A second-generation Chevrolet Cruze Diesel is in the works for the US market, and according to Automotive News, GM will use the car to try and claim some of Volkswagen’s old market share.
Volkswagen, of course, found itself at the wrong end of controversy when it was discovered that its diesel-fueled US vehicles were equipped with emissions “defeat devices” which allowed them to pass EPA testing, while not being compliant on the road.
“There are a lot of diesel intenders and diesel-loyal people who are looking for a brand and vehicles to go after,” says GM Vice President of Global Propulsion Systems Dan Nicholson, General Motors’ vice president for global propulsion systems. “They tend to be more tech savvy than the average customer. And they won’t stop wishing for a diesel. And we’ll go after those customers.”
While it could be assumed that Volkswagen’s diesel emissions scandal ruined the market for diesel equipped cars in the US, Nicholson disagrees. “I think the U.S. is one of the few diesel growth markets on the planet,” says Nicholson. “I am very optimistic about the diesel market in the U.S. It has been abandoned by others and we are happy to step in and be the leader. Frankly that’s what we’d like to do.”
The new, second-generation Chevy Cruze Diesel is expected to become available sometime in 2017, featuring an Opel-developed, 1.6-liter oil-burner that GM says is uncommonly quiet. In fact, the engine has been dubbed “Flüstern,” which is German for “Whisper.”
Comments
Hatchback + Diesel Cruze will be a very tempting car. Hopefully manual too…
General Motors vs VW as this is like the old story of the Tortoise an the Hare of yesteryear; VW cheated to get diesel domination around the world and will now spend tens of $Billions to buy back cars that do not meat clear air requirements while GM took the conservative and more expensive approach which was to integrate ‘Urea Injection’ to get NOX emissions and it’s General Motors who will be laughing all the way to the bank as the 2017 Chevy Cruze Diesel will offer mileage only achievable by hybrids.
My 2015 jetta has DEF so you are wrong about VW. Learn to research vehicle model years before spreading false information.
That’s the price VW pays for their reputation being tarnished. People assume the worst and why wouldn’t they? GM has it’s own reputation battles it fights as we all know.
Not the first time Volkswagen and “false information” have appeared in the same sentence!
And your 2015 Jetta with DEF was still flagged for having a defeat device.
And I still average 49mpg.
Yes, by cheating.
I still own a vehicle with a better reliability rating that’s been a major diesel player for decades. GM is just now coming back to the passenger car diesel market after the horrible Olds 350 diesel ruined it for them for 20 yrs.
As a diesel tech I understand diesel emissions are much cleaner than gas due to the higher compression leading to a cleaner burn. People also need to realize 487K TDI’s spread across the country does not make a negative dent in air quality.
The government does not want our next generation vehicles to run on fossil fuels as they continue to push for electric/alternate power while making it harder for combustion engines to pass emissions. They know these engines will never get to zero so they keep lowering and lowering till your at near zero and the cost to produce an efficient and clean engine becomes so great the automakers abandon them and go the alternate route. They know with diesel engines the fuel mileage matches and can exceed that you would get in a hybrid if they quit trying to kill this better performing engine.
I would rather have a 10 cent swing at the pump with diesel than a 35 cent swing with gas.
Know what The VW TDi was a good vehicle, too bad VW cheated, I feel cheated, I doubt my 2010 can be ‘fixed’ with software it has no erea system and only a DPF. So mine will probably be bought out…NOT HAPPY with this.
I’d almost like to say ‘screw it’ and just keep my vehicle because they can’t enforce the buy-back.
I’m looking at alternatives as VW will no longer offer a TDi or Hybrid. I want good mileage…sorry 30 MPG is crap in today’s world.
I’ll consider Chevy’s 2017 Cruze, I don’t have 35K for a Volvo/MB/BMW diesel. I want a diesel, failing that maybe a hybrid and NOT a Prius, I have driven one and they are horrible cars, Toyoya is peddling their own lies about saving the world 1 Prius at a time… the high carbon footprint and exotic metals used for the batteries is NOT good for the environment and not very bio-degradable.
Chevys numbers look nice, let’s hope it pans out…the first Chevy Cruze didn’t get it’s quoted mileage.