Diesels
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Mitsubishi doesn't sell a pickup truck in the U.S, but elsewhere around the world its L200 model is a highly popular utility vehicle. Typically powered by a 2.5-liter turbodiesel engine, the L200 mixes a one-ton payload with almost 6,000 lbs of braked towing capacity. It's smaller than many U.S. pickups, but eminently useful. Launched at the Geneva Motor Show, the Mitsubishi GR-HEV concept is a futuristic take on vehicles like the L200. A diesel engine remains, still 2.5-liters in capacity, but this time it's matched to a front-mounted electric motor, making this pickup a hybrid. The combined...
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Volkswagen Golf BlueMotion: 70 MPG Hatchback... U.S. Won't Get
If you were to associate Volkswagen with one particular fuel-efficient technology, it'd probably be diesel. VW's range of diesels is expanding in the U.S, but it's massive in Europe--accommodating a market where over 50 percent of buyers choose diesel vehicles. As a result of Europe's love of...
Antony Ingram -
Volkswagen XL1 Diesel Plug-In Hybrid: Live Photos From Geneva
Will this be the car that finally makes the ultra-aerodynamic and futuristic GM EV1 electric car look old-fashioned? Today, VW Group took the wraps off the production version of the Volkswagen XL1, a turbodiesel plug-in hybrid two-seater that will be its most fuel-efficient model ever offered. The...
John Voelcker -
Subaru Viziv Concept: Diesel Hybrid Crossover From Geneva Motor Show
Subaru's last crossover was the slightly underwhelming XV Crosstrek, but its latest concept looks a lot more exciting. Unveiled today at the 2013 Geneva Motor Show, the Viziv Concept is a diesel hybrid crossover, hinting at the looks and powertrain of some future Subaru models. Traditionally...
Antony Ingram -
Europeans Get Interested In Hybrids Just As U.S. Looks To Diesels
Traditionally, the U.S. has been a market where gasoline vehicles have dominated, while hybrids have seen increasing success and diesels have really only sold in relatively small numbers. In contrast, low diesel fuel prices in Europe have seen its popularity increase over the past few decades...
Antony Ingram -
2014 Chevrolet Cruze Diesel: More Details From Chicago Show
Three years after the Chevrolet Cruze compact sedan was launched as a 2011 model, it gains a new model with a diesel engine for 2014--although there appears to be some confusion over just what that variant is called. The turbodiesel sedan was launched at the Chicago Auto Show last Thursday. Absent...
John Voelcker -
The Jeep Grand Cherokee isn't usually what people think of when you say "green car," but the new diesel version that's coming for 2014 moves it somewhat closer to that category. Unveiled first thing Monday morning, the 2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee EcoDiesel is part of an updated 2014 lineup for the very successful crossover utility vehicle. Its turbodiesel engine, the first diesel fitted to any Jeep in five years, is already fitted to Grand Cherokees sold in Europe. Complying with tougher U.S. emissions rules took Jeep a little longer, but the 240-horsepower 3.0-liter V-6 turbodiesel is rated at...
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2013 Detroit Auto Show Preview: Diesels, Electrics And Hybrids
Next week is the annual Detroit Auto Show, one of the most important events on the automotive calendar and increasingly a place for car companies to show off new green technology. Given consumer tastes and the trends in the market, it should come as no surprise that the list of green cars, whether...
Antony Ingram -
More Details Emerge On Upcoming Audi Diesel-Hybrid Supercar
A few more details have leaked out on Audi's future diesel-hybrid supercar, which will transfer elements of its Le Mans-winning R18 diesel hybrid powertrain into a roadgoing car. Still in development and not even named, the unusual through-the-road hybrid would have a combined power output of at...
John Voelcker -
2014 Ford Transit Van: Fuel-Efficient Diesel Option Unveiled
The diesel engine for the 2014 Ford Transit van will be a five-cylinder PowerStroke model, the company announced today, extending the fuel efficiency benefits of clean-diesel powertrains into its upcoming commercial van. The new 3.2-liter PowerStroke Diesel will be the only five-cylinder...
John Voelcker -
2014 Mazda Mazda6: VW TDI Models To Get A Clean-Diesel Rival
Mazda is pushing ahead with its plans to offer a clean-diesel four-cylinder engine that could prove to be a strong rival to the TDI four in some Volkswagen and Audi products. While the 2014 Mazda6 will arrive in its lower-priced form with a 184-horsepower, 2.5-liter version of the four-cylinder...
Bengt Halvorson -
NYC Rations Fuel, Jersey Makes 'Dyed Diesel' Legal In Sandy Aftermath
New York City and Long Island today instituted temporary fuel rationing, with drivers only allowed to buy gasoline on alternate days. Starting at 6 am tomorrow, vehicles with odd numbers on their license plates can buy fuel on odd-numbered days; even numbers can buy on even-numbered days. The two...
John Voelcker -
Volkswagen's line of TDI diesel cars has passionate fans. Now that the company is launching the 2013 VW Jetta Hybrid, it will likely gain some hybrid advocates too. But diesel and hybrid fans are very different groups, as the company's marketing surveys show. So why couldn't Volkswagen simply add a hybrid system to its diesel, thereby getting the best of both worlds? Many diesel fans have suggested just that, but there turn out to be valid reasons that automakers believe will largely keep diesels and hybrids separate. In discussions with engineers from Volkswagen and other diesel makers...
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VW Diesel Buyers, Hybrid Buyers: Both Want Fuel Economy, But Beyond That...
When the 2013 Volkswagen Jetta Hybrid arrives at dealers in late December or early January, VW will become the only carmaker offering both a diesel engine and a hybrid model of the same compact sedan. Why two such different approaches? Because, Volkswagen says, the audiences for the two cars are...
John Voelcker -
2013 Green Car Buyers Guide: Hybrids, Diesels, Plug-Ins
It's autumn, which means that new 2013 cars are now showing up in dealerships all across the country. With gas prices high and new fuel-economy standards in effect, automakers are rolling out new green cars of every type. Here's our selective list of the important new green models you'll be able to...
John Voelcker -
Chrysler: Yes, We'll Build A Few Electric And Hybrid Cars (We Have To)
Give Chrysler credit for consistency. A company executive said yesterday that it would indeed build electric and hybrid vehicles, though "sparingly" and for the "right kinds of targeted applications." The comment came from Bob Lee, Chrysler's vice president and head of engineering for engine and...
John Voelcker -
2012 Mercedes-Benz S 350 BlueTEC: One Week In 32-MPG Diesel Luxury Sedan
If your daily driving resembles a New York City cabbie's--lots of stop and go--you should get a hybrid for best fuel efficiency. But if it's closer to that of a traveling farm salesman--steady speeds on Interstate highways and wide-open state roads for hours--you'll likely be better off with a...
John Voelcker -
Will Tata Nano Diesel--World's Tiniest & Cheapest--Get 70 MPG?
We won't see it here, but diesel fans everywhere are eagerly waiting for the world's smallest, cheapest four-seat diesel passenger car to be launched later this year in India. The Tata Nano Diesel may get as much as 70 miles per gallon or more, making it the most efficient four-seat diesel vehicle...
John Voelcker -
For U.S. armed forces, green is mostly seen these days as accents in beige battlefield camo. But reducing the cost and risk of delivering very expensive diesel fuel in vulnerable military convoys has long been a Pentagon goal, and one way to do that is to make all military vehicles more fuel efficient. Last week, the U.S. Army displayed its Fuel Efficient Demonstrator (FED) Bravo concept vehicle at the annual Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) World Congress in Detroit. With a 268-horsepower, twin-turbocharged 4.4-liter V-8 diesel engine from Ford, the 16,760-pound FED Bravo sports a...
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One In 10 New Vehicles Will Be Diesel In 2015, Bosch Says; Here's Why
Hybrids have fans, diesels have fans, and while they produce their best fuel economy under different circumstances, each one tends to be a greener choice than a conventional gasoline car. But passenger cars with diesels are now just a tiny part of the U.S. market (less than 1 percent) compared to...
John Voelcker -
Sales Of Diesel Cars Rise By 40 Percent In 1 Year, But...
They might get impressive gas mileage and be great for towing, but it isn’t a secret that most Americans hate diesel-powered cars. Historically, diesel-powered cars account for less than one percent of all new passenger car sales in the U.S., but according to data released by a non-profit...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
BMW X5 xDrive35d Named 2012 Diesel Car of the Year
This morning, the BMW X5 xDrive35d was named the 2012 Diesel Car of the Year by the readers of The Diesel Driver magazine. The BMW beat the new Volkswagen Passat TDI, which placed second, and the VW Golf TDI, which garnered third place. Altogether, 13 passenger cars and light trucks competed for...
John Voelcker -
Mazda Takeri Diesel Concept: 2012 New York Auto Show Preview
The Mazda Takeri Concept sedan will make its North American debut this week at the 2012 New York Auto Show. But this is a slightly different Takeri than we saw at the Geneva Motor Show. For the first time, Mazda will show its new SKYACTIV-D clean diesel powertrain in a concept car. The Takeri...
Joel Feder -
New Ford Transit Van In 2013 Will Have Diesel Engine Option
It's become a staple tactic of automotive PR operations: Trickle out one factoid at a time, well in advance of an actual vehicle, and get stories each time. So here's the news: The Ford Transit commercial van to be launched next year will have a diesel engine option. That was the sum total of the...
John Voelcker