65 mpg Ford car...any opinions?!?

Copied from the Business Week web site:

The 65 mpg Ford the U.S. Can't Have




The ECOnetic will go on sale in Europe in November

If ever there was a car made for the times, this would seem to be it: a sporty subcompact that seats five, offers a navigation system, and gets a whopping 65 miles to the gallon. Oh yes, and the car is made by Ford Motor Co., known widely for lumbering gas hogs.

Ford's 2009 Fiesta ECOnetic goes on sale in November. But here's the catch: Despite the car's potential to transform Ford's image and help it compete with Toyota Motor and Honda Motor in its home market, the company will sell the little fuel sipper only in Europe. "We know it's an awesome vehicle," says Ford America President Mark Fields. "But there are business reasons why we can't sell it in the U.S." The main one: The Fiesta ECOnetic runs on diesel.

Automakers such as Volkswagen and Mercedes-Benz have predicted for years that a technology called "clean diesel" would overcome many Americans' antipathy to a fuel still often thought of as the smelly stuff that powers tractor trailers. Diesel vehicles now hitting the market with pollution-fighting technology are as clean or cleaner than gasoline and at least 30% more fuel-efficient.

Yet while half of all cars sold in Europe last year ran on diesel, the U.S. market remains relatively unfriendly to the fuel. Taxes aimed at commercial trucks mean diesel costs anywhere from 40 cents to $1 more per gallon than gasoline. Add to this the success of the Toyota Prius, and you can see why only 3% of cars in the U.S. use diesel. "Americans see hybrids as the darling," says Global Insight auto analyst Philip Gott, "and diesel as old-tech."

None of this is stopping European and Japanese automakers, which are betting they can jump-start the U.S. market with new diesel models. Mercedes-Benz by next year will have three cars it markets as "BlueTec." Even Nissan and Honda, which long opposed building diesel cars in Europe, plan to introduce them in the U.S. in 2010. But Ford, whose Fiesta ECOnetic compares favorably with European diesels, can't make a business case for bringing the car to the U.S.

TOO PRICEY TO IMPORT
First of all, the engines are built in Britain, so labor costs are high. Plus the pound remains stronger than the greenback. At prevailing exchange rates, the Fiesta ECOnetic would sell for about $25,700 in the U.S. By contrast, the Prius typically goes for about $24,000. A $1,300 tax deduction available to buyers of new diesel cars could bring the price of the Fiesta to around $24,400. But Ford doesn't believe it could charge enough to make money on an imported ECOnetic.

Ford plans to make a gas-powered version of the Fiesta in Mexico for the U.S. So why not manufacture diesel engines there, too? Building a plant would cost at least $350 million at a time when Ford has been burning through more than $1 billion a month in cash reserves. Besides, the automaker would have to produce at least 350,000 engines a year to make such a venture profitable. "We just don't think North and South America would buy that many diesel cars," says Fields.

The question, of course, is whether the U.S. ever will embrace diesel fuel and allow automakers to achieve sufficient scale to make money on such vehicles. California certified VW and Mercedes diesel cars earlier this year, after a four-year ban. James N. Hall, of auto researcher 293 Analysts, says that bellwether state and the Northeast remain "hostile to diesel." But the risk to Ford is that the fuel takes off, and the carmaker finds itself playing catch-up—despite having a serious diesel contender in its arsenal.

I heard that Ford says that their marketing reasearch shows that Americans wont buy a diesel vehicle, and that's why they're not producing and/or selling them in the USA.

I sounds like a more than perfect replacement for my Focus. I think they should build some with the steering wheel on the correct side and send em over. Then when you get all the Hollywierdians paying 5g over sticker just to have it in their driveway, whilst driving their H2's, they'll reconsider the export.

eric lavine wrote: I dont give a f-ck anymore what my car looks like as for fashion, now my main goal is getting as much mileage as you can and that is what has changed..... remember watching any movies made over in Europe? how ugly those cars are? those were for mileage not fashion

Eric,
That has changed over here quite a bit... Diesel cars look quite fashionable nowadays (I like to think my diesel does anyway ).
BTW, diesel cars even start to show up in the 24 hour races over here... And they do quite well too.
Diesel technology has evolved enormously and most diesels are environmentally better than gas powered ones.

Adam, I bet you would drive a diesel now if it got 65 mpg
Kris, you dont have to convince me...lol,

I gotta say this, Americans always wait to the last minute, we knew these days were coming and top level executives cant predict the future?

if it had a Bowtie out front, i would be proud to drive it, I have a feeling Hollywood had to look twice at this car

OM45GE wrote: They definitely need to straighten out the tax on diesel. It's another example of "hidden" taxes that the consumer ends up paying for anyway - does anyone really believe the taxes on truckers don't get passed trhough to us as higher prices on everything the truckers haul? But that's another topic for sure.

FairTax!

I've said for years that we should have no taxes at all except a flat income tax on every dollar earned over the poverty limit (or some other level)from any source with no exemptions. If you wanted to be really progressive you could give money to those under the poverty limit to bring them up to it and eliminate welfare.

Your tax bill could be done in about ten minutes and you would be able to see what amount of it went to any program the government funded as it would be a percentage of your total tax. No more hidden funding for pet projects.

It would put a lot of bureaucrats and tax accountant and lawyers (my Dad was one) out of business.


NEVER gonna happen.

I see VW touting a 60+ mpg as well, interesting stuff.

The new Golf BlueMotion