - especially since it costs less to process crude into diesel than gasoline. ...
The Ultra-Low Sulphur Diesel (ULSD, "D15") now mandated by EPA for on-road use is costly to refine, and also costly to distribute and store in a manner to keep from being contaminated and within spec (=/< 15 parts-per-million sulphur). Big federal fines if a custodian allows ULSD to go above 15 ppm. That is why the price has jumped and will stay high.
All the palabra about pre-2007 diesels no longer applies. And if you don't take appropriate care of pre-'07s (lubricity additives, et al) you will have maintenance issues to pay for too, some engines more than others. Euro diesels from the late '90s to present are designed to run on D50, not the D15 the US now has.
Buy a diesel: Buy a brokedown regular smart somewhere and buy a new diesel in Cdn. Then cut out the obvious vins and go home. hope your county doesn't have inspection. most of North FL doesn't
ps: after cutting out the vins swap them of course
The 40-hp", 0.8-liter turbocharged diesel engine delivers abundant noise and the slowest acceleration of any vehicle we've tested. The ForTwo took 23 seconds to accelerate from 0-60 mph, almost twice the time of other small cars. (In fact, we almost ran out of track trying to get it up to 60 mph.)"
The 50hp diesel does 0-60 in about 19.3 seconds.[/quote]
FYI: My current Mercedes Benz diesel is a 62 HP, 2.4-liter with a 0-60 acceleration of 27.0 seconds. In 262,000 miles of driving from Atlanta to Chicago I have never had an incident. Probably has made me a better driver knowing the vehicle is unable to perform low speed lane swapping tricks. Seats 5, huge trunk, 25 mpg's at 70 mph.
not to step on anybodies toes but if we want to continuosly quote performance stats then choose a vehicle that has them or write about the hayabusa smartuki. i had the cdi in germany and my best milage ever was 107. 63 would have been going all in all the time. 0-60 or 1/4 mile are not representative stats for this vehicle. let go of your traditional way of thinking.
MPG is the name of the game and a turbo diesel is the only way to get over the finish line.
I've been designing cars professionally for about 13 years now. I like the 4two, its a nice funky city rover, but I just can't understand why anyone would even think of taking it out on the freeway. I took a test drive last week and the thing felt rather shaky at 55, the sales woman wanted me to take it out on the freeway, but I just said "your nuts".
I'm designing a car very similar to the 4two. Its about the same size and weight (curb wt. 1944 lbs) but its powered by a 1.2 liter turbo Diesel (that runs on ULSD aka D15). The engine makes 64 HP @ 3200 rpm and 119 lb ft @ 3000. Its also very quiet. Standing next to the car with the engine reved up to 3500 rpms its still quiet enough to hear another person talking to you at a normal volume. I think I have made a wonderful engine.
I'm currently mating it to a 3 speed manual transmission, but in the near future I hope to replace that with the NuVinci CVP transmission I'm designing in cooperation with Fallbrook Technologies Inc. In its current configuration I average (combined city loop) 74 mph. Once I have a working prototype of the CVP to install I'm sure those numbers will improve.
Other Stats
Top speed is around 80 mph.
0-35 in 5.4 seconds (the speed you will drive at the most)
0-60 in 14.3 seconds
Frankly, I deal with the EPA and DOT on a regular basis. It take about 3 years to get any new car passed EPA and DOT regulations, so nothing special there.
Car-Man,
If you ever take another test drive of the Smart, check the tire pressure, as when I picked mine up a couple of weeks ago, the first thing I did was bring my own tire gauge and checked the pressure at the dealer. Sure enough the front tires were ten pounds over the suggested pressure. The front tires should have less air than the rear tires, and I suspect someone at the factory, or port of entry, does not realize this. All that I do is highway driving, as I live in western Colorado, and the vehicle handles very well.
I have been on Rt. 70 from Baltimore to Leesburg, Va and it was fine... It would be more of an experience going through the WV mountains... I guess you just have to stay to the right with the truckers...
That's the only thing that makes me think that I might struggle with.
I like the fact that people respect the left lane through the mountains... I typically MOVE through there on the trip back, and my VUE has no trouble pulling them in 5th gear... People are actually conscious that you are coming up and move over.
I almost wonder if you hit a hill at the bottom at 90 MPH, how it would do on the way up and over?
FYI: My current Mercedes Benz diesel is a 62 HP, 2.4-liter with a 0-60 acceleration of 27.0 seconds. In 262,000 miles of driving from Atlanta to Chicago I have never had an incident. Probably has made me a better driver knowing the vehicle is unable to perform low speed lane swapping tricks. Seats 5, huge trunk, 25 mpg's at 70 mph.
Once I have a garage of my own, I want to get a ~1982 240D as a restoration project... one of my favorite cars of all time...
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