All-around Vehicle For On/off Road

[rexhavoc]

17 hours ago, Northeast said:

Hang on, so your telling me that an efficient 4.2 litre turbo diesel, 6 cylinder landcruiser wagon isn't allowed in the U.S. but those massive GMC/Chevy/Dodge/Yukon things with 8 litre petrol engines that are gallon guzzlers and were pretty much dismissed from this whole thread because they are so thirsty...they are okely dokely neighborino???  

Am I right to be confused? 

I would consider larceny to get my hands on a turbo diesel Landcruiser like that in this country.  But you don't know the half of the story. In large swathes of this continent it's STILL perfectly legal to buy a kit to turn your efficient and clean burning diesel into a "rolling  coal" nightmare from hell - from a "respectable retailer" or "performance shop". If you're not familiar with the term, Google it. Just one of these abominations emits more pollutants than God knows how many thousand "dirty" VW TDIs ever will.

So yes, an 8100 gas engine isn't even blinked at. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Norvic]

There you go Northeast, we pay an arm and a leg for our "Oh what a Feeling" but at least they are available here. Now the seasons approaching nearly time to get out and about, positively can feel18s going to be a ripper season, bring it on........

[Northeast]

Well...that's truly sad for you in the U.S.  I'm a bit bewildered by it to be honest.

I imagine that Toyota would love to get this product into a market of 323,000,000 people.

So, I assume they are not allowed to enter the market due to trade restrictions?  To protect American vehicle manufacturers? 

(And I apologise GB_Amateur - this is way off topic to the premise of the thread).

[vanursepaul]

4 hours ago, Norvic said:

There you go Northeast, we pay an arm and a leg for our "Oh what a Feeling" but at least they are available here. Now the seasons approaching nearly time to get out and about, positively can feel18s going to be a ripper season, bring it on........

I got that same feeling!!!!

Georgetown in May? ?

[Swegin]

5 hours ago, Northeast said:

So, I assume they are not allowed to enter the market due to trade restrictions?  To protect American vehicle manufacturers?

They make some Toyota's here in the USA.  I don't think there is a big enough market here in the US for diesel.

[GB_Amateur]

14 hours ago, Northeast said:

(And I apologise GB_Amateur - this is way off topic to the premise of the thread).

Good to see you thinking of others (well, me in particular ) but the way I see it, a thread belongs to everyone and takes on a life of its own.  Steve is the ultimate referee and has tools....

18 hours ago, rexhavoc said:

In large swathes of this continent it's STILL perfectly legal to buy a kit to turn your efficient and clean burning diesel into a "rolling  coal" nightmare from hell - from a "respectable retailer" or "performance shop".

You nailed it, Rex.  I see no need for conspiracy theories of protectionism, although with the recent steel tariff edict I can see why that thought has been generated.

Diesels have the advantage of both torque (great for towing) and fuel efficiency compared to gasoline powered piston engines.  However, the tradeoff is polluting emissions.  Those can be reduced at the cost of loss of fuel efficiency.  That is the path the US government has chosen.  As rexhavoc points out, it's easy (whether or not it's legal...) for individuals to override those built in pollution controls to regain the fuel efficiency.  There is a bit of irony in all this -- lower fuel efficiency leads to another kind of air pollution -- CO2.

When reserarching the Jeep Compass on YouTube I saw a video from Australia that said in that country Fiat-Chrysler is marketing a diesel version of the Compass.  So you see it's not just Toyota that is playing this game.  Also, recall a couple years back that VW got their hands slapped here (in US) for deceiving governement regulators with the pollution levels of its diesel vehicles.  That cost them considerable loss of sales from public backlash.  I don't know if they've even yet regained market share (but I don't pay that much attention).

It will be interesting to see the evolution of battery powered vehicles, soon(?) entering the off-road space.  Talk about torque!  Solar powered chargers mounted on the vehicle roof?  Might be a while but I wouldn't bet against it.

And as far as Isuzu in the US (or more specifically lack thereof), here is a snippet from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isuzu_Motors

• January 30, 2008 – Isuzu announces complete withdrawal from the US market,^[20] effective January 31, 2009. It will continue to provide support and parts. The decision was due to lack of sales.^[21] Some of the lack of sales have been blamed on consumer experiences with low quality engines and service.^[22] Isuzu had been experiencing a slow decline since the late 1990s. In less than 10 years, they had gone from selling a complete line of cars, trucks, and SUVs, into being a specialized SUV maker, and finally selling only a pair of rebadged, General Motors Trucks.^[23] They will continue to sell commercial vehicles in the U.S.^[24]
• December 17, 2008 – Isuzu, Toyota shelve development of clean diesel engine.^[25]

[Steve Herschbach]

Since this is no longer about vehicle suggestions I assume the conversation is finished?

[geof_junk]

MarbeBar Area one of the hottest spot in Oz.The small one is mine and i'm leading the way to the GOLD.

 

 

[vanursepaul]

On ya mate--- move along---- I hope i get to swing there this trip....

[idahogold]

I want One!!!!  400k  Cheers, IG