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- mojo8472, on 09/06/2008, -10/+426Welcome to Europe. My car's been getting 55mpg for the last 11 years
- Dalhectar, on 09/05/2008, -36/+419LOL.
Because Ford spent the past 20 years investing too much in gas guzzling cars for the US now they can't afford to make more efficient cars for that same market.
Oh the Irony. - gradivus, on 09/06/2008, -6/+253Meanwhile VW and Mercedes magically found a way to sell diesel cars in the US and turn a profit.
- chicagospur, on 09/06/2008, -4/+156A US gallon is 3.78 litres. A UK gallon is 4.54 litres.
Your Corsa makes 37.35 US MPG.
A fuel efficient US car @ 36 US MPG makes 43.37 UK MPG. - Dralha, on 09/06/2008, -21/+158It can't be sold in the U.S. because our big oil overlords forbid it.
- S5S5S5, on 09/05/2008, -2/+130Article Summary:
"But there are business reasons why we can't sell it in the U.S." The main one: The Fiesta ECOnetic runs on diesel. "
"U.S. market remains relatively unfriendly to the fuel. Taxes aimed at commercial trucks mean diesel costs anywhere from 40 cents to $1 more per gallon than gasoline."
"First of all, the engines are built in Britain, so labor costs are high. Plus the pound remains stronger than the greenback. At prevailing exchange rates, the Fiesta ECOnetic would sell for about $25,700 in the U.S. By contrast, the Prius typically goes for about $24,000."
"Ford plans to make a gas-powered version of the Fiesta in Mexico for the U.S." - realgame84, on 09/05/2008, -4/+77really nice car! Very good for Big city traffic
- inactive, on 09/06/2008, -5/+77in Europe we have a thing called public transport and they are usually quite good and comfortable. it's much more comfortable to go in a train than drive for 16 hours in a american car....
- zacharytelschow, on 09/05/2008, -15/+69Or they used union auto workers and the prices are sky high. This, combined with a dollar that is weaker than the pound, makes it difficult to import. They built the plant there (Britain), not here. Did you read the story?
- RetepNamenots, on 09/06/2008, -14/+64There are loads of cars like this in the UK, that manage 50-60MPG.
My 9 year-old Vauxhall Corsa does about 45-50MPG, and I was shocked when I visited America recently to see loads of advertisments on TV showing 'fuel efficient' cars which did 36MPG! - realestateloop, on 09/06/2008, -5/+54It makes me sad to be an American sometimes.. b/c.. You guys are absolutely right.
- gradivus, on 09/06/2008, -1/+48And people buy them, almost as if there was some kind of demand for them.
- VodkanLemons, on 09/06/2008, -1/+48I live in USA and my car gets 50 mpg
VW Jetta TDI :) - MunkeyPirate, on 09/06/2008, -1/+45Build it and they will buy it. "F" Ford for this one. The car, for a sub compact, is actually nice looking. It doesn't look cheep. And Ford is out of their minds at 65mpg the added expense of diesel is more than made up in fuel savings.
- DiggItalia, on 09/06/2008, -2/+44yep. and you don't have to buy tiny little cars like the Ford Fiesta to get that kind of mileage. I have a nissan compact suv, it runs on diesel and does 56mpg (23 kilometers per litre).
- cphi915866, on 09/06/2008, -5/+44The diesel engines sold in Europe do not meet the EPA standards in the US. States like California have even stricter diesel standards than the EPA. The Federal Government is standing in the way.
- npmrick, on 09/06/2008, -9/+45Please. Go visit Tanzania, Haiti or any other third wold country before you call the US a "3rd world place". Your hate for Bush has distorted your view of reality. If you really hate the US so much, go live somewhere else. I'll pay the one-way ticket for you.
- Smogtdi, on 09/06/2008, -0/+36@ grumpyrain
I have to tell you Diesel is made locally and distilled out of the same fuel barrel as gasoline as it was before. Not related at all to China or India. The corporations told us it's the new low sulfur requirements in the US that is to blame. How could they produce the euro no-sulfur diesel at a price lower than gasoline for the last 20 years and can't do it anymore ? - flair1, on 09/06/2008, -1/+36Safety standards changed and cars had to get heavier to meet the standards. For example, the Honda CRX HEs everyone loves get like 50 mpg, but is is very light and does not meet current safety standards.
- DaveClarkOne, on 09/06/2008, -4/+37You have GOT to be kidding me: Bring this car over now! I'm beginning to understand why Ford stock is dead money. Unbelievable myopia of Fieds' part. Everyone outside of insulated Detroit sees that Ford's future is PRODUCT, PRODUCT and PRODUCT.
Diesels are embraced by VW, BMW and Mercedes. Time for Ford to leave the dark ages behind. - needmoreinput, on 09/06/2008, -6/+35In the 80's, Honda and many others were getting 40+mpg and it was farily common. Not long afterwards, cars weren't getting mileage that good and there are few that did in the US. Why did they disappear and not become the norm? Rhetorical question - we all know the answer...
- smotpoker, on 09/06/2008, -3/+31@Bigman -
If those taxes were implemented in the '80s, how come diesel was never more expensive than regular unleaded, despite the better mileage, until recent years?
(serious question) - DiggItalia, on 09/06/2008, -1/+28..or you can book a low cost flight for almost nothing.(I've bought one 3 minutes ago: italy to spain 13 euros - 18$ -. it would have been a 15 hours drive by car.)
- GeorgeStone2, on 09/06/2008, -0/+27It wasn't always the way. Diesel used to be cheaper than petrol. Back inthe day.
- gradivus, on 09/06/2008, -4/+29But I can literally buy a 10 ton dump truck and drive it like its a passenger car and spew dual black clouds of soot at every single light.
- lizajane999, on 09/06/2008, -1/+25I just bought an 86 VW Golf diesel for a beater to drive while I'm at grad school in New England. After 215,000 miles and 20+ years it still gets 48 mpg!
The guy I bought it from was having a hard time selling it because it was a diesel. Americans. Go figure. - HenvY, on 09/06/2008, -6/+29Because most scientists are conservatives, right?
- lordving, on 09/06/2008, -0/+20flair, that is a great point people forget, those old gas conserving machines were unsafe as hell.
- stubear, on 09/06/2008, -2/+21No, State and Federal Laws have made it difficult, if not impossible (thanks California) to sell diesel vehicles in the U.S. even if they are more fuel efficient, cleaner, and all around better then their gas counterparts. The rift between what the people want and what politicians are willing to give us widens every day so until something changes that causes the politicians to fear the people we won't see any change towards things like diesel vehicles, nuclear power, or any other technology that will improve out lives for the better.
- fuxxx, on 09/06/2008, -0/+19It's called aerodynamics, it has an important role to play in fuel economy.
- Fritz, on 09/06/2008, -1/+20bigman, don't blame the enviro's. In the 70's diesel was dirty nasty stuff and regulations are always a product of their time. Diesel isn't like that anymore and the gov't should adjust the taxes accordingly.
- hooyeah123, on 09/06/2008, -1/+20I drive a VW TDI, and diesel prices have shot up significantly since I bought it. When I first got the car, fuel was cheaper than regular unleaded, now it's around a buck more a gallon. Diesel is supposably easier to refine than gasoline and very similar to kerosene. Makes me wonder why that huge diesel tax was added.
- topcat5, on 09/06/2008, -24/+43Welcome to 8 years of BushOnomics. The $ is so worthless now against the rest of the world, they can't sell it here and make any money. It's like the USA is a 3rd world place now.
- brian1625, on 09/06/2008, -3/+22Deathtraps? and the Ford Bronco and Chevy Blazer weren't? [the Blazer is actually the deadliest vehicle, ever. At least in the states]
And big cars aren't always safer, and especially not quicker.... I think it's because people are idiots when it comes to physics. - mickstephenson, on 09/06/2008, -5/+231. Pickups and SUV's are more likely to roll in aggressive turning anyway.
2. The problem is people like you want safety at the expense of the small car you hit, in Europe alot of time and money is invested on safety in designing the small cars, which isn't invested in the larger vehicles. So while the small car might get trashed easily its designed so the cabin wont collapse on your legs and cause you to get your leg amputated, basically if you crashed 2 small cars head on at 60 mph, and 2 SUV's at 60 mph, you'd be safer in the small car. So your relying on crashing into a small vehicle while your in a large one, which I think is tantamount to manslaughter, and at the very least is completely selfish. - waydee, on 09/06/2008, -0/+18Yes all over Europe there are constant accidents due to people having to wait 5 minutes for their car to get to 60mph, upon impact with another car (although never travelling at more than 80mph, after all this is Europe) the wooden chassis of these communist European automobiles shatters into pieces instantly killing the occupants.
Or it could be that the Fiesta is a small car primarily designed for young people, city dwellers and those who value fuel economy although perfectly able and safe to use on motorways. I do not know the exact figures but I'd guess the most common engine configurations will have it top out somewhere between 100 and 120mph, it gets up to speed just fine and has undergone independent Euro NCAP crash testing where it will have received at a minimum 4 and more likely 5 stars for crash safety (a car with less simply will not sell in the EU). - JAWS, on 09/06/2008, -5/+23Jesus, car manufacturers are retarded! They've been promising that diesel-hybrids are coming to Europe (Peugot) as soon as 2010 with an average of 82 mpg in city AND highway.
http://www.leftlanenews.com/peugeot-planning-82-mp ...
Why won't north Americans get over their preconceived notion that diesel's bad when done the right way. - DarkShroud, on 09/06/2008, -1/+19The US doesn't have the same public tansportation system that Europe does ever since our Trolleys were taken down by the car companies. Different country different problems.
- Nerys, on 09/06/2008, -0/+18I read that story about Mercedes going petrol free by 2015. I found the selection of that date to be fascinating. You see the only reason you and I are not driving an electric car right now is that the BATTERIES we need are protected by a patent and they (chevron) refuse to LICENSE the patent. So no batteries for us.
Take a wild guess as to what year that patent expires.... - BigManOnCampus, on 09/05/2008, -20/+37You should all RTFA. The reason Ford isn't selling this in the U.S. is solely the fault of government taxes on diesel fuel which make the fuel more expensive than gasoline. And these taxes were enacted by... (*drumroll*)... environmentalists back in the 1980's. They could make this car in the U.S. if they wanted to in a "New York minute", just a few months of retooling a single plant. They don't plan on it because they know it won't sell. This is one case of Ford being smart.
And, this is another case of Environmental whackos shooting themselves in the foot. - SilasTomorrow, on 09/06/2008, -4/+20Or how about that Americans WANTED these gas guzzlers? SUV sales were through the roof a few years back, and its not that easy to change your entire infrastructure. Short-sighted? Perhaps. But no reason to loathe them.
This hate towards the Big 3 confuses me. - inactive, on 09/06/2008, -0/+15"Why the ***** are trains so expensive in America?"
An unreasoned fear of socialism.
Because America has been ruled for most of it's existence by the extreme right wing ultra capitalists. We have no concept of a government that practices actual social responsibility. This has made us unable to do anything that doesn't maximize profit for a few people.
Europe understands that governments are supposed to help all of their constituents, not just their richest. That's why their communications, transportation and medical infrastructures are administered by governments and are far superior to those in the USA which are privately owned for the benefit of a few at the expense of all citizens. - waydee, on 09/06/2008, -3/+18So do we, yet I can still get a train from Edinburgh to Rome.
- zacharytelschow, on 09/05/2008, -5/+19It isn't a matter of should or shouldn't get this (what the heck kind of reasoning is that?), but rather if it would make business sense. With entrenched UAW workers, corportate tax rates of ~40%, and diesel vehicles having a bad reputation in the United States, evidently Ford doesn't think it makes business sense to sell this vehicle in the US right now.
- gtluke, on 09/06/2008, -4/+18and by profit do you mean the 8 billion dollars VW lost last year in the US?
- Fixhotep, on 09/06/2008, -0/+14That wasn't long ago. It was just 4 years ago or so...
- HappyScrappy, on 09/06/2008, -2/+15Wrong gallon, buddy.
- chicagospur, on 09/06/2008, -0/+13Bluetec and Bluemotion from VW, Mercedes, Audi and BMW beat the emissions standards, that's why they are selling them in the US now.
- floorman56, on 09/06/2008, -2/+15It is not that difficult to switch a plant from one vehicle to another.
If you worked for auto plant you would know thats not true
It cost 75 million and takes 2 years. and if you guess wrong about what kind of car will sell..... well....
http://www.treehugger.com/files/2008/08/ford-michi ... - scrtyfrk, on 09/06/2008, -1/+13"Ford plans to make a gas-powered version of the Fiesta in Mexico for the U.S"
So in usual Ford fashion, rip the heart of what makes the car great (the diesel engine) and produce an underpowered, underwhelming vehicle and destroy what could be a good car.
Unfortunately for diesel, the likes of Chrysler and their terrible implementation of diesel cars have really soured diesels in America. -
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