Toreador

why didnt toyota release diesel engines in 4runners and trucks in the us?

turboboost

Emissions regulations I would think. Canada got both.

bigt

cuz americia has many a nice doge chevy and crysler for you to pick from lol
THE BIG 3! PICK ONE OF US!

a small 4 banger diesel couldnt be bigg enough for a REAL yank!

camo31_10.50

idk why the hell Daimler Chrysler didnt put the 4cyl cummins into a Dakota...oh em geee....lol

4cyl turbo diesels were in alot of cars actually..mercedes i believe..and they had a inline 5 cylinder..(it was either 5 or 6..lol)..and VW had 4cyl diesels..lol

but why there were no toyota diesels sold in the states..emissions regulations is why..plain and simple..lol

of course you can still import toyota diesels..lol..you just gotta look around for em...and its very expensive..around here in my area..you could sneak one in..and nobody would care..but on the coasts i think you'd be in trouble..lmao

if ya want a diesel in your toyota..then import a Half cut and do the swap..should be pretty straight forward..lol

aviator

Actually original problem back in the 80's was the horrendous 4cyl. diesel that GM came out with when they tried to diesel-ize one of their small gas engines for their sub-compacts... it could'ne handle the stresses and failed (and smoked and stank etc) so folks got it into their heads that small diesels were NG... VW had one that worked as did Merc. and Volvo but they were never big sellers and were eventually axed... [emissions regs changed too which hastened their exit from our shores]... VW was first to return with a small diesel that could meet new regs about ten years ago give or take...

but back to our topic Toyota truck diesels... another reason why they failed was that the way people tend to drive here... longer distances at high speed the little diesel (2LT) was not able to stand up... it felt and was underpowered... it was happy as a clam clattering away at 55/60mph all day long [as long as you were'nt in a hurry to reach those speeds] but was unhappy when pushed to higher speeds especially when not given proper cool down idle time after a long sprint... when yota came out with a newer diesel (the 3.0) that was more capable of meeting these challenges it could not meet the emissions regs here because the high content of sulpher then allowed in NA diesel fuel would foul the injectors and cat converter.

Today fuel content regs have tightened up and NA diesel meets or exceeds international standards and these new engines (ie. I4D series) can run efficiently on it however there are few mechs. trained to work on small diesels and none at all at the dealer level (so the support infrastructure would need to be built from zero), relatively few people want a small diesel truck/suv, and fleet emissions regs are tightening up yet again in the near future... all in all while there is a market there for a diesel engine mini truck it is not large enough for Toyota (or any mfg.) to justify the expense of making it widely available...

I still want one though...

sorry for the epistle but you asked...
aviator

tc

100% dead on Aviator - great post.

For those who think diesel engines are loud, under powered, smoky, and take too long to start, get your ass down to a VW dealer and drive a "clean" diesel TDI. They are amazing, and will very likely be my next car purchase (well, one of the modern diesels - not necessarily JUST VW).

IMHO, diesel represents the future in reducing our oil consumption. There are simply too many "what-ifs" regarding the batteries in hybrid and electric vehicles, and the price/weight penalty is too high currently, with no solution in cost-effective sight. Even more so for hydrogen.

By comparison, all the auto manufacturers have to do is put the diesel cars they all have developed and regularly sell in Europe on a boat and bring them over. A diesel "infrastructure" already exists and the technology is proven. Almost instantly, everyone gets 2x the mileage they currently get.

camo31_10.50

exactly Tc..lol

i love my dad's VW jetta TDI..its blast to drive..yea it's a little bit loud..and smokes quite a bit if you lay into it..lmao

right now its getting rebuilt and sold though..hes had alot of problems with it..although it has almost 300,000 miles on it..hahaha

tc

The new ones are even a big step up over your dad's.

camo31_10.50

oh i know..i drove my highschool english teacher's 2008 TDI jetta..it was very nice..lol..alot nicer than i expected..nothing like my dads..lots more power..less smoke and noise!!..hahaha...felt like a gasser

tc

Exactly.

First time I drove in Europe, work rented me a diesel Renault Megane, and I didn't realize it was diesel 'til I went to put fuel in it...

camo31_10.50

LMFAO..bet that made you go..NO WAY!!! WOW!!..baahahahah

claybodie

It was a pretty big deal when the brand new clean diesels came out - Jetta's TDI stuff and the odd bluetec from Mercedes (which requires an extra tank full of NH3). The only problem I found with the newer Jettas is a major decrease in fuel economy over the earlier models. Seems like all of the catalytic emissions cleaning equipment sort of got in the way of the functionality of the old 50-60mpg VW diesels.