Diesel Isuzu pick up hits 43 mpg in endurance run

Threeweight · **Joined:** Mon May 14, 2007 5:57 pm **Posts:** 679

Interesting article on diesel endurance run in England, and a 3.0 liter diesel Isuzu getting 52 mpg (imperial) over a 22 hour run. Their driving style was certainly not the same as a US daily driver, but pretty cool regardless.

http://www.marathonrally.com/news/index.4427.0.html

chadhargis · **Posted:** Fri Jun 22, 2007 5:19 pm

That's a nice looking truck. I have an Isuzu dealer right down the road from my office. Wonder why I haven't seen one there?

Oh, yeah....I'm in the USA. :roll:

jinstall · **Posted:** Mon Jun 25, 2007 4:23 am

The 2007 have a 2.5 CRD and 160 hp and 400 nm about the same as our 2.8 CRD. it looks more like the Mitsubushi L200 to me.

G-funk · **Posted:** Tue Jun 26, 2007 2:03 am

Why is it that Toyota, Nissan, Isuzu, and Ford will sell sweet four door four wheel drive mini trucks with diesels everywere but here.

chadhargis · **Posted:** Tue Jun 26, 2007 1:40 pm

You can thank the EPA.

Threeweight · **Joined:** Mon May 14, 2007 5:57 pm **Posts:** 679

Honda claims to have a 3.0 liter diesel that can meet EPA regs, and they are considering offering it in the Ridgeline.

http://blogs.motortrend.com/1006741/car ... go-diesel/

VW has a clean 3.0 liter that is planned to hit the US in the 2009 Taureg (it is already on sale in Europe).

The EPA is a problem. But I think the bigger problem is a US auto industry that is on a treadmill of designing cars and trucks for the market that existed five years ago.

chadhargis · **Posted:** Wed Jun 27, 2007 10:32 am

You gotta figure that auto executives KNOW that diesels sell very well. Look at diesel pickups. Folks pay BIG premiums for those things and I'm willing to bet not many of them tow big loads with them. Same with diesel Jettas and Passats. They cost a huge premium over the gasser, and they sell as quickly as they hit the lot.

I think the main reason more diesels aren't sold here is the EPA. The secondary reason is that there is probably less profit margin in a diesel vehicle. The engines cost more to make, and they are "different", so service staff have to be trained and that costs money. Fuel in the US is also sub par when compared with what is offered in Europe. Put in skunky fuel, and you're going to have problems....problems a manfacturer will have to warranty unless they can prove it's fuel related.

There are several factors at work conspiring against diesels in the US, but it's a chicken or egg sort of thing. Unless the manfacturers start making more diesels for the US market, things will stay the same.

It should be clear that that diesel is the "eco friendly" choice of fuels. Ethanol is a bust, hydrogen is still in development and there is no fueling infrastructure for it. Battery technology is still lagging which makes electric cars non-viable. Diesels are the answer. They will run on veggie oil, biodiesel, petro diesel, and just about any low viscosity oil. You could feasibly have one vehicle that burns several types of fuel. Can't find biodiesel where you're at....put in petro. Can't find petro, run filtered veggie oil (with a heated system of course). Talk about spreading out the fuel sources across several areas....wow! We can do it with diesel!!

Come on EPA....wake up!! Come on IRS...give us diesel "pioneers" a tax break.

Threeweight · **Joined:** Mon May 14, 2007 5:57 pm **Posts:** 679

Its fun to blame the EPA, but the real issue is the Clean Air Act (and the California state clean air laws), and how they are implemented. But I don't forsee any sane politician wanting to touch that any time soon (nor should they really, too much opportunity for bad guys to make mischief). The Europeans have similarly strict clean air laws (with the exception of a few places like Italy and Greece), but they are implemented differently.

I disagree that the auto executives understand that small diesels will sell well.

Toyota once said no one would buy a 4-door short box pick up in the US. Now it is their hottest selling truck model. General Motors said hybrids were impractical and no one would want them. Now Toyota can't build enough to meet demand (and is gaining huge market share benefits to spill over perception that they are the "green" car company.) The lesson the auto makers are taking from those giant diesel pickups is that they need to make even bigger and more gigantic diesel pick ups (the same lesson they took from SUV's, until Subaru, Toyota, and Honda started kicking their asses with small car-based SUV's.)

VW sells diesels, but VW is a tiny player in the US auto market overall, and diesels are a tiny part of their US market share.

I think the fiasco GM created in the late 70's and early 80's with the "diesel" abominations they inflicted on the car buying public left a bad taste in most consumers mouths, and that in turn has made executives leery. I think the big break through for the US will be if Honda actually does move forward with their plans. Honda and Toyota are really the only car companies that could make diesel passenger cars mainstream in the US.

onthehunt · **Posted:** Wed Jun 27, 2007 7:55 pm

Quote:

Honda and Toyota are really the only car companies that could make diesel passenger cars mainstream in the US.

That's a load of crap. I bet you would have said the same thing 3 years ago about them making a small diesel suv. Well they didn't and Jeep did. Half the people alive and buying cars in the us don't even know what a 70's gm diesel is. Who cares who builds it.[/quote]

Reflex · **Joined:** Mon Jan 29, 2007 8:48 pm **Posts:** 567

onthehunt wrote:

Quote:

Honda and Toyota are really the only car companies that could make diesel passenger cars mainstream in the US.

That's a load of crap. I bet you would have said the same thing 3 years ago about them making a small diesel suv. Well they didn't and Jeep did. Half the people alive and buying cars in the us don't even know what a 70's gm diesel is. Who cares who builds it.

I have to disagree. When I tell people about my CRD the first question is about the noise, the second about the smoke, and the third about the smell. People DEFINATLY have a negative perception of diesel in my experience. Its amazing that they don't seem to realize that TDI's, Mercedes TD's and other small diesels run around them all the time and no one notices...

G-funk · **Posted:** Thu Jun 28, 2007 2:32 am

I guess Mahindra is going to offer mid size pickups and suvs in the US in 2008. Quite a departure from the small tractors they are known for. But they have been making vehicles in India for a while now.

Diesel Isuzu pick up hits 43 mpg in endurance run

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