At 94 pages of threads on the subject, I have to admit I haven't read them.
So the question is, what is the issue?
The Mazda 6 diesel is available in Europe and Japan to mention a few.
Or is it politics to keep more diesels out of the North American continent because the big three are not up to speed on them? I have yet to see a GM Cruze Diesel on the road or the showroom; they said they aren't getting them in when I stopped in to get a part for a neighbor's car.
Not many Americans like the sound of a diesel car (at least until the appearance of CR engines recently). In fact, most people think of soot and smelly exhaust from diesel trucks and buses when they hear "diesel engine". That is one marketing factor against diesel cars.
The other one is the cost of production. Diesel engine parts cost twice as much to produce than gas engine parts because of the hefty compression associated with diesel combustion. That high cost of manufacturing is either passed to the buyer (it makes our cars as expensive as MUSCLE CARS), or the vendor has to absorb thru a reduced profit margin.
Another factor against diesel cars is all the EPA requirements, which have doubled the amount of pollution control equipment in our cars. Whereas a 2000 VW TDi only had a pair of catalytic converters, our cars have an additional soot reduction equipment, and NOx reducing equipment, making our cars the most complicated engines in the market for pollution control alone.
Finally, there is some desire in the oil industry for keeping our cars off the road, since our fuel economy would hurt their bottom line (and that is not imaginary). In Europe 40% of cars are diesel, and in America it is less than 5%; an increase to 40% would hurt the oil industry of North America for at least 10 years.
The only thing helping us at this moment is the CAFE 2016 Goal of 38.5 MPG, and perhaps not much in view of HYBRID MARKETING...
