The desire for more diesel vehicles on American roads has become a popular talking point among automotive enthusiasts. We hear about the super-efficient, high performance oil burners cruising all over Europe and don't see any reason that they couldn't work here. After all, their high torque figures and great range would seem like a perfect match for US roads, even if their fuel is generally more expensive than gasoline. It looks like General Motors might be listening, though. Steve Kiefer, the automaker's vice president of global powertrain hinted this week that more diesels could be on the way.
"The Chevrolet Cruze diesel will be the first of many diesel-powered passenger cars General Motors will offer in the United States," said Kiefer in a speech during the 2014 Management Briefing Seminars in Traverse City, MI, according to Automotive News. "We will continue to introduce more diesels as appropriate and as the market accepts them." In his remarks, he also went on to predict that oil-burning passenger vehicles will occupy 10 percent of the US auto market by 2020.
Kiefer's statement is pretty unequivocal, but what does it really mean? Across its brands, GM's current diesel lineup is pretty skimpy. There's just the Cruze Diesel and the Duramax V8s in its larger trucks. Of course, the diesel Chevy Colorado and GMC Canyon are on the way with a 2.8-liter four-cylinder, but it's not exactly clear when those midsize pickups will be in showrooms. That still leaves a lot of room to grow somewhere.
Where would you like to see more diesels in the future GM lineup? A crossover could be a good fit with the popularity of that segment or an Impala with one of Opel's top-spec oil-burners from Europe could be a ton of fun, though we have our concerns about how well they would actually sell. Let us know what you think might be a good fit for GM in Comments.
"The Chevrolet Cruze diesel will be the first of many diesel-powered passenger cars General Motors will offer in the United States," said Kiefer in a speech during the 2014 Management Briefing Seminars in Traverse City, MI, according to Automotive News. "We will continue to introduce more diesels as appropriate and as the market accepts them." In his remarks, he also went on to predict that oil-burning passenger vehicles will occupy 10 percent of the US auto market by 2020.
Kiefer's statement is pretty unequivocal, but what does it really mean? Across its brands, GM's current diesel lineup is pretty skimpy. There's just the Cruze Diesel and the Duramax V8s in its larger trucks. Of course, the diesel Chevy Colorado and GMC Canyon are on the way with a 2.8-liter four-cylinder, but it's not exactly clear when those midsize pickups will be in showrooms. That still leaves a lot of room to grow somewhere.
Where would you like to see more diesels in the future GM lineup? A crossover could be a good fit with the popularity of that segment or an Impala with one of Opel's top-spec oil-burners from Europe could be a ton of fun, though we have our concerns about how well they would actually sell. Let us know what you think might be a good fit for GM in Comments.
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