JWiner

With all of the speculation as to what the next generation TSX will offer, I think some of you might find this interesting...

This was posted on my companies intranet message board today (Large automotive supplier in Metro-Detroit).

"Honda Plans to Equip Large Vehicles with Diesel Engine
Honda is planning to equip large vehicles with a V-6 diesel engine in North America, according to Nikkei. The new diesel engine vehicle will arrive at dealerships during 2010. Vehicles that will be equipped with the engine include the Odyssey minivan, Pilot SUV, Ridgeline pickup truck, and the luxury Acura line. The automaker is developing a 3.5 liter diesel engine. (Auto Business News)"

"And the luxury Acura line" - Could the TSX be included? A Turbo Diesel 6 like the one in the Jetta TDI would be SWEET!

Coincidentally this article was published in "Automotive News" today:

"GM Plans Diesel Car in the U.S.
DETROIT -- General Motors plans to put diesel engines in Cadillac and Saturn cars in the United States by 2010. GM confirmed it will use the fuel-saving diesel engine on U.S. passenger cars, crossovers and light-duty trucks during a video blog by Vice Chairman Bob Lutz on GM's Web site, http://fastlane.gmblogs.com GM sources say the automaker will show a diesel engine at the Frankfurt auto show in September on an e-flex Opel Vectra. In GM's e-flex powertrain, a traditional engine such as a diesel or gasoline engine, recharges a battery pack that provides power for an electric motor. GM will show the same variant at the Detroit auto show in January on a Saturn, most likely the Aura sedan."

Toyota's response??? Also on our intranet news board:

"Toyota's U.S. Chief Says the Future Will Be All Hybrid
Toyota Motor Corp.'s North American chief said vehicles powered by gasoline-electric hybrid engines will dominate U.S. roads as fuel prices continue to rise. "Eventually, everything will be a hybrid," said Jim Press, president of Toyota Motor North America. So far this year, hybrids have accounted for just 2.3 percent of all cars and light trucks sold in the U.S. while demand has grown by 60 percent. Toyota sells three out of every five hybrids purchased in the U.S., most of them Prius models. Toyota executives have said they expect at least 175,000 Prius hybrids to be sold in North America this year, up from about 109,000 in 2006. (Detroit News)"

Looks like it will be a battle of Diesel vs. Hybrid in the near future.

I would hypothesize:
Hybrids: Toyota and Ford
Diesels: GM and Honda
Hemi's: Chrysler

Trackruner228

iTrader: (1)

Diesels > Hybrids

Look at the facts.

-Hybrids are new technology, there is no way to see how long lasting they are.
-For the extra amount of gas it saves you, you pay extra for the hybrid part
-The batterys in them alone are thousands of dollars.

-Diesels have a long history of going 200k+ miles.
-Diesels normally dont have that much of a premium over gas engines
-Gas mileage is just as good if not better then hybirds with having good amounts of power

I would much rather Honda/Acura go Diesel then hybrid.

rb1

Note that the Jetta TDI's so far have been 1.9 or 2.0L I-4's...

LuvMyTSX

The next few years will be interesting for sure. I just hope they stick the V6 diesel in the TSX instead of the 4. I want the fuel economy a diesel provides, but some performance also. The 4 banger diesel is a bit slow.

jlukja

Diesels have good low end torque, which is what the TSX lacks.

rb1

This is true, but they also have crazy narrow power bands by TSX standards. The party is literally over at 4500 RPM (and torque rolls off typically from 3500 RPM and up).

To compensate, the gearing in diesels is comparatively very tall to what you used to -- think of the MT having taller gear ratios than the current AT. It's not unusual for them to be geared to turn around 2000 RPM at 65 mph.

The tall gearing offsets the torque advantage to some extent, but then the motors routinely produce 250-300 lb-ft, so there is still much improvement at the low end of the range.

mrgold35

I would like to see a diesel/hybrid mix with a CVT/DSG tranny. The electric motors could assist in 0-60 times and the diesel would provide better MPGs and improved highway cruising because of the torque.

Maybe 55-65 mpg on combined driving for non-turbo diesel hybrid TSX and 35-45 combined driving for the turbo diesel hybrid TSX.

Diesel $2.75 gal in NM
91 octane $ 3.18 gal in NM