Diesels
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The 2012 Infiniti M35h hybrid large sport sedan is marketed by Infiniti as the "world's quickest (full) hybrid sedan," based on its 0-to-62-mph acceleration time of 5.5 seconds. Now it looks like the next version of the smaller Infiniti G sedan will use the same powertrain--which, in a smaller and lighter car, should be even quicker, and potentially more fuel efficient too. In the M35h, the 3.5-liter V-6 puts out 302 horsepower, and combined with a 50-kilowatt (67-hp) electric motor, the total powertrain is rated at 350 hp--and 32 mpg highway fuel economy as well. Car and Driver reports that...
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Next Audi A3 To Offer Diesel, Hybrid, CNG Options Globally
Audi's next A3 will offer buyers a wider range of drivetrain options, at least in Europe.
Kurt Ernst -
Diesel Cars: Economical, But Can They Ever Be Desirable?
Tractors have a lot to answer for. While they've furthered agriculture to the benefit of the greater good, their use of torquey, grumbling diesel engines has subsequently afflicted every road-going diesel with the description "it sounds like a tractor". Except that unless you've been hiding under a...
Antony Ingram -
Jaguar XF 2.2 Diesel: Forbidden Fruit First Drive
There are - believe it or not - advantages to living in England. Okay, so the weather is as depressing as the stereotypes suggest, and the average price of gas is currently around $8.17 per gallon, but we do occasionally get cars denied to those on U.S. shores. One of those is the Jaguar XF...
Antony Ingram -
2014 Chevrolet Cruze Diesel: More Details Released By GM
Until now, there wasn't much official information about the upcoming diesel version of Chevy's Cruze compact sedan beyond the fact that it existed. Lots of reporters--us included--covered the diesel Cruze model that's been sold in Europe for a while now. We described that car's 2.0-liter...
John Voelcker -
Big Emissions Gain: Cleaning Up Dirtiest Third-World Diesels
In asking developing world countries to clean up their act when it comes to reducing automobile emissions, it's easy to sound hypocritical. A new climate change initiative, led by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, will sidestep this hypocricy by addressing the sort of pollutants that are as...
Antony Ingram -
When it comes to diesel cars, the choice in the U.S. is a little thin next to the selection of diesels on sale in Europe. After all, where else could you buy an example of the "Ultimate Driving Machine" that can average 60 miles per gallon? Just such a car will be launched at the 2012 Geneva Motor Show, with the BMW 116d EfficientDynamics. Based on the new 1-Series compact, the 116d EfficientDynamics uses a 116 horsepower, twin-turbocharged diesel engine and common rail injection to deliver almost 62 mpg on the European combined cycle. It can accelerate to 62 mph in 10.5 seconds. With CO2...
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Have You Voted Yet For The Best Diesel Car Of 2012?
You have just two weeks left to vote for the Diesel Car of the Year award, which is organized by The Diesel Driver website. Every year, that site asks green-car advocates, diesel fans, and its readers to chose from its list of nominees. That list (below) includes all 13 passenger vehicles fitted...
John Voelcker -
2013 Volkswagen Beetle TDI: Live Gallery From Chicago Auto Show
While Volkswagen didn't host a press conference to launch its new diesel Beetle, the carmaker put the 2013 Beetle TDI on display at the Chicago Auto Show in its first U.S. appearance. It's really the return of a long-lost friend, since VW sold the previous-generation New Beetle with a 1.9-liter...
John Voelcker -
Mercedes Confirms Diesel Option For 2013 GLK Crossover Utility
Mercedes-Benz's compact crossover, the GLK, will get a diesel engine option when the new model hits dealers later this year.
Kurt Ernst -
Chrysler To Offer Diesel Engine Options, But Only In Trucks
Chrysler will soon sell a diesel-powered Jeep Grand Cherokee, which may be followed by a diesel-powered Dodge Durango. The next Ram Dakota will get a diesel, too, but don't expect to see one in a Chrysler automobile.
Kurt Ernst -
Jeep Grand Cherokee Diesel Sport Utility Coming In 2013
The Jeep Grand Cherokee is one of the brightest stars among the cars that propelled Chrysler--now controlled by Fiat--to a 26-percent sales increase in 2011, raising its share of the U.S. market 1.3 points to 10.7 percent. Yesterday, the company said it would start building a diesel version of the...
John Voelcker -
Hybrids, electrics, and various permutations in between get a lot of the attention when it comes to greener driving, but the dino-burning diesel deserves its place in the pantheon as well, at least for the time being. Porsche agrees--at least in the case of the Cayenne. The diesel version may be coming to the U.S. in the second half of 2012. The report, which comes by way of Porsche U.S. chief Detlev von Platen via Automotive News (subscription required), says the Cayenne will be Porsche's first foray into U.S.-market diesels. That makes sense, as the SUV is also a platform for a Porsche...
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Jaguar XF Clean Diesel Completes U.S. Cross-Country Tour
One week ago we brought you news of British brothers David and Alexander Madgwick, who'd set out on a tour across North America at the wheel of a Jaguar XF diesel. 2,884 miles later, they've made it from New York to Los Angeles in the most efficient model Jaguar has ever produced. The economy over...
Antony Ingram -
Jaguar XF Clean Diesel Sets Off On U.S. Tour
In an effort to meet future fuel economy requirements, more manufacturers than ever are considering selling diesel models in North America. The next carmaker considering diesel sales could well be British sports and luxury car maker Jaguar. According to Motor Authority, a British-registered...
Antony Ingram -
2012 Mercedes-Benz S 350 Bluetec Clean Diesel: Quick Drive
What can you say about driving a Mercedes-Benz S-Class? It's luxurious, smooth, powerful, packed with features, impressive on the road, and very, very large. Now you can add another adjective: green. While the S 400 Hybrid has been in the mix for two years, Mercedes-Benz is launching a clean-diesel...
John Voelcker -
Volkswagen, Audi Recall Clean-Diesel TDI Cars For Fuel Leak Problem
The Volkswagen Group 2.0-liter clean-diesel TDI engine has been fitted to quite a number of VW vehicles over the years, as well as the Audi A3 TDI. Now the company has announced a voluntary safety recall that applies to both Golf TDI models built from May 2009 to September 2011, and the more...
John Voelcker -
Homebrew 6-HP Motorcycle Sets Biodiesel World Speed Record
Combine a whole bunch of parts from motorcycles, go-karts, industrial machinery, and even generators, and what do you get? In John Petsche's case, he not only built a motorcycle that runs on store-bought vegetable oil, he managed to take home a world speed record for the 350cc Alternate Fuel class...
John Voelcker -
Clean-diesel vehicles, a slowly growing segment of the market, unquestionably return higher fuel economy figures than their gasoline-engined counterparts. But they have their own set of issues, too, including recalls specific to some of the diesel engine components. The NHTSA has issued a recall notice for the 2009 BMW X5 xDrive35d sport-utility vehicle, of which 2,120 were sold in the U.S. The vehicles affected were built in BMW's Spartanburg, South Carolina, assembly plant between October 1, 2008, and June 12, 2009. The recall will begin in October, once replacement parts are available. The...
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Diesel Land Speed Record: 171 MPH In A Ford F-250 Pickup!
There are lots of different Land Speed Record categories, and each year one or two of them fall to new challengers. So it's not surprising that new records for production diesel and biodiesel trucks were set this weekend at the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah. What is surprising is the vehicle that...
John Voelcker -
Outdated Tests Skew CAFE Gas Mileage Ratings: 48-MPH Freeways?
It's widely accepted in the auto industry that all manufacturers game the test cycles used to establish emissions and gas-mileage ratings. Ask auto engineers about the topic, and they tend to get a faraway look and go silent. But the test cycles established in 1978 and used ever since are far from...
John Voelcker -
Bentley To Fall In Line, Add Hybrids, Diesels To Its Lineup?
A powerful diesel engine like the Volkswagen Group's V-12 TDI unit will be perfect for a stately and luxurious SUV from Bentley.
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
GM Launches World's Second-Smallest Car Diesel, In Indian Beat
It must be the Chevrolet Spark minicar's moment in the sun. Last week, GM confirmed that the smallest Chevy ever sold will come to the U.S. as a 2013 model. Then we put two and two together to wonder if Chevy's first all-electric car might be a converted Spark. What we forgot to mention--until...
John Voelcker -
2011 Volkswagen Touareg TDI Sets New Record On Pan-American Highway
A 2011 Volkswagen Touareg, piloted by a trio of German drivers, set a new world record for traversing the length of the Pan-American highway.
Kurt Ernst