FCA(Marchionne) says diesel is dead

Bedlam wrote:

Bobbo wrote:
I want to preface this by saying I have never owned a diesel. However, from the reading I have done, it seems to me that one of the major draws of a diesel over a gasser is the high torque at lower RPM's. My Ford 3.5l EcoBoost engine produces 375 hp at 5,000 RPM, but it has its maximum torque much lower. It produces 470 lb-ft of torque at 2250 to 3500 RPM. I can get the diesel-like low range torque without the front end expense of a diesel, the higher maintenance costs, the astronomical repair costs, and the higher fuel costs. Sure, it gets lower mpg, but that is a trade off I am willing to accept. On top of that, it has 2 turbochargers that reduce the power loss at altitude for those times I am in the Rocky Mountains.

The advantage of diesel for me is the steady torque curve. Even when I had a little naturally aspirated model with less than 60 hp, it was capable of towing my fiberglass travel trailer through the Sierra Nevada's. I compare gas to diesel like a 2-stroke to 4-stroke: the two stroke has a lot of potential at higher revolutions in a narrow band, while the four stroke has less peak and spreads power over wider band. The 4-stroke attributes seem to follow this comparison against a diesel. Once forced induction is introduced, smaller displacement is required to make the same power and power can be generated at lower revolutions - This doesn't matter what type of engine is being boosted.

I believe the EcoBoost is a great alternative to diesel and the current 3.5 and 2.7 engines make great low rpm pulling power. I predict Fords new 3.0PSD will sell, but in much lower volume because the grocery getters will start screaming when forced drives down the road to regen the dpf starts getting old.