Expedition to get diesel power
Last month, we reported that Ford would be offering F150 buyers the option of a diesel powerplant for the 2009 model year. At the time, it wasn't a stretch to think that an oil-burner would someday find its way under the hood of the Expedition, since both vehicles share the same front clip. That assumption proved true, when the Expedition's chief engineer, John Viera, told Automotive News that a diesel would be offered by the end of the decade.
Although a timeframe wasn't specified, expect the diesel-equipped Expedition to launch around the same time as its pickup truck counterpart, likely sporting a larger version of the 3.6-liter V8 shared by Land Rovers across the pond.
Viera points to the success of the diesel-powered Excursion, before it was discontinued, and the fact that any vehicle sold with a fuel-efficient engine is a hot commodity on showroom floors. The possibility of a diesel version of the Lincoln Navigator was also mentioned.
[Source: Amy Wilson/Automotive News (Sub. Req.)
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Hamud 7:15AM (11/06/2006)
They should have done that by the time the gas prices went high, that should keep the selling numbers of their SUV still in a good position, while they work on the small car line. Also they could do the same for the entire line of big cars (PU and SUV).
As a rule, if it's a gas guzzler, throw the Diesel on it, at least as an option.
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John 7:39AM (11/06/2006)
Shame that those hybrid freaks have made it nary impossible for a good, cost effective diesel to find its way into passenger cars. How the 3-pass Bluetec system from Benz failed for the E-Class is just absolute garbage... same goes with VW having to pull their TDIs out of the market for a while to go back and do tweaks. Many companies have some great diesel powerplants that we can't find here :(
As an aside, can you believe that Consumer Reports claimed they couldn't get more than 43 mpg out of the Smart? I know all manner of expats and people in Europe who say they often get 60mpg in a Smart car... either we get horrible gas here, or they had Schumaker testing that Smart's CDI. Somehow I think Americans will continue to resist diesels so long as they carry in their head the notion of "hybrids = clean" ... "diesels = dirty semi trucks"
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GT AE\\\'06 7:51AM (11/06/2006)
#2 European fuel is more potent, and their diesel fuel is more finely processed so cleaner and it combusts with less emissions (I believe someone posted this last week). The difference in fuel potency might be the source of error in the mileage numbers... though a 33% increase is crazy IMO.
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Mike from Scarborough 7:57AM (11/06/2006)
It's about time man.We are all for shure taken by the big 3 and Fuel companies in N.A.I drive a 1/2 tonne PU for work and have the smallest V-6 and still only get 18 mpg.Europe has the smaller diesels for their larger vehicles /trucks , and get awesome fuel mileage.Who needs to go 120 MPH on a vehicle like this???Reduce the engine size in a CR Diesel,and get great mileage.What a concept!! Finaly...What the hell took so long?? DCX Started it first..Thanks DCX,,,now maybe it will filter in to all vehicles as an option for us.Trade off top end speed for torque,and economy.Kudos for ford as well..
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noub 7:56AM (11/06/2006)
what about the explorer, will it receive a diesel engine this decade?
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Paul 8:03AM (11/06/2006)
Remember that a US Gallon (3.785 L) is smaller than an Imperial / Euro Gallon (4.546 L)
-- Paul
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RZ 9:14AM (11/06/2006)
#2 Good shot at Hybrids, but of course you are a fan of Big 3 so you do not use your head often.
LET'S GET THIS STRAIGHT--- Hybrid is the FIRST GENERATION TECHNOLOGY
How many first generation techs do you know who make profit or deliver everything one expects----hybrids did it.
#2 By the time this Diesel thing will come to USA in 2009 things may change.
FIRST you have to assume that new cleaner diesel will be available everywhere.
SECOND you never even considered that as people will buy more and more and more diesel that prices will go up...but supply will not go up because here in USA we have not used diesel for a very long time and LOGISTICS may not be there to deliver diesel to every gas station very cheaply, we have been using gas so long that all the operations to making it and delivering it are smooth and are nearly flawless.
THIRD, do not forget that Toyota and Honda by 2009 ALSO will come up with new vehicles. It's almost 2007, your Ford comes out in 2009, do you really think that Toyota will be seating there all this time, holding its thing like Bill Ford does during the episode of "Gay Eye for the straight Guy" NO, they will come up with something else. Not only does current Prius sells well, imagine what all new redesigned Prius or Civic will sell.
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Howard Kerr 9:16AM (11/06/2006)
"Shame that those hybrid freaks have made it nary impossible for a good, cost effective diesel to find it's way into passenger cars."
Yeah, it's not the fault of the oil refineries...for not wanting to invest in making the necessary changes to their plants so they can produce the NECESSARY low-sulfur fuel used by modern diesels.
Nor is it the fault of all the car and truck companies for not producing a diesel engine that passes emissions standards.
And it certainly isn't the fault of the U.S. government for A.) not caving into the interests of the CASH-POOR oil refiners (who really aren't the richest corporations on the planet) who would have produced low-sulfur fuel if only the government had given them much needed tax breaks.
or B.) the government for not throwing smog emission standards for diesel powered vehicles "out the window" so that anything coming out of the tailpipe of any diesel powered vehicle, in any amount was A-OKAY. STUPID GOVERNMENT......
Nope, according to John....it the hybrid "freaks" fault. That's why the only kind of vehicle you are ALLOWED to buy is one that has a hybrid powertrain.
please note massive amount of sarcasm...
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That One Person 9:58AM (11/06/2006)
#1 Hamud...the problem is that a company just cant pull an engine out of its ass and put it into a car. It needs to be developed and has to pass certain guidelines. Yea, it would have been nice for Ford or GM to get a small diesel out in time for the gas price hike. But Ford or GM cant predict price hikes. Like the saying goes: "Easier said than done."
And RZ, while I generally dont agree with everything you say, you do have a point. It is pretty much a given that Toyota or even Honda wont sit around. But because a person may be a fan of the Big 3 (I like certain domestic cars) does not mean they are idiots. I know some fans of Honda and Toyota and they arent exactly the sharpest tools in the shed. No offense, but you need to lay off the people who like American companies...
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Hamud 10:26AM (11/06/2006)
#7 Funny thing, I realized it was you posting prior to see your nick at the end of the post, I'm wondering why....
#9 I know that, was just dreaming about what would be the best thing to do, heheehehe. But, I guess that the rise on gas prices was something predictable, not obvious, but predictable.
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MikeW 11:19AM (11/06/2006)
How about ford drop the new 3.5 V6 (or a larger variant 4.0 perhaps?) into the explorer with a 6 speed automatic.
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Howard Kerr 11:33AM (11/06/2006)
MikeW,
it may be awhile before Ford puts the 3.5 into any truck/SUVs since it is currently engineered for FWD applications. Not to say it won't happen, after all, isn't the Taurus's 3 liter V6 now used in the Ranger?
For now, I imagine Ford can barely keep up with demand for the 3.5 in cars like the MKZ, 500/Montego(?) and the Edge/forget the name of the Lincoln version.
(Not really sure if Ford is making the 3.5 available for the 500/Montego, but they should be, at least for the AWD versions.
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Mr_Oak 12:02PM (11/06/2006)
3. #2 European fuel is more potent, and their diesel fuel is more finely processed so cleaner and it combusts with less emissions (I believe someone posted this last week). The difference in fuel potency might be the source of error in the mileage numbers... though a 33% increase is crazy IMO.
I am very Anti-Diesel for non-commercial use, here's why.
Diesel poses very serious health consequences to urban areas. Take the Bronx, NY for example: Recent medical studied revealed that the Asthma rate amongst children there is 10 times worse than anywhere else in North America. Reason: Every vehicle travelling north of NYC on the East Coast of the US, uses a roadway, bridge and or tunnel that passes by the Bronx. A significant percentage of these vehicles are commercial (Diesel Powered) vehicles.
Understand this, the cleanest diesel is still much dirtier than the worst gasoline emissions.
The following is a list of MTA bridges and Tunnels. Over 800,000 vehicles use these facilities each day.
Triborough Bridge
Throgs Neck Bridge
Verrazano-Narrows Bridge
Bronx-Whitestone Bridge
Henry Hudson Bridge
Marine Parkway Gil Hodges Memorial Bridge
Cross Bay Veterans Memorial Bridge
Brooklyn Battery Tunnel
Queens Midtown Tunnel
The following is a list of additional bridges and tunnels run the the Port Authority of NY/NJ:
The Port Authority manages the bulk of the bi-state transportation system between New York and New Jersey. One of the most heavily used systems in the country, this network of tunnels, bridges, and terminals at the heart of the region's commercial infrastructure moved more than 251.6million vehicles in 2005.
George Washington
Bayonne
Goethels
OuterBridge
Holland Tunnel
Lincoln Tunnel
There has to be a balance here. Europeans cannot begin to understand our issues here, it is on a scale that is unimaginable to them. The healthcare costs will by far out weigh the saving in fuel $.
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DooDad 12:25PM (11/06/2006)
Mr_Oak: If we are someday able to eliminate oil imports from the Middle East through domestically produced energy sources including bio-diesel, how do you think that would affect the health and welfare of US citizens including those living in the Bronx?
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Mr_Oak 12:38PM (11/06/2006)
14. Mr_Oak: If we are someday able to eliminate oil imports from the Middle East through domestically produced energy sources including bio-diesel, how do you think that would affect the health and welfare of US citizens including those living in the Bronx?
We all know the answer to that. You just described Uthopia, not in our lifetime bud. My response was aimed at those who thing that everything moving should have a diesel engine option. I say I think not. I am all for alternative means and methods, Dieselized everything is not the answer.
Diesel is a step backwards, "clean diesel" is a sideways step at best. We need to look forward.
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Edanczar 1:40PM (11/06/2006)
I am sick a tired of hearing these promises! JUST DO IT! FoMoCo wants to make some money, do it NOW! By the time 2009 rolls around. Toyota will have their big SUV running on diesel/electric hybrid.
For the tree huggers, I bet if Toyota came out with a full size diesel, no one will complain! If you do not like it, then go ride a bike.
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Daniel 2:47PM (11/06/2006)
How about full size cars and trucks with Diesel-Electric Full Plug-in Hybrid with electric drive motors/generators (for regenrative braking) at each wheel. The vehicles could get between 70 MPG to 80 MPG. Sound far fetched?
The Big Three successfully developed and tested the Ford Prodigy, the GM Precept and the DC ESX3 under the U.S. DOEs' Partnership for a New Generation of Vehicles (PNGV) Program.
They did this in 1993 !!!!!!!
Now, why can't we buy them ?????
The Big 2.5 must be waiting for some foriegn company to dominate this vast market ?????
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RZ 5:03PM (11/06/2006)
#17 My god that is the idiocity that kills me..... If they have it, and KNOW how to do all these ultra fuel efficient engines why aren't they selling them. Even the biggest die hard fan of GM and FORD will admit that there would be a demand for an 40-50 MPG SUV or a Truck. And with such high ratings people would not care about gas prices.
Also #17..""The Big 2.5 must be waiting for some foriegn company to dominate this vast market ?????""
Did you hear that BMW will sell a hydrogen/regular engine hybrid in 2008.
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Daniel 5:40PM (11/06/2006)
RZ - go ahead and Google these three concept cars by name, or the PNGV, to get the details of the very successful program from decade and a half ago. This technology is not difficult and it clearly is available today and has been for the past 15 years at minimum.
When we add "BioDiesel" to the full plug-in, diesel-electric hybrids this nation would not need to import a single drop of foriegn oil. And, we would have expanded markets for farm products and open up completely new markets for switch grass, agricultural and other waste products - new jobs for Americans.
Primarily using BioDiesel (at about B35) as the base fuel in full size vehicles that get up to 80 MPG would be a tremendous boost to cleaning the enviroment especially in terms of reducing Green House Gases (closed loop CO2 with the Bio portion of the fuel). And, we would not require any new infrastructure to use BioDiesel as it can be used in the same tanks and pumps currently in gas stations nation-wide.
There are huge advantages to this system in terms of the environment, our economy, new jobs, and, maybe most importantly, in national security.
I can only guess that the degree of collusion between the auto makers and the oil companies is enough to kill these types of ideas?
And, unfortunately, it seems that no one in our government has the gumption to make it happen?
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snakesausage 12:11AM (11/07/2006)
Let me first say that I am a big proponent of Diesel in the US, I even own two diesel passenger cars, an 02’ VW TDI Jetta wagon and an 84’ Mercedes 300TD. I took a trip to Europe this last month and toured from the North Sea to the Mediterranean in a VW with the 1.9L TDI engine.
The air quality in Europe is much worse than most of our urban areas because of the diesel fueled cars. You can see the brown haze in most of the larger cities and the smell of burned diesel was in the higher traffic areas. Although our car did not seem to pour out black smoke when given the “boot” a lot of them did, ours may have been equipped with a particulate filter.
You will not hear me wishing for what Europe has, so give me clean diesels or give me nothing. Although I still wonder if the NOx emissions need to be as low as they are, I truly believe that the particulate filter should be standard on ALL new diesel vehicles including commercial vehicles.
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