Five SUVs We Can't Have in America

[Hawkmoon]

Probably not :(

I knew a guy that had a GM V-6 diesel in a 1978 F-250 

It was a low-rider in the front 

It sounded like a real truck and looked like a small forest fire when he started it 

Conversely -- several years ago my wife and I visited Macchu Picchu in Peru. Our route of travel took us from the north of Chile into the south of Peru en route. To cross the border, we left our vehicle in a car park in Arica (Chile) and took a car operated by a border crossing "expeditor" to Tacna (Peru), from where we proceeded by bus.

The interesting part of this (in the current context) is that the expeditor's car was a Ford Crown Victoria -- and it was a three-on-the-tree and very visibly and audibly a diesel. I asked the expeditor how that came to be, and she said the Crown Vics are imported from the U.S. and then locally converted using Nissan diesel engines and transmissions.

[Boomhauer]

The EPA hates diesels because they make stuff like hybrids, ethanol, etc look extremely stupid.

[Regolith]

Unfortunately, most of the people who buy 4wds these days are city idiots 

Or, as my brother calls them, citiots.

[roo_ster]

The EPA hates diesels because they make stuff like hybrids, ethanol, etc look extremely stupid.

Only because they are.

I'd love me a 1/2 ton PU with a small v8 or decent v6 diesel, manual tranny, 4 doors, rubber floor, vinyl seats.

[Tuco]

At least one platform on the list isn't importable because of it's lack of srs.  Diesel power has nothing to do with it.


Outrage at the EPA needs to be redirected towards the National Transportation Safety regulators.  The same jackbooted thugs who have saddled us with heinous liabilities such as seat belts, safety glass, and the cumbersome 5 mph bumper.

[zxcvbob]

I'd love me a 1/2 ton PU with a small v8 or decent v6 diesel, manual tranny, 4 doors, rubber floor, vinyl seats.

4 or 5 cylinders is plenty for a 1/2 ton.  Maybe even 3, but that's pushing it. 

I like my automatic transmission (I never thought I'd say that 25 years ago) but other than that, yeah a truck should be hose-out-able and have window cranks.

[Tallpine]

4 or 5 cylinders is plenty for a 1/2 ton.  Maybe even 3, but that's pushing it. 

I like my automatic transmission (I never thought I'd say that 25 years ago) but other than that, yeah a truck should be hose-out-able and have window cranks.

Something about the power of a Chevy 292 Six is plenty for a pickup, unless you are pulling humongous trailers.

A diesel would have even more torque 

[zxcvbob]

I seldom get my truck over 2100 RPM's, even when accelerating onto the freeway, which is why I think a little industrial or ag diesel engine would be perfect and I wouldn't have to change the transmission or the rearend.  Plus it would have that wonderful diesel smoke and smell :D

It probably makes a better fantasy than a reality, but if I had a early 90's model with no rust and a bad engine I might consider it.

[Tallpine]

I seldom get my truck over 2100 RPM's, even when accelerating onto the freeway, which is why I think a little industrial or ag diesel engine would be perfect and I wouldn't have to change the transmission or the rearend.  Plus it would have that wonderful diesel smoke and smell :D

It probably makes a better fantasy than a reality, but if I had a early 90's model with no rust and a bad engine I might consider it.

If I wasn't so old and tired of wrenching, my 1976 C-20 would be perfect for a small diesel 

[zxcvbob]

I used to have a 1976 C-20.  I loved that truck.   finally sold it in 2000 cuz the body was almost rusted off of it, and I got tired of all the nagging.  It still ran great; it was a good wood hauler with those big 16.5" wheels and load range E tires.  It wasn't much fun to drive in the MN winter with no floorboards...

Whenever I was hauling something heavy (like dirt) I would just keep adding more until the bed just sat down on the axles -- then I'd add a couple of hundred more pounds to keep it from bouncing.

[Tallpine]

it was a good wood hauler with those big 16.5" wheels and load range E tires

First thing I did was trade those off for 16" wheels and radials.

Too bad I didn't get 16" splits like my 1973 K-20, so I could fix flats out here in the dirt.

[Harold Tuttle]

I road about Kakadu AU in a Nissan patrol

[MikeB]

Just about every episode of "Top Gear"  (the British verison, not that American POS), they test a small diesel coupe of some type or another that's about the size fo a Camry.  And they all get 40-50mpg.  And I sit and wonder why we can't have nice things....

FYI.

They are probably giving the mpg in Imperial Gallons. The Imperial Gallon is approximately 20% larger than the US gallon.

[Viking]

I spotted two Hiluxes when I was walking home from work today.

[41magsnub]

I would love to get my hands on a 70 series land cruiser.  Folks have figured out ways to get them into the states but it is super expensive to do.

[freakazoid]

I would love to have a Hilux.  Of course, I would be compelled to mount an old Soviet 23 mm cannon in the back and pretend I was in Mogadishu. Tailgate this, numbnuts!  

+1
Ever since seeing the Top Gear episode about them I have wanted one ever since. Last deployment I noticed them all over the place when we pulled into ports. I've been thinking about getting a Tacoma but am not sure what year to get yet since I need to do more research on them to find out which one is as rugged as them since they have been getting different over the years.

[Boomhauer]

+1
Ever since seeing the Top Gear episode about them I have wanted one ever since. Last deployment I noticed them all over the place when we pulled into ports. I've been thinking about getting a Tacoma but am not sure what year to get yet since I need to do more research on them to find out which one is as rugged as them since they have been getting different over the years.

You want the old '80s tacomas then. Beware the do have some rust issues, particularly the bed (easily solved...replace with a flatbed)

[drewtam]

Fuel efficiency and harmful emissions are two different things.

The most commonly regulated harmful emissions are:
NOx
CO
HC
PM

These emissions are usually reported in units of brake specific value --> g/kw.hr or lb/hp.hr. This is the mass flow of emissions divided by the work the engine does.
For example, if the engine produces 100lbs/hr of PM emissions while providing 333hp, then the emission at that mode is 0.3lb/hphr.

This emission value is independent of the fuel consumed.

[drewtam]

There are several different emissions control technologies developed over the past 20yrs.

First is cleaner combustion through improved piston design and advanced fuel systems. Old mechanical pump/line direct fuel injection is replaced by HEUI, MEUI, and Common Rail electronically controlled direct injection. These advanced injections systems allow more flexibility for cold start, emissions reduction, high injection pressures, and more efficient combustion. The tradeoff is more complexity and very tight tolerances on a very high pressure system (150-300MPa = 21,700PSI - 43,500PSI). Good clean fuel, and regular high quality fuel filter changes are a must.

Additional improvement is found in the turbo design and charge air cooling design. Higher boost and lower charge air temps are an important building block for reduced emissions. Not only have turbos gotten significantly more efficient and better matched to engines, but some manufacturers have added complex controls like Variable Geometry Turbines (VGT) and Variable Nozzle Turbine (VNT).

More recently, Exhaust Gas Recirculation (EGR) has been added. This affects the chemistry of combustion and also reduces emissions dramatically, with improvement to fuel economy. The downside is increased soot load in the engine oil. Improved fuel refinement and better oils help mitigate this tradeoff. Low Sulfur and Ultra Low Sulfur Diesel (ULSD) is important to help an EGR engine last. The sulfur in diesel fuel can burn creating SO2, which turns into sulfuric acid in the presence of water (exhaust). Recirculating sulfuric acid through an engine is not good. Use ULSD to help reduce this harm.

Also recently added are after-treatment systems. This means chemically processing the exhaust coming out of the turbo. In this category are DPF, DOC, SCR and AMOx.

DPF = diesel particulate filter - captures PM in a filter. The PM is oxidized to CO2 either by dosing with additional raw fuel injection into exhaust or heating to high temp with a burner or heating to high temp by a heavy load on the engine.

DOC = diesel oxidation catalyst - continuously reacts the HC to CO2 and H2O. This is a precious metal catalyst, much like a 3-way catalyst in a car. DOCs require Low Sulfur fuels to prevent fouling of the catalytic surface.
 
SCR = selective catalytic reduction - a combination of catalyst and another substance, urea. When heated by the exhaust the urea converts to ammonia and reacts with NOx to reduce it to N2 and H2O on the surface of this catalyst.

AMOx = ammonia oxidation - a catalyst to catch any ammonia slipping by the SCR system and convert down to harmless N2 & H2O.

[drewtam]

Why do cars have simple catalytic converters and diesels have such complex aftertreatment?

1 The chemistry is different. Spark ignition (most cars) run much more fuel to air. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stoichiometric_air_ratio
This different chemistry of the exhaust affects how catalysts behave. So a gasoline engine can use the great invention of the 3-way catalysts, while diesel exhaust is impervious to such a device.

2 The diesel exhaust emission is different. Diesel fuel is heavier and creates far more PM. This must be handled differently.

[drewtam]

With all these technologies, how much have emissions been reduced?

Going from unregulated in the past, the emissions have gotten tighter by stages or "tiers", as used in the heavy machinery world.
Tier 1, 2, 3, and 4 have each gotten orders of magnitude less harmful emissions.

Tier 1 is the large grey box, Tier 4 Final is the tiny yellowish box.



This picture is for off-road machinery, but the tech and requirements for on-highway (cars and trucks) is very similar.

[Boomhauer]

So a gasoline engine can use the great invention of the 3-way catalysts

I don't believe I've ever heard anyone refer to that wonderful POS catalytic converter as "great". Hell, mine was so great I cut it out of the exhaust system...and removed the O2 sensors that went with it.

[drewtam]

Does the EPA unfairly prevent diesels from competing?

From what I have read of the regulation, it doesn't seem so. They hold diesels and gasolines to the same reg. The technology to meet this regulation exists in much of the recent new truck engines and heavy machinery engines.


Why does europe have so many more diesels?
My opinion, I see 2 main reasons...
1 It seems the EU regs has special exemption for diesels, they allow more emissions from diesels than gas.
2 Fuel taxes are very high in most of europe, making any slight improvement in mpg more worthwhile for fuel cost avoidance.


Conversely, since fuel prices (even at $4/gal) are so cheap in the US, the pay back on diesel cost is very poor. Therefore, it has the same market acceptance problem as hybrids (which are also a minuscule part of car market). US diesel makes the most sense for vehicles that drive many miles a year (taxis, transportation, and commercial vehicle). Except for taxis, we mostly see diesels for pickups, commercial vans, and trucks - right where they belong for now.

[Boomhauer]

The technology to meet this regulation exists in much of the recent new truck engines and heavy machinery engines.

These wonderful new engines are less reliable than the older engines. 

[drewtam]

I don't believe I've ever heard anyone refer to that wonderful POS catalytic converter as "great". Hell, mine was so great I cut it out of the exhaust system...and removed the O2 sensors that went with it.

Compared to what diesels have to go through, and what auto had to do before the 3-way; the thing is a freaking miracle invention.

It lasts easily 100k to 150k mi without any maintenance and electronic control.