May29
As first reported by Leftlane in December — but ignored by the mainstream press until this weekend — new emissions regulations will force Volkswagen to drop all of its diesel passenger cars in the U.S. for 2007. On Sunday, the Detroit Free Press said VW will drop the hot-selling diesel versions of its Jetta, Golf and Beetle. The new U.S. limits for nitrogen oxide emissions are among the most stringent in the world, the report said. As noted in the original LLN report, VW won’t be able to offer diesel versions of these cars until scheduled redesigns. The VW Touareg will continue to be sold because it’s classified as a truck. VW plans to stockpile extra ‘06 model Jettas before the regulations come into effect.
Just what VW needs is another road block to success.
DOOES N/A GET I CAN’T WAIT TO BUY A DIESEL, JUST LIKE THE REST OF THE WORLD. I WONDER IF THE GAS COMPANIES HAVE THEIR FINGER ON THE NEW U.S. LIMITS FOR NITROGEN OXIDE EMISSIONS. IT JUST FEELS LIKE THE INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE’S LAST TRIUMPH BEFORE THE NEW CARS TAKE OVER, AND SQUEEZING EVERY PENNY THEY CAN.
ive got a solution, put 4wd and a pickup bed on the jetta, golf, and beetle so they are classified as a truck!
I am sure the petrol people have something to do with this….. I find it ironic that these emissions are limited to cars, meanwhile these huge, clunky old 18wheelers SPEW out burnt soot and disgusting diesel soot all the time, only allowed to contimue to do so. I find it hard to beileve with the few diesels VW does sell that it would actually hurt the atmos….compared to ALL OF THOSE BIG RIG TRUCKS, that will still be able to continue selling smelly high nitrogen oxide level diesels…..someone please explain this to me how it is so.,… if it is at all possible (like 1st post said…..who has put these limits on these emissions?)
This has a lot more to do with US politics than it does with saving the environment.
So now I really want to know: exactly WHEN is ultra low sulfur gasoline and diesel Federally mandated???
Seems to me that once again things are tipped in favor of big oil. New Emissions regulations make most diesel engines for passenger cars unusable AND YET the cleaner fuel they could be using still isn’t required to be produced by refineries.
Seems to me that the party that stands to suffer least has been given the break.
I and personally, I like those little German diesels.
Damn people that want clean air. These standards did not just sneak up on the auto manufactures. They knew about it long ago. The trucks (like Dodge, Ford, GM, and if you read the article VW Toureg are in compliance). But this is only temporary, they all have to comply shortly (2009?). DCX will have the BlueTec Diesel ready for the 2007 MY. They were able to meet the emissions standards. Blame VW for dropping the ball NOT the regulations. BTW Honda will have diesel in NA for 2008, about the time VW is ready to get back into the game (will people bother going into a VW dealership for a diesel if Honda has a diesel?). Complete stupidity on VW’s part. I have a 2006 Jetta TDI and enjoying the 46mpg, major blunder on VW’s part to be diesel less on the car side. Great job MB with the Bluetec, continue to set the standards.
I wouldn’t say it is complete stupidity on VW, since it will be fine in the redesign that is coming. My point was more of the fact that it is harder for diesels to win here in NA, to get good press and good support. The gov. never seems to put out a good announcement about the efficiency of diesel. If they talked about it more, more people would buy them. I just think that “diesel” gets a bad rap and cannot compete with gas engines. I would buy a diesel in a heartbeat if they offered it in my vehicle (and I would pay a premium for the engine if required).
why does the EPA not get it, these diesel cars are far better for the enviorment than those worthless gas/eletric hybrids.
Cutting off your nose to spite your own face
“I wouldn’t say it is complete stupidity on VW, since it will be fine in the redesign that is coming. ”
I am beginning to wonder if not having their (VW) CRD engines ready for 2007 was intentional. A few members at TDICLUB brought up the point-maybe VW does not want to release the new engines until ULSD is widely and readily available.
So I guess VW will have a very hard time selling diesels if Honda has diesels in their NA lineup. If anyone can sell diesel it will be Honda. I have had no major problems with my car (little squeaks) or unscheduled trips to the dealer, but it seems quite a few owners had problems with their transmissions. Doesn’t matter if it’s the 5sp (like me) or the DSG equipped version.
Remember the SuperCar that would get 80mpg? The hybrid car the gov. was working on? Well it was supposed to be a diesel hybrid, but diesel emissions were too high at the time, now it would work, with urea injection it would be cleaner than gas cars.
# 7 is right, this has to do with US domestic politics not “GEENIES”. If our diesel fuel wasn’t crap we could have decent diesel engines. Wasn’t it Daimler-Chrysler that recently ranked US diesel the worst in the developed world?
I didn’t realize the introduction of USLD would impact cars as well. I think 2007 models produced after October are required to have extra particulate filters (a few thousand dollars for a tractor trailer). If you try to fill 2007 vehicle with regular on-road diesel, it’ll burn out the particulate filter…expensive.
I’m sure the fact that you can run a diesel engine entirely on biodiesel or yellow grease with minimal work.
Stupid how the Toureg, and many F-250 and 2500 HD, whatever types of trucks that are sold in large amounts with diesels that pollute a lot more than the TDI are sold. I see many of these in California, a state where no diesels are even sold. The hipocracy never ends.
Its interesting that the big suv pickups such as the F250 and Toureg get around the emmision standards while one of the most fuel efficient cars in the U. S. (the V.W. bug diesel gets better mileage than most hybrids) is eliminated from the market during an unprecedented oil crisis — this is just plain stupidity.
With this type of policy, we deserve to be in an oil crisis.
Honda’s new diesels will outperform Germany’s, even more-so than
Honda’s gasoline engines already do.
Furthermore, Honda diesels will be sufficiently clean without needing
add-on technology like the urea-based additives that Mercedes, BMW,
and VW will require to meet U.S. emissions standards.
Check out details and the Honda diesel story…
Honda - Hate Something Change Something
http://www.honda.co.uk/change/