+ Diesel. Diesel. Rah! Rah! Rah!

Selling the Love of Diesel
Truth is, the American perception of diesel engines is that they’re dirty, noisy, and problematic. Besides the plumes of stinky black stuff that spew from tractor-trailer vertical exhaust pipes on the highway, it seems that the horrible disaster-prone diesel engines General Motors (GM) foisted on the public in the late 1970s — they were converted from regular gas engines — left a dark cloud hanging over diesel for some time. But diesels have changed since then, and it’s up to manufacturers to convince U.S. buyers (see BW, 2/20/06, “Diesel Gets Cleaner and Greener”).

The auto maker talking up diesels the most is DaimlerChrysler (DCX). That’s only natural, since the company is well invested in diesel engines in Europe, where they make up nearly 50% of new-car sales. Mercedes-Benz’s system, called BlueTec — available in the U.S. later this year in the E-Class — uses a catalytic converter and special filters to reduce harmful nitrogen-oxide emissions to levels more acceptable to the Environmental Protection Agency and the persnickety California Air Resources Board. And the diesel gets 40% greater miles per gallon than Mercedes’ conventional gasoline engine.

“A DIRTY WORD.” Chrysler vehicles sold in Europe, such as the Dodge Magnum, Town & Country minivan, and Jeep Liberty, will also offer a version of BlueTec. And it’s a short jump to get those vehicles to the U.S., says Joe Eberhard, Chrysler’s sales and marketing chief. “We are big believers in diesel as part of the solution in America, but it’s a big marketing challenge,” explains Eberhard, who plans to spur interest through media relations and events at which consumers can drive the cars and sniff the tailpipe.

Sounds good, but don’t forget advertising. Diesel versions of Mercedes, Jeep, and Volkswagen vehicles have always gotten scant ad support, and for pretty good reason: Until now, all three companies could sell all the diesels they could reasonably bring to the U.S. with just a few print ads and direct mailings to the already diesel-savvy consumer. VW, which has long sold diesel Golfs and Jettas, and sometimes New Beetles and Passats, has been by far the perennial diesel leader in the U.S.

But VW doesn’t even utter the word “diesel” in ads, calling them instead TDI, as in Jetta TDI. “It’s literally been a dirty word in the U.S.,” says Volkswagen head of production Wolfgang Bernhard, who was previously chief operating officer of Chrysler Group and championed the introduction of a diesel Jeep Liberty in the U.S.

For all the boosting of diesel done by the Germans, who are well vested in trying to sell the engines they have in Europe to U.S. consumers, what this much-maligned fuel needs to win acceptance from a reluctant U.S. consumer is for the Japanese to put their green imprint on it. Honda Motor (HMC), for one, is poised to help diesel along. Honda says it will bring four-cylinder diesel engines to the U.S. for some of its vehicles (probably the Civic and CRV models), beginning in 2010.

HONDA’S TRACK RECORD. For those unfamiliar with Honda and what makes it tick, this company is foremost an engine outfit. It’s arguably the most brilliant engine company in the industry, so much so that it decided decades ago to build more products — motorcycles, scooters, cars, generators, lawn mowers, snowblowers, boat engines, and the like — to provide surer markets for its wonderfully efficient engines.

Honda, which now sells three hybrid vehicles, says it has no plans to roll out any more, that it’s not marching to Toyota Motor’s (TM) strategy of a hybrid for every Toyota and Lexus it markets. Honda is so green and frugal it has for years turned down its frustrated American colleagues who want Honda to offer a V8 engine for the Honda Ridgeline pickup and Acura RL luxury sedan. Nothing doing. Honda’s V6, go the responses from Japan, is plenty of performance for anyone. So, it’s significant that Honda is bringing diesel to the U.S. (see BW Online, 9/15/05, “Hybrids or Diesels? Probably Both”).