Not counting heavy duty truck. Diesel vehicle sales up 27.5% so far in 2012

Any doubt this is the right time to bring the diesels Mazda?

 

They would be up before now if Mazda had already brought the SkyD here


But yes. I'm assuming that the powers that be at Mazda saw that rise and finally used it as justification for bringing diesel here.

 

I've always thought it funny that auto manufacturers complain that they don't sell diesels here because no one buys them. How can anyone buy them if there are none to buy? Not everyone wanted a Jetta diesel but then again those do sell out. Bring a good diesel to the US that gets great mileage and it will sell. I know a diesel is in my future. I just don't know when.

 

Jump on that bandwagon Mazda

 

I would love another diesel one day, but I'd never buy another VW. If Honda didn't have its head so far up its *** selling failed hybrids (it's not a Prius, so people don't care. Period.) it could have brought some of its awesome diesels by now.

VW is low hanging fruit due to price and reliability. But nobody has tried to challenge them yet.

 

2012 is a great year for diesels. Look at all the diesel variants from the Germans. You got VW/Audi's 4 cyl 2.0 TDI and their V6 TDI. Then you have the Bluetec from Merc. Not to mention the 335d with 425lb ft of tq and easily gets mid 30 mixed mpg.

Mazda really should have brought the Sky-D to the US by Q4 of 2012.

 

My other car is a TDI Jetta Sportwagen and I must say that it is a great daily-driver and getting 550-600 miles out of a tank of gas is really nice. Since I have been driving my RX8 much more often as it's summer-time, I feel like I'm at the gas station all the time now. I spend about .09 cents/mile with the TDI whereas the RX8 is around .21cent/mile.

I think Mazda would be smart to bring some diesels into the lineup here in the US. A CX5 with a diesel and AWD would be and awesome car (As long as it's under 35k). A friend of mine worked for GM with diesel fueling systems and he says that GM will probably have some small diesels available in the 2014 or 2015 model year.

 

^ Looks like the SkyD will show up here in about 7 months, in both the 6 and the CX-5.

Looking at the difference in price between the gas and diesel CX-5 in europe, it looks like the US price will be ~$2,000 more than the same-trim same-drivetrain gas version. So won't get to $35k. Will stay under.

 

Will Mazda offer the Diesel for the "Touring" trim? Or will we have to get the "Grand Touring" to get diesel?

Does Mazda offer the diesel in other countries for the equivilent of our "Touring" trim?

 

I don't know the answer to the US side, but check out Mazda UK's site: Car Configurator

The gas is only available as a FWD Manual.

The Diesel has a high power and low power variant, 175PS vs 150PS. For both diesel engines, you can get AWD Manual and AWD automatic. The low power can also get FWD automatic. Changing between the SE-L and the Sport trims (sport is the higher of the two) doesn't change the engine and drivetrain options. In fact, you can pick any of the 3 wheel options with any engine, drivetrain, and trim configuration.

I am envious of the options and choice matrix that Mazda gives UK vs the US.

 

Oh zoom u *** u locked my holy thread!

Anyway yea, Diesel is cool, and I think it's time to force Americans to "relearn" and correct their "anti-Diesel" thinking that was set by oil and auto companies back in 70s 60s.

Gimme that CX-5 with AWD, Manual, with Sky-D. DONE DEAL.

 

GM diesels are a lot of the reason US customers won't buy a diesel!

GM's early attempts were just gas engines with diesel bits screwed on - a recipe for disaster.

Sure enough, most of the problems diesel cars had involved the (expensive) diesel bits, fuel pumps, injectors, filters etc..

Took twenty years to get back to the point where the average consumer will even look at the diesel option.....

 

I'll be picking up a diesel jetta sportwagen this weekend. It will be my wife's car but im pretty excited about it myself. Hopefully it ends up being a reliable and durable car we can have for a very long time.

 

I've always liked diesels. Even Nurse Diesel in "High Anxiety".

 

I can't disagree with you there. I've had to work on some of those and wow, they are crap. They are easily some of the worst engines ever made.

Fortunately the new diesels that GM will have here are things that they have been running in Europe and I really think they could be a hit here (With car-educated people at least).

 

I would suggest reading up on the CR 2.0 TDI over at Fred's TDI Page. TDIClub.com. VW TDI Enthusiast Community if you haven't already. I've been happy with mine in the 37k miles I have owned it. Owning a TDI is like owning an RX8 in a sense that you really need to learn about the engine and what it needs to make it happy and reliable.

The only issue I had was a burnt wiring harness that threw an O2 Sensor fault. A few months and 3 O2 sensors later (covered under warranty), they finally found the problem and took care of it.

I do recommend running a fuel additive such as Power Service (Silver in the summer/spring/fall and white in the winter) or Optilube XPD to help ensure proper fuel lubricity. And make sure you follow the service schedule to the tee. I have owned a number of VW's and I find that most of the people who have problems are the one's who don't keep up on maintenance.

Also, if you have a very short commute, make sure you take it out on a long drive every now and then. Too many short commutes hurts the diesel particulate filter (DPF) and doesn't allow for proper regeneration cycles.

 

I did not see the option of 2wd with 175 ps in manual or auto. I am very impressed with the manual 175 ps AWD producing 54.3 combined mpg. I would guess it would be even better in the new Mazda 6. Maybe over 60 mpg in 2wd form, similar to the 150 ps CX-5 2wd at 61 mpg.

Paul.

 

BTW: the 4WD manual gasoline version is available in continental Europe.

 

Yeah i've done a fair bit of research but i'm not a member of the tdi boards yet. I will definitely be maintaining it with the same care as the rx8.

Fuel additive is going to be a stretch since this will be my wife's car. She already thinks the act of premixing is ridiculous lol.

Her commute is about 40 miles so we should be fine on that front. About a month ago we gave her old car to a family member. She's been driving my V8 BMW since so im looking forward to her driving something fuel efficient again

 

Diesel car sales in the UK overtook petrol cars in 2010 and they've come a long way since the rattly four cylinders you got in vans over here. I've had a diesel Ford as my daily driver for the last three years and put 75,000 miles on it. It does 48-50 Imperial MPG on the motorway at a steady 70 and once it's warmed up it is quiet and a nice cruiser, I've had it chipped so it's got some extra poke and it blows some good black smoke under full throttle and boost.

 

I can understand that one. I gave my wife no excuses. I have 6 pre-filled 6oz bottles that sit in the back of the car with additive. All she has to do is pour it in the tank when she fills it. Besides that, I pester her constantly with "Did you remember to put the additive in the tank?" I then check regularly to see that the bottles are getting emptied. With enough nagging, you can get her to do it, haha.

 

Agreed. I suspect that the aero of the new 6 should be at least slightly superior to the CX-5, and weight a bit lower (same drivetrain and engine in comparison).

 

She's drinking it.

 

Mazda did the rotary, why not the diesel...it's just a different kind of gas.