Do Car Companies Hate America?
Posted by: Greg Bulmash in Politics & Religion, Techno ThoughtsMy friend Dan Gray started up a new site a while back called MPGomatic, focusing on which cars provide the best gas mileage.
One of the cool features is the gas mileage calculator, but even more cool and eye opening have been his articles on cars made by Ford, Honda, and other manufacturers that combine great performance AND great mileage, but are only available in Europe.
For example, the Honda FR-V Diesel. Somewhere between a minivan and a CR-V (and looking a bit more like a Nissan Murano), this 6-seater pulls over 40 miles per gallon. But the earliest we can even contemplate seeing it introduced to the U.S.A. is 2009.
And Ford... a brand so American its executives' farts smell like apple pie... Their Ford S-Max minivan also pulls 40 miles per gallon. Unlike Honda, which is rumored to be bringing their line of high mileage diesels to America in 2009, Ford seems to have no plans to bring their high mileage diesels here at all.
And the list goes on... Volkswagen has a number of awesome high-mpg family cars available in Europe (Touran minivan - 36.5 MPG highway, Sharan minivan - 40 MPG highway, Passat Estate station wagon - 48 MPG highway). On the other hand, if you go for the U.S. version of the Passat wagon, you'll be looking at 28 MPG highway.
If you want anything bigger than a Passat in the U.S., you're looking at the $40,000+ Touareg that averages around 20 miles per gallon. Volkswagen says they'll be bringing their 1.9 liter TDI turbodiesel to all 50 states in the Jetta in 2008. But fuel efficient vans and minivans are not forthcoming.
Go to the European sites for VW, Ford, and Honda and look at the fuel efficient models they have over there that we just can't get in the U.S., especially when it comes to wagons, crossovers, and minivans. Nothing in those sizes in the U.S. market can even come close for gas mileage.
If you contact those carmakers and ask why we can't get some of those great cars over here, they give answers like "we have different marketing objectives for the U.S. and Europe" (actual quote from VW's response to me).
So the United States could lower its carbon emissions by millions of pounds annually, but that doesn't fit in with the marketing objectives of VW, Ford, and Honda.
Gee, thanks a lot guys.
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Patience, grasshopper ...
Much of this comes down to the fact that the automakers had to scramble with the changeover to clean diesel and tighter emission laws.
There are considerable engineering hurdles.
The newest clean diesels from VW and Honda are lovely engines. I'm looking forward to the options they'll bring to the market in the coming years.
GM has been using Honda V-6 engines in their Saturn SUV for a number of years now. It's not a stretch to consider that GM could slip a Honda diesel into their cars when it's ready for prime time ...
Great to hear that you're enjoying MPGoMatic!
Makers aren't bringing their diesel models to the US because state emissions regulations forbid it! Thats the reason - not because they 'hate America' - what an absurd thing to say.
Also, models like the Cadillac Deville (or whatever its called) diesel in the 70s permanently soured Americans on diesels, this coupled with the fact that all Americans want is the biggest possible car at the lowest possible price makes it inviable as diesels cost like $2000 more than their gas powered equivalent and i doubt people would give them a second look.