Earlier this year at the 2008 Detroit Auto Show, Honda CEO Takeo Fukui announced that 2009 would see Honda's first clean diesel engine to be sold in the USA. Though it was stated that the diesel engine would appear in an undisclosed Acura model, it was all but common knowledge that the TSX would be the first model to get the diesel engine.

Fast forward nearly 10 months, and we've received word that the i-DTEC TSX has been delayed indefinitely (if not cancelled outright). According to anonymous sources, while the 6MT version of the i-DTEC TSX has successfully cleared emissions certification, the automatic-equipped version has been unable to pass certification. According to these sources, Acura decided that the demand for a TSX diesel would be greatly compromised if it were only offered with a 6-speed manual, so they decided to put the TSX diesel on indefinite hold.

That's the bad news. The good news is that a V-6 version is said to be coming soon. We're still seeking any details we can uncover on that powertrain.

An anonymous poster on the MotorTrend forums is claiming that Honda has not been able to pass emissions certification with the automatic transmission TSX diesel.

Honda Reevaluates Timing for Diesel Autos in U.S. (Update2)

By Alan Ohnsman

Oct. 29 (Bloomberg) -- Honda Motor Co., the world's largest engine maker, said it's reconsidering its target of starting sales of diesel-powered autos in the U.S. next year.

``We're still evaluating diesel fuel price trends and raw- material costs,'' David Iida, a spokesman for the Tokyo-based company's U.S. unit, said in an interview today. Honda hasn't set a date for selling such vehicles, he said.

President Takeo Fukui said in January at the Detroit auto show that an Acura model using Honda's i-DTEC diesel engine would arrive in the U.S. in 2009. That engine probably will be available first on the Acura TSX sport sedan, a U.S. version of Honda's European Accord, which already offers a diesel model.

Honda has said its engine will be among the cleanest diesels sold in the U.S. and will be able to meet air-pollution rules in California that now limit sales of such models. While diesel offers about 30 percent higher mileage than gasoline, the fuel costs an average of $3.39 a gallon in the U.S., compared with $2.59 for gasoline, according to motorist group AAA.

Japan's Nikkei English News reported earlier that Honda would put off sales of such cars in the U.S. and Japan until at least 2010, citing a company executive who wasn't identified. The delay is the result of difficulties in reducing costs to make the engines, Nikkei said.

Honda's American depositary receipts rose $2.19, or 9.6 percent, to $24.94 at 4:02 p.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. They have declined 25 percent this year.

Note: Reprinted with permission from Ward's Auto World

By Christie Schweinsberg
WardsAuto.com, Oct 30, 2008 10:29 AM


Honda Motor Co. Ltd.’s plan to bring a diesel-equipped Acura TSX to the U.S. next year is dead before arrival.

“The (diesel in the) Acura has been canceled,” a source familiar with the program tells Ward’s.

A report in the Japanese business daily Nikkei News today says Honda will delay launching a diesel engine in the U.S. until 2010 or later.

A rumor, published this week on the “Temple of VTEC,” a Honda enthusiasts’ website, claims the engine did not meet U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s emissions standards when tested with an automatic transmission.

The diesel-powered TSX equipped with a manual gearbox reportedly passed muster, but Honda rejected the business case to make the vehicle available in the U.S. without an automatic.

American Honda Motor Co. Inc. declines comment.

Honda first announced plans to bring a diesel engine to the U.S. in May 2006. It later was revealed the engine would be the i-DTEC 4-cyl. turbodiesel, already available in the European Honda Accord that is sold in the U.S. as the Acura TSX.

CEO Takeo Fukui, speaking at the 2008 North American International Auto Show in Detroit, said Honda’s first vehicle to feature a diesel engine in the U.S. would be an Acura model. At the show, the auto maker displayed an i-DTEC mill in a glass case at the Acura stand.

While Fukui declined to reveal which model would receive the diesel, sources say it was intended to power the TSX midsize sedan.

Fukui was bullish on his company’s diesel plans, which were to include the Honda brand at the time, saying the business case suggested “an appropriate profit level,” despite the price premium applied to diesel fuel. He also forecast eventual annual U.S. sales of 150,000 units.

Allen Schaeffer, executive director of the non-profit diesel-advocacy group, Diesel Technology Forum, expresses surprise at the notion Honda did not foresee testing problems.

In terms of performance and emissions achievements, we’ve seen data presented at technical conferences that (Honda) could make this system work,” Schaeffer says. “People don’t make those kinds of announcements without expecting to meet emissions standards.”

To meet stringent Tier 2, Bin 5 EPA emissions standards, Honda said it would use a catalytic converter to reduce oxides of nitrogen, instead of introducing urea to the engine exhaust – a strategy employed by most European auto makers.

Recent months have proven difficult for U.S. diesel enthusiasts. The cancellation of the Acura program is the latest in a string of pullbacks.

In September, Chrysler LLC admitted it was postponing plans to market a Jeep Grand Cherokee SUV equipped with a Mercedes Bluetec diesel engine.

Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A. Inc.’s Jim Lentz later said the auto maker was reviewing its strategy to bring a diesel engine to market in its Tundra fullsize pickup truck and Sequoia large SUV.

Both Chrysler and Toyota cite the high cost of diesel fuel as a problem, as well as the added expense of the emissions technology necessary to meet EPA requirements.

Despite diesel fuel prices that topped $5 per gallon in the U.S. during the summer, a top American Honda official was high on diesel’s arrival in Acura’s lineup as recently as July, insisting the math still worked in the auto maker’s favor.

“The (fuel) efficiency (of a diesel engine) is greater than the price differential, so it still makes some sense,” Dan Bonawitz, vice president-corporate planning and logistics, said at the time.

Diesel Technology Forum’s Schaeffer says there is light at the end of the tunnel, citing more diesel-equipped vehicles than ever on their way to the U.S. in the months ahead.

“This year, we’re looking at the BMW 3-Series (and) X5 (and) Audi Q7 coming,” he says of future diesel-equipped models. Volkswagen AG’s success with the Jetta TDI also is proof diesel has a future in the U.S. “There are waiting lists for that vehicle,” he says.

“Diesel fuel prices are moderating in some parts of California,” adds Schaeffer, noting a gallon of diesel costs less there than a gallon of gasoline. “We’re seeing the fuel trends go the right way.”