Good article. $2700 diesel Premium according to that source, which when added to the delta between diesel and gas prices will give you an approximation of how much it will cost you to drive an oil burner. That's being VERY generous to the diesel crowd's cost arguments, because you can buy a base Cruze for $17,000 and a Base diesel package is more like $25,000 - but, like Toyota, Chevy diddles with packages and makes you buy stuff you don't need to get the one thing you think that you gotta have. This is presuming no maintenance differences, which is another LARGE concession to the diesel devotees, but for now don't know = don't know. I will throw one tidbit to the bunny-huggers out there, some of which are actually sincere in their beliefs. They don't make much bio-diesel in the Middle East or Russia, and while I'm thoroughly unconvinced that the carbon throughput is much "better" with french fry oil (or animal fat ) it's very clear that somebody could defend the new Chevy oil burner as a legitimate tool in diversifying America's energy resources, so I wouldn't have any qualms about dot.gov giving a little kickback money for bio-diesel which in some areas is about 15 centavos more than dino-diesel (already more expensive than petrol in the US.) As always.....when dot.gov picks winners whiners and losers, they're a blunt instrument......but hey.....it's not a fair world, is it? I can therefore, at least respect a properly framed argument made by SOME Earth-Loving diesel fans.....but COST???? No way, No day one of these is cheaper than a petrol Cruze, even if you can keep one running long enough and bend numbers hard enough to make it look like something close to an even-money proposition......
Source: GM Betting Diesel Vehicles Will Win Over Former Volkswagen Customers General Motors will be offering 10 Chevrolet and GMC vehicles by 2018 with diesel engines as it seeks to fill a gap left vacated by VW’s emissions cheating scandal. Bob Wilson
When comparing the cost of the diesel compared to the gasoline model, the depreciation shouldn't be ignored. Diesel models tend to hold their value better compared to the gasoline one.
Cruze reliability has sucked big time. According to stats on power-train problems in over 1.2M US trade-ins the Cruze has had "Chronic Reliability Issues". Chevrolet Cruze Reliability - Dashboard Light It gets traded in at less than half the average mileage of other cars. (less than 58K miles!) TrueDelta agrees that the Cruze requires a lot of repairs: Reliability by Model Generation | TrueDelta Looking at Cruze repairs on TrueDelta, I see a lot of diesel -specific problems: diesel exhaust pump and DEF injectors $1600, DEF tank sensor, DEF tank heater, particulate sensor, NOx sensor. The Cruze diesel will not deliver good reliability. Cars with good fuel mileage such as hybrids and diesels appeal to people who drive a lot of miles every year. Those people need, not only low fuel usage but also low maintenance and good reliability. Prius delivers on all counts. Cruze does not. I consider "renewable diesel" fuel arguments to be a crock. It's like FlexFuel. Hardly anyone uses it so it is irrelevant with respect to environmental benefit. Cruze diesel combined fuel efficiency is middling at best. It is unreliable. Its NOx emissions might pass the test but are still 5 times higher than a Prius. The price of the Cruze diesel hatchback will not likely be significantly lower than a Prius. It's a non-starter.
Depreciation only goes one way..... It might "statistically suck less" than a gas burner, but what happens if the new four banger is almost as much of a lemon as the last time that Generous Motors shoved a diesel into a four-door? Or........there's another emissions scandal? Or......they just plain don't sell. Or......there's recall....after recall....after recall. In addition to all of the other costs, GM should add a "free state switch" to the car allowing the owner to hard clear the CEL (for maybe 1000 miles) for any emissions fault that does not indicate a decline in the health of the motor - or at least cover the emissions components (diagnostics, parts, labor, and loaner!) for 500,000 miles to allow the owner to recoup some of the diesel premium. Other than that???? No thanks. Don't see the advantage in risking $25,000 for one when you can get a Volt or a Prime for the same money.
Long term, we have to switch to more renewable fuels just like we will switch to plug ins. If those renewable fuels end being diesel, then it would be a good thing GM and BMW continued to invest in improving the technology for cleaner engines. The diesel in the Cruze is going into the new Equinox. Diesels in that segment might become the preferred solution to the public over hybrids. The same is even more likely for heavier trucks. Looks like in 2020, the F150 will have its current gasoline ICE options plus a small block diesel and hybrid. Ford sold over 800k pick ups last year, 20202 sales figures for the drive trains will be interesting.
saw a ford f-350 pick up in yesterdays wsj. $80,000. and they said there is a tax credit for anyone using it for more than 50% business.
One thing I don't recall being mentioned is fuel maintenance, which adds a small extra to the cost of ownership. Driving diesels before switching to batteries, there were items I learned to keep in the trunk. I always used fuel additives, Winter formula and Summer formula, to protect the fuel system, a bottle of Diesel 911, just in case and last of all, a spare fuel filter along with the tools to change it. You never knew when you were going to get a tank of rot gut.
Usage rate is generally about 2% of fuel consumption. So for a Cruze diesel, about one gallon of DEF per 2,000 miles. DEF is available at Wal-Mart for $7.99 for 2.5 gallons. It's also available in bulk at truck stops for about $2.69/gallon.
So DEF less than a penny a mile. $3.0 per gallon /2000 +$.0015. So DEF is an inconvenience item, not a cost compared to other costs.
I agree, DEF is not a big cost but it is a diesel unique maintenance item. Not horrible, it is another thing diesel owners get to enjoy. Bob Wilson
Now consider oil change frequency/cost differences. And a pure diesel's brake pad replacement intervals/costs are liable to be different from a hybrid. (think you can tell I'm consumer economics interested?)
Clearly there must be factors besides consumer economics and lowest cost of ownership that led to people buying their diesels
There is a mental factor, the perception of less consumption (less litres/100km or more MPG) than the gasoline counterparts.
With Toyota sticking to the simple miles or time formula to determine time to change the oil they use for all their cars for their hybrids, the Chevy diesel might cost less in oil changes, depending on use. Rear drums seem to last forever, no matter the car type. Front discs will need more frequent maintenance.
