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

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Spike Sep 9, 2008 6:58 PM GMT Does anyone else think that this is just one of the many reasons why Ford and GM just don't get it?? We don't want any more of the stinking SUV's that get around 13-16 mpg that tear up the roads and are dangerous to everyone else behind them. Pickup truck drivers all watch NASCAR all weekend and think that it is time to drive likewise each morning commute. I hate high fuel prices more than most, but at 4-5/gal, perhaps then we too would be able to buy one of these. I paid 27,500 for a nice MINI Cooper and would also pay near that for an American made, comparably equipped diesel Fiesta that got 65 or more mpg. The only people that I hate more than the idiots running domestic car companies are, Hugo Chavez and the Middle Eastern terrorists that we are funding to drive the land yachts. Just so you don't get the wrong idea, I am a middle aged (almost) Republican, and I get a monthly royalty check from oil and gas wells.
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TFLYNN Sep 9, 2008 6:57 PM GMT So build the car in american and you wouldn't have to worry about the cost of importing!
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AreWeFreeOrWhat Sep 9, 2008 6:54 PM GMT Americans are buying the Prius because of the 48 mpg. To think that they would not pay the same price for a vehicle getting 65 mpg is ignorant. Diesel versus gas is a non issue here. However if the next gen Prius is going to get 100 mpg then 65 is old news. Technology for very good mpg has been around for years, it's high time they offer it instead of pandering to the greed of the oil companies and their CEOs.
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Devin Sep 9, 2008 6:53 PM GMT Our social view of Diesel as stated is different from other countries. We are weathered in the way of traditional fuel. In time of a already hard competition, the risk may out weigh the potential returns. Let Ford perform with more of a sure thing today as the future may be brighter.
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Zach Sep 9, 2008 6:50 PM GMT The American Auto industry is trying real hard to get back in this. But everybody is stuck to imports like they are above and beyond. I sell car for a living, trust me they are all the same. People complain about our weaking economy and our weaking dollar and how gas prices are not coming down fast enough but they buy imports which dont help stimulate our dying economy. Its funny to me to hear people put down these cars when you dont even give them a chance. I drive a V8 and I get 18 and 26. I couldnt ask for more and its american. Rethink american next time you look at buying another car.
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johnb300m Sep 9, 2008 6:45 PM GMT you guys are missing the point.there may be alot of smart people on this forum willing to buy this diesel car (or any diesel). BUT, at what cost?You can't deny that the volume of sales for diesels here will be much less. Which leads to less volume, which leads to higher production cost, which then has to be passed onto the consumer. This makes the car more expensive. Will you pay 25-26K dollars for this little Fiesta? Alot of Americans WON'T. Not to mention diesel here is in excess of $5.00 a gallon here, which makes the savings even less. Taxes and ridiculous sulfur laws in the US makes diesel alot more expensive here than overseas. The EPA here has been battling diesel for a long time. And another thing, our base petrol here is 87 octane, why is Europe's base fuel 91???Why does the U.S. have such inferior fuels??? This is an issue we should address also, as this affects our vehicles and the types of engines our manufacturers are limited to build.
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Fred Sep 9, 2008 6:44 PM GMT People, the article states that Ford made a business decision not to sell it here, and the basis for that decision is that they cannot recoup the capital costs. Ford is not going to make a car, just so that you can get 65 mpg, if it costs the company to produce the car. The reason that diesel is so entrenched in Europe is because diesel has been provided tax benefits by governments. If our government provided tax benefits to clean diesels, it may make sense to sell here. One of the reasons trucks and SUVs sold so well in the USA prior to the gas price hike is that there are tax incentives based on the classification of vehicle (six foot bed). If you really want clean diesel to come to the USA, let your representative Congresspersons and Senators know. Without government support, there is little business incentive to provide vehicles like this Ford.
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Mark C Sep 9, 2008 6:40 PM GMT If Ford doesn't think they can "make a business case" for selling this vehicle in the U.S. then they're even more incompetent than I thought and should just go ahead and go out of business.
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Billt Sep 9, 2008 6:40 PM GMT This reason for not selling the Ford diesel car is just not real. As per--U.S. Sen. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, has introduced the Diesel Tax Parity Act, which would lower the federal diesel tax to the same price as the gas tax through Dec. 31.Introduced April 21, S.2896 was referred to the Senate Finance Committee, of which Snowe is a member. The bill temporarily would lower the diesel tax from 24.3 cents a gallon to 18.3 cents a gallon. To claim 6 cents/ gallon on a $3+/gallon price would stop the sale of a car is poor reasoning.
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Matt Sep 9, 2008 6:37 PM GMT I'd love to see five people squeeze into that thing. Especially five Americans. It'd be like a clown car!
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