You may have recently seen TV commercials in the US for new fuel-efficient diesel engines offered by several manufacturers. While European drivers have enjoyed the exceptional fuel efficiency modern diesel engines provide, the technology is becoming more widespread in the US market, and today GM announced its 2016 Chevrolet Colorado midsize pickup will come with a clean diesel option.
“These vehicles have great highway mileage and lots of power,” James Bell, General Motors’ Head of Consumer Affairs told Breaking Energy from the floor of the LA Auto Show.
“It’s a fascinating technology that’s been standard in Europe for years. Now with low sulfur diesel regulations in the US, we’re bringing those vehicles here,” said Bell.
And interestingly, there are no pure electric vehicles among the contestants for the “Green Car of the Year Award,” officially announced tomorrow. Two clean diesel vehicles are in the running – BMW’s 328d and Audi’s A6 TDI – according to AutoBlog, along with fuel-sipping, gasoline-powered cars by Mazda and Toyota.
“I think one of the diesels will win this year,” Bell said.
Getting back to the 2016 Chevy Colorado, official miles-per-gallon specifications have yet to be announced, but the midsized pickup is expected to get somewhere between 40 to 60 mpg. Bell told Breaking Energy the truck will also be able to run on biodiesel.
“You’d want to check with the owner’s manual, but my understanding is it will.”
Average US diesel fuel prices are currently about $0.60 higher per gallon than regular gasoline, so we’ll have to wait until the Colorado’s mpg rating is announced to accurately gauge potential consumer fuel cost savings. Nevertheless, there is clearly a trend toward more fuel-efficient diesel engines being offered in the US.
Other manufacturers like Ford and Chrysler recently vacated the small to midsized US pickup market, reportedly focusing on fuel-efficient versions of their full-size trucks. Asked why GM chose to enter that market segment now, Bell explained today the only choices are the Toyota Tacoma and Nissan Frontier. “We haven’t had great choice. We think it’s the right time…it can be onerous to get around in a full-size vehicle, this feels more like a small SUV.”
“The pickup market is doing very well. Small businesses are reinvesting…more rational smaller vehicles are what customers want,” he said.
The US automobile market has changed significantly from just a few years ago when Hummers were all the rage. This is a major reason US gasoline consumption has decreased annually after its 2007 peak of 9.3 million bbl/d.
Watch the video of our interview with Bell:
http://youtu.be/dkzPoDAkyB8
