Subaru have a diesel Forester in testing at the moment and they are very keen to bring it into production!

 

Lets hope they make it along the lines of a quicker revving engine like the Golf and not slow revving like most 4x4 diesel motors. The TDi Golf is a brilliant little car, I rate it as my favourite small car value wise.

 

I can also add that Diesel is more expensive than Petrol in Australia as well.

 

Gools

I am now the proud owner of an older VW turbo diesel, and I can say that the fuel economy is just phenominal. I'm not quite sure yet how to get the best mileage, but I do think 55 MPG is in my future(straight piped exhaust, different tranny). These things hold their value very well as fuel prices rise, I paid $3200 for a '92 with 158k miles on it, roughly double the book value. That fuel economy comes at a price though, 59 HP!! The newer TDI's are much more refined and powerful but not as reliable. My Jetta is one of the last made in Germany Jettas, and it's extremely rare. It does need some work though, I think I have a curse regarding head gaskets.

 

If Subaru brings a diesel to market it will most likely not be available in NY anyway, so I would probably have to buy one on eBay like I did my VW. I won't be interested in the first couple of years of production at least, so that puts the purchase of a used Subaru diesel out at least 5 years for us. I anticipate our next vehicle purchase might be a Jeep Liberty diesel or a VW Passat Wagon 2.0 TDI. Biodiesel is just too easy to produce, and at $0.70 cents a gallon I see no reason to keep buying gassers. I haven't started producing biodiesel yet but I hope to fiddle around with it soon. I need to find a source for some of the chemicals required.

 

I should say that for the time being at least I am very skeptical of hybrids considering the simplicity and fuel economy of diesels. I know a well cared for diesel can last 300k - 500k miles, but I'm not so sure of the hybrids yet. I am much more interested in Subaru working on diesel rather than hybrid technology, even if the enviro-weanies in NY won't let me buy one the easy way.

i don't know any answers to your questions... but... it seems to me that the amount of torque coming from as diesel would torque your little unibody in half if you pegged it. just a thought....

 

That's the whole idea man. Better economy + gobs of torque =

Right now I am working with a project to build three hydrogen fueling stations here in San Mateo County.We aren't sure what we will run on it yet but if you check www.h2carco.com you can see some of the vehicles we are looking at. This will be fleet testing with a few shuttles and city cars to start with. I worked on electric car and shuttle projects a few years ago and that went down the tubes.We have also tried propane, CNG,and now I am phaseing out my diesels except for the larger equipment where there is no alternative.

About California: I went to the Mercedes dealer to see if they were selling the new 320CDI since I was told that they wouldn't be sold here at all. Well, CA, NY and 3 other backwards states have banned the ultra clean burning diesel that pumps out 369 lb. ft. and gets 37 mpg, but not good ol Oregon (ha!) When will the "environmentalists" learn? My Loyale is i burning rag soaked in raw kerosene compared to any new diesel VW or Mercedes. I think if Subaru sold a long stroke diesel engine it would sell like crazy. Top it off with a standard d/r 5 speed, manual windows, and air-conditioning as an OPTION and I bet plenty of USMB members would sell a kidney to get their hands on one.