Diesel Sales Up 27 Percent In The U.S., Says OEM-Sponsored Advocacy Group
A non-profit group backed by some major OEMs sent out a press release claiming that diesel vehicle sales are up by 27 percent in 2011 while hybrid sales are down by 2.2 percent. So, D’s up, hoes hybrids down while you motherf***ers bounce to this?
“…diesels comprised 0.4% of the US car market, while hybrids were 4.3% of the market…If diesels gained 27% for 2011, then diesel sales now total a whopping 0.5% of the market. For every one sold, 199 other vehicles would have been powered by something else.”
As someone who consistently received D’s in math classes, I salute PCH 101 for his research. A look at the graphic above, showing who is behind the Diesel Technology Forum shows that this “non-profit” has a huge stake in the financial success consumer acceptance of diesels. Diesel sales were actually down 0.1 percent in 2010 compared to the previous year, so the 2011 numbers are a net gain of zero. On the other hand, Hybrid sales doubled from 2009-2010, from 2.3% to 4.3% of market share.
Other blogs failed to do the sort of number crunching that PCH beat me to you see here, which suits the Diesel Technology Forum just fine. If everyone else just re-blogs press releases mindlessly while waiting for their next press car to get dropped off at their home, then the public digests the out-of-context information as a soundbite, and with oil-burning variants of the Mazda CX-5, Cadillac ATS, Jeep Grand Cherokee, Chevrolet Cruze and Mercedes-Benz S-Class all due out in the next couple of years, mindless acceptance of their party line is a good thing for the OEMs pushing diesel cars.
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- Arthur Dailey We have a lease coming due in October and no intention of buying the vehicle when the lease is up.Trying to decide on a replacement vehicle our preferences are the Maverick, Subaru Forester and Mazda CX-5 or CX-30.Unfortunately both the Maverick and Subaru are thin on the ground. Would prefer a Maverick with the hybrid, but the wife has 2 'must haves' those being heated seats and blind spot monitoring. That requires a factory order on the Maverick bringing Canadian price in the mid $40k range, and a delivery time of TBD. For the Subaru it looks like we would have to go up 2 trim levels to get those and that also puts it into the mid $40k range.Therefore are contemplating take another 2 or 3 year lease. Hoping that vehicle supply and prices stabilize and purchasing a hybrid or electric when that lease expires. By then we will both be retired, so that vehicle could be a 'forever car'. Any recommendations would be welcomed.
- Eric Wait! They're moving? Mexico??!!
- GrumpyOldMan All modern road vehicles have tachometers in RPM X 1000. I've often wondered if that is a nanny-state regulation to prevent drivers from confusing it with the speedometer. If so, the Ford retro gauges would appear to be illegal.
- Theflyersfan Matthew...read my mind. Those old Probe digital gauges were the best 80s digital gauges out there! (Maybe the first C4 Corvettes would match it...and then the strange Subaru XT ones - OK, the 80s had some interesting digital clusters!) I understand the "why simulate real gauges instead of installing real ones?" argument and it makes sense. On the other hand, with the total onslaught of driver's aid and information now, these screens make sense as all of that info isn't crammed into a small digital cluster between the speedo and tach. If only automakers found a way to get over the fallen over Monolith stuck on the dash design motif. Ultra low effort there guys. And I would have loved to have seen a retro-Mustang, especially Fox body, have an engine that could rev out to 8,000 rpms! You'd likely be picking out metal fragments from pretty much everywhere all weekend long.
- Analoggrotto What the hell kind of news is this?
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Some people on here proudly admit to the Panther cult. I proudly admit to being a member of the VW IDI/TDI cult. I've owned 5 diesel VWs since 1998 - an '85 Jetta diesel, 89 Jetta TD, 2000 Jetta TDI, 2003 Jetta TDI and a 2002 Golf TDI. I no longer drive a lot of miles like I did a few years ago, but I still love my TDIs. One of the biggest things for me is that the smell of gasoline at the fuel pumps makes me sick. Diesel smells, but it's a lot less intense than gas and seems to take less time to go away if you get some on your skin. Aside from the stench of gas (and the horrible fuel economy in a gas powered car), I love diesels because of the low-end torque and how fun they are to drive. Plus I enjoy listening to diesel clatter and don't understand why people would want to feel like they're sitting on a couch inside an anechoic chamber on wheels when they're driving their cushy SUVs. And with the help of a resource like TDIclub, I never have to get bent over at a dealer for repairs. I am interested to see what will happen with the diesel Cruze and the Sky-D vehicles and how well they will be received by people that haven't experienced modern diesels.
Regarding the Diesel reliability issue: Almost every second car sold in Germany, for example, was Diesel-powered. Among cabs, I'd estimate the rate of Diesel cars is about 80-90%. (Their love with the Diesel started 1935 with the Mercedes 260 D.) All weird Masochists? Call me unconvinced. Do car makers sell different cars in the US than in Europe? (BTW: I'm no Diesel aficionado, never had one, just wonder.)