Toyota and diesel engines in the U.S.

Why doesn't Toyota make new diesel vehicles for the US market? Here's a perspective that speaks from the standpoint of consumer perception of diesal.


The California Air Resources Board (CARB) requires that diesel passenger vehicles and light trucks meet the same emmissions requirements as gasoline vehicles. Some other states (Massachusetts, New York, Vermont, and Maine) also follow CARB standards. Depending on who you talk to, it's either cost-prohibitive or technically not possible to make diesel engines that meet CARB standards for passenger vehicles using the low-quality, high-sulphur diesel fuel currently sold in the US. Most manufacturers don't want to go through the expense of EPA/DOT testing and certification for a vehicle that can only be sold in non-CARB states -- which exclude some of the largest vehicle markets in the country.

Market research probably also shows that many Americans have a negative opinion of diesel vehicles. They think of large trucks with plumes of thick black exhaust, the noisy, clattery diesel engines in early Mercedes, or the disastrously unreliable diesel engines produced by GM in the early 1980's. Also, there's no getting around the fact that there's an inconvenience factor involved in owning a diesel. Only 1-in-4 gas stations in the US have diesel available.

Some people also believe there's an oil industry conspiracy to keep fuel-efficient vehicles out of the US market.

Things may be changing for the better though. Current regulations will require refiners to start producing low-sulphur diesel fuel (ULSD) in 2007. That may make it easier for manufacturers to produce diesel engines that meet CARB requirements for a reasonable cost. Also, recent spikes in fuel prices have greatly increased public demand for fuel-efficient vehicles.

Is your Vehicle Stable?

Each auto manufacturer calls the system by a different name. With GM it's Stabilitrac. With Ford it's Advance Trak. With Chrysler it's called the Electronic Stability Program and Toyota calls it's system Vehicle Stability Control. In each case, Vehicle Stability Control (VSC) works by providing a technological response when the vehicle senses itself veering off it's intended path with no corrective effort from the driver. An example of VSC in action would be when you are driving on a winding mountain road and you come upon a curve where there is a traffic sign indicating the speed limit for that turn is 40 MPH. You don't see the sign and you go into the turn at 55 MPH. In this instance, VSC will probably engage by pulsating the brakes on each wheel to help rotate the tires in order to keep the vehicle on track.

VSC has proven to be such an effective safety oriented technology that Congress has passed legislation that will make the system a mandatory standard equipment feature on all new vehicles produced in 2013 forward.

Increase the safe standards of your vehicle. VSC is stanard equipment today in Toyota vehicles!

Consumer Reports article about Accelerator issue

Analysis finds drivers did not apply brakes in runaway Toyotas
The Department of Transportation (DOT) has analyzed the “black box” event data recorders in dozens of Toyota vehicles involved in crashes linked to unintended acceleration, according to an exclusive Wall Street Journal report. The DOT found that the throttle was wide open but the brakes were not engaged in those instances. This may suggest driver error, rather than an electronic or mechanical defect in the cars, as the cause for those accidents. A formal study has not yet been issued. (Read our follow up: "Are drivers to blame in Toyota unintended acceleration cases? It may be too early to tell.")

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) examined the “black boxes,” which records when the accelerator and brakes are depressed, as well as vehicle speed and other factors.

According to the WSJ, NHTSA studied 75 fatal crashes involving 93 deaths. Among those crashes, the only one in which NHTSA found the brakes were applied in the August incident involving a California Highway Patrol officer who was killed with his family in a Lexus. The cause of that high-speed incident was ruled to be floor mats holding the accelerator to the floor. It was that crash that sparked the high-profile investigation into unintended acceleration last year. (Read “Misaligned floor mat may have caused calamity.”)

Beyond this reported analysis, which NHTSA has not released, the auto safety agency commissioned two related studies from National Academy of Sciences (NAS) and NASA. The space agency is investigating the function of electronic controls in Toyota products to ensure they comply with the latest electronic safety standards, with a report expected next month, and the NAS review of potential causes for unintended acceleration in all cars is expected to follow next year.