Why can't we have these???

[VX_Arky]

Check this BMW out. It gets over 57 mpg, but for some reason, the U.S. will not certify it so it can't be imported here. Can anyone tell me why this car is not safe to drive in the U.S.??? Is this just big oil and the Big Three in Detroit strangling the American citizen??? It just doesn't seem right that we can't have options like these too. I can't imagine that this BMW is unsafe and doesn't meet environmental or other U.S. standards, but yet other lower mpg BMWs do.

What the *%$#@& is going on here??????

http://green.autoblog.com/2009/08/21...cs-edition-57/

[theholycow]

.26 cD is pretty slick.

It's not in the US either because BMW doesn't think it would turn enough profit to cover the costs involved with getting it properly certified and marketing it, or because US emissions regulations are stacked against efficient diesel cars even when they have very low emissions.

[VX_Arky]

I'm betting if they put these on the market in the U.S., BMW could more than make up the cost of getting them here or getting them up to U.S. specs. They'd be extremely hard to find they'd sell so fast.

[madnessspirit]

Emissions regulations are not even a component. That vehicle could easily meet our emissions regulations, especially since it is sold in countries with far more strict regulations such as most of Europe, China, Japan.....

The real reason it doesn't sell over here is the same reason you see fewer and fewer true manual gearboxes in the US. Most US consumers are afraid of diesel. Even Volkswagon has a difficult time staying above the profitable level for the diesel models they have had here for the last few decades, just because of the relatively low numbers they sell in, despite the fact that they have a large built-in following of buyers who are seeking the cheap VW diesels that they generated over years of scraping by with sales, and the fact that the price differential between the gas and diesel models is more easily overcome in a lower number of years of ownership.

However, the average BMW buyer in the US is not interested in a diesel engine. At the pricing levels for the cars, it doesn't make sense to most US consumers to purchase a diesel BMW, since it would take forever to recoup costs.

Mercedes is able to sell their diesels because they don't really market them as a means to increase fuel economy, but are instead marketing the other capabilities of the diesel engines, such as the massive amounts of torque which make for a very pleasant driving experience, basically selling it as a luxury. At BMW's price point, that type of luxury is harder to sell. Overseas, gas prices are higher, so the buyback period is shorter, especially since the cost of the vehicle is so much lower there.

Now, what really bothers me is that GM and Ford almost exclusively market their small diesels outside the US even though they would have less difficulty selling them here and maintaining profitability on those models than BMW would. But once again, it boils down to consumer distrust of diesel, since the average consumer still thinks of the GM SB converted diesels of the early 80s, and big dirty smokey trucks (despite the fact that many of the new trucks are cleaner than many cars on the road today and many magnitudes more efficient for their size).

[VX_Arky]

I'm thinking Ford or GM could easily emulate this model and with the proper marketing it would do just fine in the U.S. All it would take is some strong marketing campaigns enlightening people on the advances of diesel. I already know how diesel has advanced, and I'd be willing to buy such a car that could get this kind of mpg. I'm betting many other Americans would come around to that type of thinking too if educated about it.

[bowtieguy]

Originally Posted by Arky

I'm betting if they put these on the market in the U.S., BMW could more than make up the cost of getting them here or getting them up to U.S. specs. They'd be extremely hard to find they'd sell so fast.

there's an outside possibility(i'm really hopeful for anyway) that manufacturing jobs may soon be coming back to the US due to several factors...the sour local and world economy, change in political majority, and china's growth and subsequent growth of salaries among others.

[madnessspirit]

Originally Posted by Arky

I'm thinking Ford or GM could easily emulate this model and with the proper marketing it would do just fine in the U.S. All it would take is some strong marketing campaigns enlightening people on the advances of diesel. I already know how diesel has advanced, and I'd be willing to buy such a car that could get this kind of mpg. I'm betting many other Americans would come around to that type of thinking too if educated about it.

Well, GM is making a venture into bringing a small diesel over... And one hears chatter (not sure whether to believe it or not) that Ford is considering introducing the Duratorq to the US.... but...

Well, hopefully in a couple more years we will start seeing more of the light diesels.

[madnessspirit]

Thinking about it, I think part of the reason you are not seeing them yet is because Ford is probably thinking it will hurt their ecoboost engine sales which they spent a lot of money introducing. Ford probably is trying to get consumers used to smaller gas engines before they start testing the waters with diesels.

Don't get me wrong, Ecoboost is a step in the right direction, just as you can see, a lot of consumers (especially in the f150 market) are resistant to these smaller engines, cause they "know" they need that big V8 to drive around in a pickup that is usually empty, despite the rest of the world drives a ranger that is almost as big, and uses a v6 or 4 cylinder.

While we have some intelligent consumers in the US, the US market as a whole is slow to adapt or adopt new technologies.

Oh well, like I said, in a couple more years, we might start seeing some of what our small market segment wants.

[theholycow]

According to http://media.ford.com/article_displa...ticle_id=34525 the Ecoboost represents 35% of F150 sales, and 40% of incoming orders...that's despite the rather large price - compared to the base V6, the V8 is +$1000 and the EcoBoost is +$4400. It will take a long time to pay for itself - and is maintenance more expensive?

All that considered, I would not describe consumers as resistant to EcoBoost...I'd say that's an incredible take rate at that price. 35-40% of F150 buyers want it so bad that they're willing to pay thousands of dollars for it.

[VX_Arky]

Originally Posted by theholycow

According to http://media.ford.com/article_displa...ticle_id=34525 the Ecoboost represents 35% of F150 sales, and 40% of incoming orders...that's despite the rather large price - compared to the base V6, the V8 is +$1000 and the EcoBoost is +$4400. It will take a long time to pay for itself - and is maintenance more expensive?

All that considered, I would not describe consumers as resistant to EcoBoost...I'd say that's an incredible take rate at that price. 35-40% of F150 buyers want it so bad that they're willing to pay thousands of dollars for it.

Very interesting observation. By that alone, I'd say the U.S. market is very willing to explore these alternative engines with higher FE than what its reputation may have been in years past. That's very encouraging.