Hi Scotty,
I noticed something interesting. In the United States I notice that there are two aspects of cars which have seemed to be all but non existent over the past few decades. Standard (manual) transmissions and diesel engines in cars. Why are so few manufacturers giving customers the option for a diesel engine in their car and/or a manual transmission?
Curious to your thoughts.
Why are so few manufacturers giving customers the option for a diesel engine in their car and/or a manual transmission?
Because almost nobody wants them.
@chucktobias I’m curious as to why nobody wants them: diesel cars sell like hot cakes in Europe and standard transmissions always used to be popular in America- guess our posterity won’t have the opportunity to learn stick the way I had to 😂
From what I understand in Europe tax policy pushed people into diesel until governments there started pushing EVs. In the U.S. GM killed the market for diesels nearly 50 years ago with their disastrous diesel V8 and it never recovered. Today diesel fuel is considerably more expensive than gasoline so there is little incentive. As far as stick shift it's probably a combination of manual transmissions no longer being more efficient than automatics, congested roads in many places making stick shifts a pain, plus some sheer laziness.
Nobody wants them. It's that simple. It's a losing proposition for car dealers.
Chuck's analysis is pretty spot on. On top of that, I'll add that preconceived notions in people's heads -- whether accurate or not -- are what drives sales. Diesel engines are viewed as loud and smelly. It's for heavy trucks and farm equipment. Automatic transmissions are USA's baby. A point of pride. A car with an automatic transmission was more featured. More luxurious. That perception stuck. A manual transmission is crude and unsophisticated. It's for heavy trucks and farm equipment. That's the impression I get anyway. When I cruise around and I see how people drive, I'm don't think that they could manage driving a manual anyway. They're barely managing already.
Standard (manual) transmissions and diesel engines in cars. Why are so few manufacturers giving customers the option for a diesel engine in their car and/or a manual transmission?
Diesels have insane torque for their displacement, but they are not particularly impressive with horsepower. The 6.7L Powerstroke has 500 horsepower; a 5.0L Coyote V8 has basically the same horsepower rating, but around 1/3 of the PowerStroke's torque.
European cars are very small because they must be compatible with European inner-city streets. European cars are compact because of the driving environment, unlike roads in the US. You need as much torque as possible and be as compact as possible to efficiently go on European roads, which diesels excel in.
It's the complete opposite in the US. We have room for big cars because most of us live in the suburbs, not the inner-city. Diesel is at least $1.50 more per gallon than regular gas. Cars in the US don't need to be small and efficient here.
Car culture has changed here. Everybody and their brother wants a crossover SUV now, not a sedan or sports car. Crossover SUVs are utilitarian. "Anybody can drive it."
