Filed under: Trends, Hybrids/Alternative, Green, Ford
Ford says "No diesel for you!" to American buyers
The Focus we should've received - diesel-powered, 50 MPG and thoughtfully styled.
During an interview with Automotive News, Mark Fields, Ford's U.S. division president, said that the automaker would not be offering diesels in any of its passenger cars in the near future. For the time being at least, Ford's only diesel-equipped vehicles will be in their flagship F-series line of pickups.
The reasons behind not bringing an oil burner to America are varied, but the primary hurdle is the cost of engineering an engine that would meet the U.S.'s stringent emissions standards. This is the same argument currently employed by Toyota, when asked about its own pursuit of diesel technology.
Instead, Ford will focus on high-tech gasoline mills, utilizing turbocharging, direct injection and hybrid powertrains, which will increase fuel economy and in some cases, performance.
[Source: Automotive News – Sub. Req.]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
Vince 2:09PM (1/10/2007)
Huh. Looks just like my Mazda3. Zoom-zoom!
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yeahright 2:16PM (1/10/2007)
Would be nice if Autoblog explored this argument in more detail. Europeans like to lecture North Americans on environmental policy. They claim to be cleaner and greener. So is it true (as Ford seems to be saying) that European emission standards are actually LOWER that U.S. standards, and that the diesel engines they sell over there are too dirty for our streets? And if so, how come VW (and I assume others) can successfully sell diesels in North America?
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John P. 2:17PM (1/10/2007)
There really should be a way for the USA and Europe to adopt the same standards in emissions.
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airiox 2:18PM (1/10/2007)
meh, Don't blame ford and Toyota, Blame California and every other state that have such tough emission standards.
I think our global economy and our foreign dependency on oil are by far more pressing issues then fractions of billions of particles in the air.
But that's what you get when you have a full state legislature. Just a bunch of stupid laws and government over regulation. Everything is a crime and against the law in California now.
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Gene 2:28PM (1/10/2007)
Perhaps I don't know what I'm talking about, but some parts of Europe where Fords are sold have higher emissions standards than the U.S., don't they? I just don't buy that the standards are a real hurdle.
Also, what's stopping Ford from bringing a non-diesel euro Focus to the U.S.? The 2008 facelift models that will be available are uninteresting.
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Robert O 2:32PM (1/10/2007)
Yes, "blame California" for wanting to have healthy air for its inhabitants to breath.
As for this FOCUS: Why can't the U.S. get this styling instead of the confused restyling that we are getting in 2008? Seems like Ford could have saved some badly needed, and poorly spent money while getting a better looking car to U.S. consumers.
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cowboy bob 2:34PM (1/10/2007)
Mankind has already doomed his existance on this planet, so give up already. In another 100 years A.I. will have no need for clean air. Let me have what we need now, like giving a pack of butts to a guy with terminal cancer. Can't hurt now. Hell, they say change is good. The place was much better after the Dinosaurs kicked, right?
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michaewh 2:35PM (1/10/2007)
Hmm... VW can build passenger diesels for the US at a profit. Ford's lack of vision = drop in market share. I've already got a reservation to buy the VW Tiguan, I'm just bummed I have to wait a year.
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christopheredward 2:37PM (1/10/2007)
Maybe a frickin' hybrid instead? That might actually make the Focus appealing... otherwise, there is absolutely no reason to buy a car that looks like it was designed in 1995 for someone who wants to rent a cheap box on a business trip.
Ford.. come on... you can do better. Or just kill the Focus and put it out of its misery.
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che culattone 2:39PM (1/10/2007)
yeahright:
in regards to your comments: the problem wiht the US is that they test bizarre things for efficiency and cleanliness. I'm not entirely clear on what the difference is, but the way that it has been explained to me is in the following example (the numbers are clearly off):
in Europe, cars are tested for actual pollution they emit, whereas in the states, they are tested for how much per gallon they emit (or something like that). what does this mean? it means that the fuel efficiency of the car is not taken into account when testing a car's emissions in the US.
So, when you look at the clean diesels, lets say a clean diesel emits 10 units of pollution per gallon, but a regular gas engine emits9 units of pollution per gallon. Well, the difference is, the same diesel runs at 40 mpg, and the gas engine runs at 27 mpg. So what happens is that, overall, the diesel pollutes less, but since it pollutes more per gallon it consumes, it doesn't pass the US emissions, but does pass the European emissions.
i hope that wasn't too convoluted...
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David 2:49PM (1/10/2007)
All I can say is i before e except after c. (headline under picture.)
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Ian 2:50PM (1/10/2007)
Well the US came out with unleaded gasoline and many other innovations b4 Europe. Then Europe caught up and for a while surpassed and was ahead on low sulphur content diesel fuel until recently.
Now if you are a car manufacturer and want tos ell in all 50 States one model spec than you have to meet the highest State standard which I think is probably still California. And that standard is probably as tough as anything yet seen out of Europe.
On the future of diesels: VW have openly admitted that they do NOT see the future as diesel engines, which proliferate in Europe maybe 40% odd of all cars purchased are diesels. VW says the cost of meeting the future emmission standards for diesel engines will be far too expensive to make economic sense because that engines basic development is more advanced than gasoline engines. SO the cost of new improvements make for a huge development cost and the engines are ging to be hugely complicated (expensive to build and maintain). So basically VW and Ford are exactly in sync re where to spend most of their development effor going fwd.
That's why it's somewhat amusing that the ACO have favorably enabled diesels as their prime racing category at LeMans. Probably just as these engines will have peaked in road cars. Maybe the ACO will have to make a new category soon for gasoline engines w turbos and ddirect injections and perhaps supercharges.
I am somewhat confused by the late entry Honda is planning by adding new diesel engines to their lineup by 2008. Unless those engines are radically new in design it doesn't seem they are the future.
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phoenexius 2:51PM (1/10/2007)
This argument should be going away
EU is going to require new diesels for 2009 to have particulate filters; in 2011 I think that all diesels will have to be retrofitted with particulate filters
(http://www.globalinsight.com/SDA/SDADetail7802.htm)
Unfortunately a particulate filter isn't good enough for the US regulations - but it is part of the story
As the article says 2015 and the EU requirements will equal the current US - so they have to do the work sometime
Heck - Mitsubishi is going to have US diesel
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motorman 2:54PM (1/10/2007)
the emissions are tested in "parts per mile" because of the miles americans drive. some people in this country drive farther back and forth to work in one day than the people in europe drive all month because of the cost of gasoline. how many cars do you see on the roads each day with only one person in each car here in the states.
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Tiago do Vale 2:55PM (1/10/2007)
The US will continue to have a restyled old Focus, simply because is't cheaper to manufacture, allowing Ford to have a bigger profit margin.
It's common policy to have, in the same segment, a more developed platform in Europe, where the consumer is more demanding, and a cheaper one in the US...
Remeber the Mondeo global car? It only lasted a single generation: the second one had a cheaper platform to the US, and a more developed to Europe.
It's not Ford's fault: it's just that the US consumers are used to say "YES" to lesser products...
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spencermfi 2:59PM (1/10/2007)
My main problem with diesel engines is that I live in Los Angeles and have no idea where to buy diesel fuel. It's been so long since it's been used on new cars here. I'm sure that if you build it they (fuel retailers) will come, but I would be hesitant to buy a diesel car at the moment for precisely that reason.
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Howard Kerr 3:02PM (1/10/2007)
While che culattone is probably right about the difference between how the U.S. and Europe test vehicles for emissions and fuel efficiency...THE big thing to remember is that California has THE toughest pollution standards on the planet.
Therefore, if, as is the case with many car makers, your biggest market is Ca. you have to build cars that meet the Ca. regs. With NorthEast U.S. states(like New York)adopting Ca. regs. the car companies that were selling diesels in the other 49 states, until recently, are now "stuck". Spreading the added cost of the diesel engine over fewer and fewer cars is not possible.
Finally, for Ford NOT to offer diesels in cars...for now, is the right move. Folks are more likely to buy hybrid-powered cars before diesels. Ford has a somewhat spotty record on it's pickup truck diesel engines, and considering that light trucks are a consistent market, it is wiser for Ford to put it's limited resources there.
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John 3:10PM (1/10/2007)
I've had no problem finding diesel pumps in West Los Angeles and the People's Republic of Santa Monica myself. However, diesel is approximately 25 cents more expensive per gallon compared to premium unleaded at most service stations around here.
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P to the C 3:11PM (1/10/2007)
Thank goodness for the far more stringent emissions standards for diesels in America. Have you ever walked a Paris street, inhaled the soot laden air and wondered why everything was covered in black dust? The European diesels are filthy and I don't blame anyone in American for not wanting them.
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infinihertz 3:16PM (1/10/2007)
"The Focus we should've received ... and thoughtfully styled."
Maybe I'm crazy - and I'm sure you'll tell me if I am - but I don't think the Euro Focus looks that much better than the 05/06/07 or 2008 Focus. I see the appeal of the powertrain options, and I admit that the 2008 American version isn't quite what I hoped it'd be, but is the Euro Focus really styled that much better?
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