[lejjasie]

Sorry if this is a repost. I could find the latest on this for the US consumers.
Are we getting a Diesel Forester or not. Clearly this is no roadmap about hybrid-izing the All Wheel Drive or providing a Clean Diesel engine at least one that is made public with some time frame in mind for the US consumer market.

I am hoping Subaru (SoA and SoC) are watching is space as we do need to voice a clear opinion about it.

If someone on the inside has some clear understanding of how Diesels are looking in 2010 to enter the US MY lineup, I am eager to know. Personally it will influence my decision to stick to the Forester come 2011.

 

[good dog]

I'll say no we won't see it in 2010. My mechanic, a Subaru tech has finished the service training for new models and no diesel information was provided.

I'd say that Subaru North America is concentrating more on the PZEV models, than diesels, and they probably cost less to certify than the paperwork it would take to certify a diesel. One of the members here works for a law firm that has handled some of the paperwork for EPA certification and indicated its a very long process. Probably the primary stumbling block is meeting EPA requirements which are probably the most stringent in the world market

Until we see interest from other automobile manufacturers in bringing their diesels to the North American market, I doubt that Subaru would be a leader in this category. Think about other manufacturers like Toyota, Nissan, Fiat, Peugeot and the like, they all have diesels in the foreign markets, Subaru is the late comer to that venue, and the likes of Toyota or Nissan that have a strong market share in North America don't indicate that they have any plans to introduce their diesels here yet either.

Fuel economy seems to be the major selling point for diesels, but the question that should be asked is why haven't the manufactures been able to make the inroads in fuel economy that they have in horsepower and emissions in the last 30 years?

 

[wolfman79]

Audi, VW, BMW, Mercedes all offer a diesel in the N.A. market. Subaru already has a diesel drivetrain package that fits all of their current vehicles. My next new"ish" vehicle purchase is going to be a diesel and if Subaru isn't willing to sell me one of theirs then I'll happily take my business elsewhere.

And US EPA standards are a joke. They are designed with the "American" automotive industry financial well being in mind.

 

[DieselBoxer]

Hope you do!

The diesel boxer is brilliant and I keep my fingers crossed for you in North America. The engine is a gem –*quiet, strong and virtually vibration free. Particle filter and one of the most fuel efficient SUV/CrossOvers available in the European marketplace.

How I´d love to cruise north along PCH with this oil burner! Let´s meet for a cold beer at Nephente...... :Banane35:


M

 

[Jared_N]

At this point there is a 99.9999999% chance that it's not going to happen. At all.

 

[R5oss]

At this point there is a 99.9999999% chance that it's not going to happen. At all.

Yup, we are keeping them all for us at the eastern end of the pond :raspberry:

Now had your lot all stepped up to the mark in Copenhagen, it could have been a different story :shake:

 

[vintage42]

At this point there is a 99.9999999% chance that it's not going to happen. At all.

I have gotten that impression, too. The low tax on gas makes diesel cost 25 cents a gallon more, turbo diesel engines cost $3,000 more, diesel auto engines have a poor reputation with the US public, and require urea injection to meet US standards. None of the other Japanese car makers are even developing a diesel engine for the US market, concentrating on hybrids instead. Subaru has been completely non-committal on bringing their European diesel here, saying only that it depends on demand. And there is not enough demand.

 

[Tuned200]

I would buy a diesel if it were offered.

 

[pulser]

I have gotten that impression, too. The low tax on gas makes diesel cost 25 cents a gallon more, turbo diesel engines cost $3,000 more, diesel auto engines have a poor reputation with the US public, and require urea injection to meet US standards. None of the other Japanese car makers are even developing a diesel engine for the US market, concentrating on hybrids instead. Subaru has been completely non-committal on bringing their European diesel here, saying only that it depends on demand. And there is not enough demand.

How exactly do they decide if there is demand when there is nothing to sell? VW does vary well with there TDI cars.

 

[JackyPerformance]

my dealer told me Subaru corporate told him we won't see a diesel forester for at least another 2-3 years...

 

[YVR Fozzie]

my dealer told me Subaru corporate told him we won't see a diesel forester for at least another 2-3 years...

If accurate, that's about how long I need to hold onto my MY'10 to not feel as much of the sting of the inevitable trade in. I'd go Diesel Boxer in a SECOND. Had a blast pushing a TDI Jetta around on a test drive before I decided I NEEDED the larger vehicle and AWD of my Fozzie (the Tourag was out of my price range).

 

[vintage42]

How exactly do they decide if there is demand when there is nothing to sell? VW does vary well with there TDI cars.

Bring it to the US first, then see if there is a demand?
Subaru probably knows more about the demand for the TDI's than we do, and that's the problem.

 

[wolfman79]

The market is there, they just have to seize it. Subaru is the company that created the market for full time AWD passenger cars in the US and look where that is now.

I love my father's TDI Golf. If the Boxer Diesel is anything like that engine as far as driving characteristics then Subaru would have a huge hit. And if they were to jump on the Bio-Diesel bandwagon at the same time....

As for the cost difference between diesel vs petrol at the pump, I'll gladly pay an extra $0.50 a gallon to get the MPG's that a diesel gets.

 

[flakeyblakee]

SOA.. You just had your best sales year EVER! You are building cars that people want to buy.... Now is the time influence customers with a TDI.

 

[FPT_RAIDER]

just to clear something up........TDI is a trade mark of VW, so it would be a boxer diesel, which to sounds so much better seeing as there is no other company making a boxer style diesel

 

[Dan]

SOA.. You just had your best sales year EVER! You are building cars that people want to buy.... Now is the time influence customers with a TDI.

And take advantage of the quirkiness-factor that the brand carried for so long with success.

I have a sneaky feeling that we're going to see some fundamental changes in the Subaru design philosophy, and it'll have a lot to do with both the higher fuel economy regs and the resource-sharing with Toyota. That will favor the hybrid over the diesel since Subaru can license the technology instead of re-inventing the wheel to get a diesel motor to pass the strict US emissions requirements. That's my guess, anyway.

 

[wolfman79]

And take advantage of the quirkiness-factor that the brand carried for so long with success.

I have a sneaky feeling that we're going to see some fundamental changes in the Subaru design philosophy, and it'll have a lot to do with both the higher fuel economy regs and the resource-sharing with Toyota. That will favor the hybrid over the diesel since Subaru can license the technology instead of re-inventing the wheel to get a diesel motor to pass the strict US emissions requirements. That's my guess, anyway.

Well why not a hybrid boxer diesel then :biggrin:

 

[pulser]

Well why not a hybrid boxer diesel then :biggrin:

Thats something that I have yet to understand. Why don't they make hybrid diesels? It works really well for trains.

 

[neoshi]

Could have to do with size of the powerplant and cost to shrink it make it work for a car? I think that's the primary problem behind potential green energy these days. Cost to make it small enough to work or even cost of the energy source itself. Dang batteries still cost a fortune.

 

[pulser]

Could have to do with size of the powerplant and cost to shrink it make it work for a car?

Why would you need to shrink it down? They could do exactly what there doing with gas hybrids. Now if you wanted to go and make a really small diesel and have that turn a generator to make electricity that would be different.