America must really be changing - now even Toyota will offer them diesel power!

E92

Yes, Toyota are now going to join Honda(Accord), VW(Jetta), Audi(A4, A5, Q7), Merc(E, ML, GL and R-class), BMW(335d, X5 3.0sd), Chrysler(300C is set to gain Mercs 3.0 diesel apparantly), Jeep(Grand Cheeroke), Dodge and presumably Mitsubishi with their FTO concept and a Tier II diesel, and are going to take the plunge and offer their American customers diesel too. In two cars/pick up trucks called the Tundra and Sequonia. A big V8 diesel is on the cards for there. Now how Toyota thought this was a good idea is beyond me since they have spent their whole time boasting about their hybrid models, and are going racing in Le Mans with a hybrid in 2010, but offering Americans diesel engines shows how fast things are changing in the US.

Presumably there will be V8 Lexus diesels in the near future.

Here's the link, but I'm told diesel costs upwards of $3.40 a gallon, and gas or petrol is around $2.90 a gallon, now in most of europe diesel is around 10-20 cents a litre cheaper than petrol and here its pretty much the same, and let's face it, for the vast majority of people in Europe who would not be interested in cars, there is a huge financial incentive for choosing your car to be diesel powered, hence their popularity, and the lower road tax and expected disappearance of the diesel price premium owing to the new VRT structure will make diesels hugely popular here from next year on too, so what exactly is the point of offering diesel when it is 17% dearer roughly, and most diesels do around 20% more mpg?

CJhaughey

A lot of the reason that diesel has become more popular in the US is the fact that low sulphur diesel has now become more available.
previously the diesel available was of pretty poor quality and car makers would find it very difficult to engineer and make an engine capable of running on it while passing air pollution laws.