Stellantis resurrects diesel cars across Europe

[MapleLeafFarmer]

Stelantis (fiat, jeep, dodge, ram, etc..) says its ramping up investments in diesel cars as its pulling back from ev's.... always wondered why so many diesels in Europe, Africa, Asia, etc... and they were never really popular here in Canada and US? I had a diesel Toyota hatchback car when I was in Ireland and thought it was really good. Never really option here though.

https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/stellantis-resurrects-diesel-cars-across-europe-amid-ev-retreat-2026-02-13/

 

[jyoutz]

Stelantis (fiat, jeep, dodge, ram, etc..) says its ramping up investments in diesel cars as its pulling back from ev's.... always wondered why so many diesels in Europe, Africa, Asia, etc... and they were never really popular here in Canada and US? I had a diesel Toyota hatchback car when I was in Ireland and thought it was really good. Never really option here though.

https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/stellantis-resurrects-diesel-cars-across-europe-amid-ev-retreat-2026-02-13/

My 2013 VW Passat TDI was the most fun car I’ve ever driven.

 

[MapleLeafFarmer]

My 2013 VW Passat TDI was the most fun car I’ve ever driven.

I forgot about the vw diesels like the rabitt..... they used to sell sh@t load of them here didn't they? I never owned one but the little Toyota i had was a blast. Small engined w/ std trans diesel and huge mpg if I remember rightly. It shook badly at lower rpm though.

 

[chim]

Had an Olds Cutlass diesel - the altered GM gas engine. It ran great till it didn't and got almost 30MPG.

Had a Toyota Diesel pickup company truck with a manual trans for a few years. Fun but gutless. Couldn't get it over 55MPH if there was a headwind going up a grade.

Borrowed a diesel Rabbit pickup when my truck was in the shop. It made my Toyota feel like a race car.

 

[jyoutz]

Had an Olds Cutlass diesel - the altered GM gas engine. It ran great till it didn't and got almost 30MPG.

Had a Toyota Diesel pickup company truck with a manual trans for a few years. Fun but gutless. Couldn't get it over 55MPH if there was a headwind going up a grade.

Borrowed a diesel Rabbit pickup when my truck was in the shop. It made my Toyota feel like a race car.

My VW Passat had a turbo and would pass anything on the road and still get 44 mpg.

 

[L35]

My 04 tdi Jetta is still going and gets 45mpg. I imagine emissions is a major player in the North American market.

 

[lynnmor]

Since we discourage diesel cars in the U.S. with the higher taxes on diesel fuel, I guess that might be a big problem for the public to want them. With all the fuel mileage standards pushed on the manufacturers you would think that diesel would be encouraged.

 

[dlsmith]

Remember the VW diesel emissions scandal?

 

[GrumpyFarmer]

Remember the VW diesel emissions scandal?

Was it a scandal or more of a lie? Sure it’s splitting hairs but I think there was some falsehood….which in my mind is different from simply creating moral outrage of do gooders.

either way will be interesting to see what happens with the emissions ‘features’ on trucks and more locally TRACTORS here domestically with the emissions rollback.

 

[GeoHorn]

Was it a scandal or more of a lie? Sure it’s splitting hairs but I think there was some falsehood….which in my mind is different from simply creating moral outrage of do gooders.

either way will be interesting to see what happens with the emissions ‘features’ on trucks and more locally TRACTORS here domestically with the emissions rollback.

It MIGHT be said that it was a little lie….. VW was fined $34 Billion.

My ‘12 Ram 1500 was wrecked a little over a year ago while vacationing in KY. It was the last year the little 4.7L V8 was available…and it had 220K trouble-free miles on it when the old man ran his red light and T-boned another truck and me.

Within about 4 hours I had bought a replacement to get our Airstream back home to Tx…and the only one the local dealer had with Ramboxes …(my addiction)… was a Ram 2500 Limited with 6.7L Cummins diesel. It’s luxury loaded with everything they could install.
I never wanted a diesel other than the two >edit>….oops, three….I have out here on the ”ranch”…a JD-powered compactor-roller and a little Kubota RTV and the Kubota M4700 tractor. But never wanted one for the street.

But here it sits (mostly) …because I bought a used 2015 Ram 1500 with the 5.7 Hemi for a daily driver-second truck. I like it so much more than that plush-equipped diesel.
While that diesel is FUN to drive… and it has No Idea there’s ever a trailer behind it….and it gets Great MPG….. it’s also so-loaded-down with emissions-controls it’s frightening. It intmidated me into buying an extended-warranty…something I Never Do!

Anyway, diesel fuel here in Tx has a 20-cent state tax added onto a 25-cent federal tax. The state tax also applies to gasoline…and the federal tax on gas is 19-cents… so diesel is only a 6-cent tax-disadvantage over gas.
However, in actual practice…at the pump…diesel is about 25-cents more expensive than gas….rumored to be due to the “extra-low-sulfur” refining-process.
The better mpg and power more-than-makes-up the difference, IMO.

(I’m just leary of the emissions repairs coming down the road.)

 

[Hugo Habicht]

Remember the VW diesel emissions scandal?

I would not call that a scandal, but yes, VW was using some technical tricks to pass the emission regulations.

The fine Volkswagen got was motivated by the same ideas that created all those tarriffs, to give a non competitive local industry an advantage.

But so has Toyota that optimised their hybrid control software to the European type test drive profile. Under real road conditions (even with fuel saving driving style) the fuel consumption of the Toyota Prius is 50% higher than stated in the catalogue. I would rather call that a scandal.

Wrt to European emission regulations: they have gone ridiculous with their their limits. To pass Euro 6 emission standard you have to keep the car windows closed when doing the test. Otherwise the fumes from the new plastics and fabric of the interior will make the test fail.

 

[GrumpyFarmer]

I am in no way knocking diesel power plants in cars or anything like that or the engineering that goes into their products, but personally I think what VW did to expand their company in the WWII timeframe is shameful…seem like they are still liars in the modern era….very progressive I guess. I would not buy something from a company like that regardless of their engineering, styling or performance just for me to feel good. YMMV, and some may mislead about it

 

[WI_Hedgehog]

I'd love if the NHSA regulations were "relaxed" to nearly non-existence, and the same with the EPA. Then cars could look interesting, have far better economy, and cost gobs less. I'd like the efficiency of diesel in a daily driver, the HP of gas in the weekend car. Hopefully this happens.

 

[chim]

I'm 76 now and from the time I was a kid there were stories of modifications that could be made to existing engines that produced incredible fuel economy. It was always "the guy died mysteriously", "Exxon quietly bought the patent", GM bought the technology and keep it hidden", etc, etc.

1. I don't recall ever seeing anything credible regarding the claims. Have you seen any?

2. Could some wiz kid calculate the current percentage of efficiency vs. maximum efficiency? For example, NG water heaters were around 70% efficient in the 60's and some now claim to be around 95% efficient.

 

[Scm]

rabitt

I miss my 79. 4 speed diesel, 50 MPG

I would buy my dream vehicle from here:

Volkswagen (VW) Truck For Sale

1st Generation (1980 - 1983) Volkswagen Rabbit Pickup United States Classifieds - VW Truck (Caddy Typ 14) For Sale | About, Parts, Specs, Diesel.

www.vwtruckforsale.com

 

[GreensvilleJay]

I'm 76 now and from the time I was a kid there were stories of modifications that could be made to existing engines that produced incredible fuel economy. It was always "the guy died mysteriously", "Exxon quietly bought the patent", GM bought the technology and keep it hidden", etc, etc.

1. I don't recall ever seeing anything credible regarding the claims. Have you seen any?

2. Could some wiz kid calculate the current percentage of efficiency vs. maximum efficiency? For example, NG water heaters were around 70% efficient in the 60's and some now claim to be around 95% efficient.

re:1 lots of ways to get great MPG.....classic is to accelerate at a snail's pace,keeping manifold vacuum as high as you can. Actually works but creates a LOT of angry people behind you. One of the mechanics in early NASCAR had a 'trick' engine with intercooler(old, think '70s....in Popular mechanix ?). mix air/gas better = more MPG...though today everything has fuel injection. A CVT can get more MPG if setup properly.

 

[GeoHorn]

….

The fine Volkswagen got was motivated by the same ideas that created all those tarriffs, to give a non competitive local industry an advantage.

…

I don’t believe that is true. Chrysler got similar treatment.

I think it was shameful that a foreign-owned company who wanted to sell their stuff over here…. lied about their product and cheated to get Americans to buy their lie.

@ HugoHabicht : I agree with your comment re: VW’s WW2 activity. I just wonder how many folks don’t realize that FORD did the same thing…. The FORD plant in COLOGNE, Ger. not only made huge numbers of Opel Military Trucks for the Wehrmacht using slave labor…. Ford ALSO MADE TURBOPUMPS for the V-2 Missiles that killed so many…and made Huge PROFITs from it.

 

[Scm]

I would

I think it was shameful that a foreign-owned company who wanted to sell their stuff over here…. lied about their product and cheated to get Americans to buy their lie.

I applaud them for bypassing our exorbitant regulations.
If you want clean air, stop the bankers wars

 

[GeoHorn]

I would

I applaud them for bypassing our exorbitant regulations.
If you want clean air, stop the bankers wars

I‘m shocked you’d applaud a foreign company violating our laws. (Do you subscribe to the current zenophobist claims that undocumented immigrants are criminals…and applaud them bypassing our regulations..?)

 

[Hugo Habicht]

Audi had a test car (Audi 100) in 1989 that drove 4.818 km (2994 miles) with one tank filling all through Europe. That is a consumption of 1.76 l per 100 km (133 mlies per gallon).

The car had modifications, no comfort electronics, high tyre pressure, power steering pump electric and engine parts with tighter tolerances and polished surfaces.

Nevertheless such a car could have been built in series at the time.