Quote Originally Posted by jeffnles1 View Post
I'm sure Ford, GM, Chrysler, VW/Audi, BMW, Toyota, etc. would love to sell more diesel's here. There is a market and their global production and R&D costs would be reduced.

However, and the big however, our EPA and more specifically, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) has pretty much shut the door on reapplying diesel technology from other regions in the US. To meet the CARB specs (which about 12 or so other states also adopted) sets a standard on diesel that cannot be matched with off-the-shelf technology used by the auto companies in other regions.

The cost to get new technology 50 state legal is enormous. To sell diesel in the US, they have to come up with a completely different system than they use in the rest of the world. Given the share of the market for Diesel in the US is somewhat unknown and has failed in the past, we cannot expect the big manufacturers to dump hundreds of millions of dollars (probably more like tens of billions) into development of something that may well fail in the marketplace.

Trust me, I'm not defending the car companies, and yes, I am somewhat ranting about CARB and the EPA. My main point is the cost to bring these cars to the USA is higher than the profit potential. The auto companies are in business to make money and keep their shareholders happy. Profits make happy shareholders, losses make very unhappy shareholders.

Jeff
This is not really true, at least the part about not being able to use the same diesel technology the rest of the world is using.

VW is already selling diesels in the US in their Golf and Jetta line and a special order diesel is available in the Passat as well. These are the same diesels as are available in Europe, no ground-up re-engineering was required.

Merceedes will offer a diesel version of their SUV starting next year. Again, it was just a matter of getting certification for the European version of the engine.

Regarding California, I don't see why the rest of the country should be held back just because of their backward need to obstruct everything with layer upon layer of beauracracy. California should review their outdated law, obviously, and join the 21st century.

Grouse