Is the Acura TSX diesel DOA?
Click above for high-res gallery of the 2009 Acura TSX
At the 2008 Detroit Auto Show, Acura showed off a new 2.2-liter four-cylinder diesel engine and announced it would debut a production version in 2009. Informed speculation says that the oilburner would be equipped in the new TSX, a re-badged version of the European Honda Accord that currently offers the engine. Honda engineers have even presented documents outlining the new exhaust developed for the engine in the last two editions of the Society of Automotive Engineers World Congress.
Unfortunately, it looks like we might not get a chance to sample a diesel TSX in the U.S. after all. An anonymous poster on the MotorTrend forums is claiming that Honda has not been able to pass emissions certification with the automatic transmission TSX diesel. The manual transmission version is fine, but the poster claims there wouldn't be enough demand in the U.S. market for the manual-only model and Honda will therefore drop the diesel altogether. We don't know if this is true, and Acura has not yet responded to our request for a comment. It will most like be a "no comment" anyway.
For what it's worth, we're suitably dubious about the source and the information, particularly considering that modern cars with electronically controlled automatic transmissions typically perform better on emissions and fuel economy. This is primarily due to the engineer's ability to have more control over the interaction between the engine and the transmission, and less to do with the person behind the wheel. Hopefully the story is untrue, because it would be nice to finally get a Honda/Acura with some low end torque.
Gallery: Autoblog Garage: 2009 Acura TSX
[Source: Motor Trend Forum]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Gabagool 8:39AM (10/27/2008)
"An anonymous poster on the MotorTrend forums is claiming that Honda has not been able to pass emissions certification with the automatic transmission TSX diesel."------------ Are you serious?
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rwcmick 9:47AM (10/27/2008)
is this the same guy that said steve jobs had a heart attack?
220v 9:49AM (10/27/2008)
+1
Gabagool 10:12AM (10/27/2008)
Seriously it probably was one of those Domestic Groupies who posted it.
I wonder if other Auto Blogs use me as their "source"
rusty 3:22PM (10/27/2008)
um, no... it was me who posted it and I got it from the temple of vtec website so it wasn't one of the domestic groupies considering I am a Honda Fan Boy.
Russell 8:48AM (10/27/2008)
Finally, the Yen is rising which should bring the competiton closer for our ailing automakers.
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Gabagool 8:56AM (10/27/2008)
But Euro has been stronger than Dollar for a while, plus they have super strong Unions, that did not help Detroit much.
Product, that's what matters.
RG 8:58AM (10/27/2008)
True, however, the Euro is falling, which means that the European offerings are going to be cheaper.
Gabagool 9:19AM (10/27/2008)
@ RG, IT IS FALLING NOW, LAST TWO YEAR DOLLARS WAS LOWER
Russell 10:03AM (10/27/2008)
Yes the Euro was higher but the prices did not go up much if at all, which means they've been eating the deficit and its not good.
Bluestreak 8:52AM (10/27/2008)
That's a shame. However, I would have thought anyone seriously interested in a diesel wouldn't have considered an automatic tranny anyway. I would have wanted the manual.
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jon 9:00AM (10/27/2008)
Wait what?? Honda couldn't pass emission regulations?? Are you telling me that foreign cars don't make the greenest vehicles? wow lol
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Jimesq 9:00AM (10/27/2008)
I think I would have waited for official word from Honda on this one.
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Ligor 9:10AM (10/27/2008)
uh,
so they'd need to recal the software for hte tranny and lower the power a bit for hte auto in order to pass emmisions
sound like a bogus call from that ananyomous poster
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Rboyett 9:13AM (10/27/2008)
This article is why blogger's continue to NOT be taken seriously.
Even if it turns out to be true, you've used an "anonymous poster" on a message board as your source. So friggin what if you qualified your article by saying that it might not be true. You shouldn't have posted this to begin with.
In the end, you look unprofessional and just flat out stupid.
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Pete 9:18AM (10/27/2008)
No kidding, this kind of garbage is ridiculous!
Jon 9:31AM (10/27/2008)
I wish I could say that blogs are rising to the challenges and standards of so-called "professional journalism", but it seems that in far too many magazines and newspapers the opposite is true. It's not unusual to quote unknown or anonymous sources these days.
That being said, how often does one read about Honda not rise to an engineering challenge? Maybe they will have to take a different approach than what they intended, but I can't believe they would just give up. (If the story is true, that is.)
2007RC46SP2 9:16AM (10/27/2008)
more info here.
http://vtec.net/news/news-item?news_item_id=796361
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JZeke 9:21AM (10/27/2008)
I find it surprising marketing departments are convinced diesels won't sell in the states saddled to manual transmissions. If anything, I think the initial takeup with diesels would be skewed in FAVOR of manuals, as most early adopters would probably won't the luddite diesel experience.
Lesson? Stop listening to marketing departments and find a cost-effective way of taking a risk.
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Jared 10:32AM (10/27/2008)
Given the current drop in gas prices, the extra cost required for diesel engines, the premium cost of diesel fuel in the US, and the recession, it would not surprise me at all if Honda drops the diesel engine option. They won't be selling many TSXs. I don't think the few they sell would justify the cost of certifying two different drivetrains.
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