Here are a few things that people have overlooked. A fuel filter for a gasoline car can last a long time; at least mine do. I get 50,000 or more miles and then a replacement costs 5 or 10 bucks. VW TDI diesels need a 25 to 35 dollar fuel filter every 20,000 miles if you want to follow the owner’s manual. This detracts from the economy of running a diesel. It will be interesting to see if the Cruze diesel will require similar fuel filter maintenance. VW TDI engine oil is also expensive at around 10 bucks per quart. The change interval is 10,000 miles but there are those who don’t believe that and will change the oil at 5000 miles. There goes more of the economy advantage.
My guess is that the Cruze will have a turbo. Who can say that the turbo will always last the life of the remainder of the car and its engine? Urea injection too? Stay tuned.
"Here are a few things that people have overlooked. A fuel filter for a gasoline car can last a long time; at least mine do. I get 50,000 or more miles and then a replacement costs 5 or 10 bucks. VW TDI diesels need a 25 to 35 dollar fuel filter every 20,000 miles if you want to follow the owner’s manual. "
What vehicle are you driving?? I haven’t seen a fuel filter in a modern fuel injection cost less then $15 in years…Some like my wifes 96 Accord cost $30.
As for longevity…They say it only needs replacing every 50k miles…But I replaced them once a year (about 25k miles on my wifes car) and every time I did…the filter was FILTHY…And those cheap filters for older non-fuel injected cars…I’d replace the filter twice a year and it was filthy too…
TSMB: “It is a misconception to believe that diesel engines inherantly last longer than gas engines. This perception comes from two sources, one that diesel parts are more robust due to the higher compression ratios used (they are) and two that semi truck engines seem to go on for a million miles.”
Semi truck engines usually go on for millions of miles, not a million. A truck with a million miles on the odometer is just about broken-in.
CSA, I didn’t think you were trying to mislead anybody. My scorn is for advertisers who do it deliberately. I thought you merely made a mistake and followed their lead.
Good question. It looks like the Aussie Holden Cruze Series II is available with three different powerplants. It’s hard to say whether or not the U.S. will have that diesel listed below.
2.0 litre turbo diesel engine
1.8 litre petrol engine
1.4 litre intelligent Turbo induction (iTi) petrol engine
Whitey, you’re sidestepping my point. Diesels in Peterbuilts cannot be compared to diesels in cars. Diesels in cars are not designed to be readily rebuilt in-chassis, are designed and built with weight having as great an influence as robustness (semi engine’s are designed to be robust and rebuildable, car diesels are designed with size and weight as primary design goals), and when discussing longevity semi engines cannot be used to predict the longevity of car diesels yields incorrect assumptons.
My point is that I keep hearing that diesels last for millions of miles when the subject is diesel cars, and it’s incorrect and based on erroneous assumptions. Diesels in cars have no longevity advantage over modern gas engines.
By the way, the truck may be just broken in at a million miles, but how many times have the cylinder sleeves been replaced?
I didn’t mean to sidestep your point. I was just addressing that one statement about a million miles. I get your point about the differences, but what I don’t understand is, if the diesels in semis are not the same as other diesel engines, why are they so popular for other fleet use, like in the Dodge/Mercedes/Freightliner Sprinter? It’s just a van, so why not use a gasoline engine in it if the benefits of diesel in non-semi use are so dubious?
I drove a company truck, so I can’t answer your question about the cylinder sleeves.
One is perception. Some people believe that diesels will last forever and some believe that diesels are less expensive to own.
Another is pulling power. If the vehicle is to be used for pulling farm trailers with farm equipment, product (like hay bales), and all the other heavy loads farmers pull, diesel has an advantage. Or if one will be pulling a 40 ft RV trailer, again the low end pulling power is advantageous.
Construction use. See above.
Another consideration pointed out to me by a guy who owned an excavating company is that all his equipment uses diesel and it was easier to just pull the pickup with the mounted tank on it to one pump and fill both the tank (used to fill the on-site equipment) and the truck itself up at the same pump.
And some people just like and prefer diesels.
I think Dodge somewhat changed perceptions too when it put the Catepillar engines in the Ram pickups. People became more accpting of diesels on larger vehicles.
Semi diesels are about four feet tall and weigh (with tranny) about 4000 pounds or more. Jessie James found this out on Monster Garage when he pulled the engine out of a Peterbuilt intending to make a two wheel motorcycle. When he realized the size and weight of the thing, he changed the plans to make a trike.
“CSA, I think you just made MCP’s point. It is misleading to quote only the highway MPG rating. Instead, you, and advertisers, should be quoting the overall MPG rating, which is a combination of city and highway driving, and falls somewhere between 28 and 42 MPG.”
I think all of you may be using the data improperly. The US Government tests vehicles the same way so that you can compare them. If the EPA highway mileage is better for one car than another and you drive mostly on the highway, you can be reasonably certain that your results will be similar. The similarity is in the difference in mileage and not necessarily the exact mileage. I suppose that some might think that the EPA mileage tests are an alien plot to steal your children’s minds, but that is obviously false. Hulu steals your children’s minds.
Oh, was there an original question?
I don’t think I’d buy one because I don’t need a commuter car at this time. As a commuter, this car could be a good buy, though. But whether or not it is a diesel depends on mow much of a premium Chevy charges. If it is more than a 5 year payback, I wouldn’t do it.
Also, young folks that need a reliable, inexpensive car to operate might be all over this. My kids all like our 2009 Cobalt and the oldest has already said that she wants to buy a Cruze as her first car.
"Another consideration pointed out to me by a guy who owned an excavating company is that all his equipment uses diesel and it was easier to just pull the pickup with the mounted tank on it to one pump and fill both the tank (used to fill the on-site equipment) and the truck itself up at the same pump. "
Most construction and excavating companies that I am familiar with buy un-taxed diesel (dyed red) for the non highway equipment. Just don’t let the cops catch you with red diesel in your truck’s fuel tank.
I see that a fuel filter for our 09 Cobalt is about 20 bucks at RockAuto so I stand corrected. The last fuel filter I bought was for a 96 Cavalier. RockAuto has one for $2.26.