VernDiesel wrote:
That’s good work ShinerBock. Two thoughts. The average small diesel purchaser should be a person that puts on a lot more than the 16,550 miles per year average. And don’t most of us buy our DEF at truck stops at say an average of about 2.79 a gallon? Neither invalidates your good work or premise but seems noteworthy none the less.
I agree with you that the average diesel purchaser(like me) puts more miles on their vehicles than average. However, I am talking about half ton truck owners only. For most they would not see much of a cost savings to justify the negatives.
As I said before, these small diesels should not be confused with the HD truck diesels that generally have more power, more capability, and better towing performance than the gas version. The main benefit to these small diesels is fuel savings which in turn is costs savings. There is just not enough savings there for the average half ton truck owner to justify what they have to give up. If these small diesels were more powerful or had more capacity than their gas equivalent(like the HD truck diesels) then I can see justifying the the minimal savings or even no savings at all if that were the case.
For example, I would gladly pay more for my HD diesel over the gase version since it offers more benefits than just fuel economy savings. However, I would not pay more for my 328d since the only benefit versus the gas engine is fuel economy savings. If that fuel economy cost benefit were taken away from my 328d or was very minimal, then I would have gotten the gas engine 328i due to its added power and performance. I only drive the diesel version because it has a cost benefit for how much I drive and I am willing to sacrifice power and performance for that cost benefit.
Manufacturers are mainly producing these small diesels now to meet the more stringent upcoming Corporate Average Fuel Economy(CAFE) fuel mileage numbers, nothing more. They need to increase the mileage of their fleet or pay penalties so what better cost effective way to do it in such a short time period than with small diesel engines.
And I also get my DEF from the pumps, but based on the threads here and other forums, most diesel owners seem to get the jugs.
