Diesel in the US

[picklehead]

Hi all,

My wife finally had to say goodbye to her 17 year old jeep grand cherokee last month due to a hole in the frame rail. I got her to try out an xc 60, a grand cherokee, an x3, and finally on a whim the mercedes glk 250 bluetec diesel. Believe it or not, she ended up choosing the diesel, this little SUV is a torque monster delivering 369 foot pounds of torque at 1600 rpm. Although she enjoyed driving the xc 60, it just did not stand a chance after the dealer let her drive the mercedes for a weekend. After a month of driving the GLK, she is averaging over 30 mpg in combined driving and has had a few highway runs with over 40 MPG. My question is do you think that volvo might bring a diesel to the US now that several manufacturers are putting out diesels this year. My 2003 xc 70 has 170,000 miles on it and I have every intention of getting her to 300,000 miles, so I have some time before I am in the market again.

Very Respectfully,

Jim Miller

[acools]

Jim,

I've had conversations with VCNA on this topic.

Volvo is a lower volume producer than Audi and Mercedes and can't really justify the expense of having their diesel certified for the US market.
I was told they see a better opportunity with direct-injection gasoline engines with turbo- and super-charging as well as electrification.
I am not holding my breath.

Best Regards,

Andres

[picklehead]

Thanks for the information Andres. As I said, I still probably have 10 years before I have to think about replacing my XC 70. However, maybe Volvo will rethink the diesel. In the meantime my wife's little diesel is proving to be very impressive.

Very Respectfully,

Jim Miller