Diesel Mazda6

In reply to SVreX:Skyactive-D Miata?

Hmmm... we honestly didn't ask about the Miata, so I may have over-stated.

Skyactiv is the entire product line. It's their manufacturing philosophy, so yes, it includes the Miata.

I did not specifically ask about the diesel. Perhaps Skyactiv-G Miata, but who knows!

We were making extensive inquiries regarding the 4 door cars and overlooked the Miata details in our quest for information about the people movers.

However the GTU 2nd gen RX7 is not for sale..... damit

So is the 2 well and truly gone then?

I started a website which will hopefully become a resource for diesel powered Mazda's. Still working on it but it's operational.

www.dieselzoomzoom.com

I still have a soft spot for my 12v cummins, I doubt there will ever be a diesel engine as reliable. Unfortunately everything around the motor was a piece of crap. This diesel6 is absolutely on my radar

There is no indication that the Miata will have the diesel anytime soon.

Question answered by staff at Daytona

I just read this article, and it's a little disappointing.

http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1089587_2015-mazda-6-diesel-sedan-further-delayed-company-says

In reply to Mr_Clutch42:

I don't understand how the perceived performance can't be remedied via gear ratios, toss a 6 spd in it with short 1-4 and near 1:1 5th and super tall (.64-.69) 6th.

Yeah, really. Especially since you can market it as the Green Zoom-Zoom car so the masses won't expect Mazdaspeed 6 performance from it. Plus, the diesel would have good mid-range performance, so just talk about that. The article says that the Mazda 3 has the diesel available, but that's incorrect.

Jag is putting a diesel in it's midsize sport sedan. Not risky at all, right? It runs 15s in the 1/4 mile with only 180hp. It wasn't that long ago that sedans BECAME sporty almost solely by running 15s. Hell, a diesel mazda6 will probably get through the 1/4 mile about as fast as the old TSX everyone seemed to love, and the 6 isn't even a 'premium' car.

I think the 'mazda appropriate performance' thing is a total copout.

Mr_Clutch42 wrote: Yeah, really. Especially since you can market it as the Green Zoom-Zoom car so the masses won't expect Mazdaspeed 6 performance from it.

I don't think marketing a diesel as "green" makes sense when diesels are most associated with soot-puking piles of crap that are probably on the EPA's 10 Most Wanted list.

In reply to Knurled:

Where have you been hiding??

Google search for "Green diesel cars"

Not fair that they can race this in the USA and not bring us a D powerplant in a production car.

In reply to SVreX:

I'm just going by perception. Big trucks making huge clouds of soot, vs. efficient looking little egg cars that are hybrid or all-electric and don't even make any noise in traffic. Which appears to be more enviro-friendly?

The internet claims to love diesels, but in reality, a tiny, tiny fraction of them will actually go out and buy a new diesel car.

Meanwhile, the American car-buying audience largely remembers diesel cars as slow, smoky and noisy--from the early 80's. They have zero knowledge of the progress of clean diesels.

As a result, diesel cars are still a tiny fraction of total car sales here.

In reply to gamby:

I would say the downfall of diesel sales numbers is availability. For passenger cars, until the cruise came out, VW was the only non-premium diesel car available.

gamby wrote: The internet claims to love diesels, but in reality, a tiny, tiny fraction of them will actually go out and buy a new diesel car. Meanwhile, the American car-buying audience largely remembers diesel cars as slow, smoky and noisy--from the early 80's. They have zero knowledge of the progress of clean diesels. As a result, diesel cars are still a tiny fraction of total car sales here.

The internet is a big place.

Your statement is basically true in the US, but falls completely flat in Europe.

Since they both get the same internet, I would suggest there is a different cause.

I think there needs to be a bit of a "build and they will come" mentality among automakers.

Hybrids weren't mainstream either, until Toyota took the risk and played all-in on the Prius.

It's not the job of the buyers to be the innovators. It's the job of the manufacturers to build something that people CAN fall in love with.

Companies are failing to deliver a fabulous product, and failing to use the internet for what it is best at- communicating about the merits of their wonderful product.

American manufacturers are too often followers and not visionary leaders. If one of them put a tiny fraction of their marketing power into a diesel presence like Elon musk has put into the Tesla image, it would be hard for it to not be a win.

Europe = Diesel is 50-70% as much as gasoline

US = Diesle is 120-200% as much as gasoline

Also, Euro emissions laws tend to be a LOT more slack than the US's.