Experimental Chrysler 300 Delivers 41 mpg

Warren Brown / The Washington Post in the Detroit News  - Brown averaged 41 miles per gallon on the highway driving the CRD 325 miles, at speeds ranging from 60 to 70 miles per hour. The full-size 2007 Chrysler 300 V-6 CRD sedan is equipped with a three-liter, 215-horsepower, direct-injection diesel engine developed by the Robert Bosch GmbH. The 300 V-6 CRD runs only on ultra-low-sulfur diesel fuel--diesel with sulfur at 15 parts per million. At this writing, the car remains experimental -- a test bed for Bosch and DaimlerChrysler to demonstrate the efficiency and feasibility of advanced diesel technology in a U.S. market that has long frowned on things diesel.

Comments

[Doug W]

Great. Now they should be experimenting with smaller diesel engines in smaller cars. Perhaps something that is a bit easier on the average person's wallet?

[Ross]

I'm just happy to see more diesel interest in the US again. I live in SoCal, and a less diesel-friendly place is difficult to imagine. But I keep seeing "new" diesel cars being parked on the streets near my house. In the past two months, I've noticed about a dozen. They're not brand-new cars (almost impossible to find, anyway), but they're diesels.

The word is getting out.

[eric]

Of all of the cars to turn into a diesel, they pick that ugly muscle car. I agree with Doug - they need to be putting smaller engines into smaller cars, and stop wasting time with these monsters.

[odograph]

That chassis comes in a station-wagon, doesn't it?

A ~40 mpg wagon would be a HUGE hit for America, possibly displacing a lot of SUVs, especially if it looked like an "ugly muscle car."

Ye gods, we want people to buy these things. Don't complain if it looks like lust on 4 wheels.

[GreyFlcn]

Who says having a diesel car is a problem in SoCal?

http://world.honda.com/news/2006/c060925DieselEngine/

Expect to see lots of shiny brand new 2008 Diesels in California.

Me I'm much more interested in the 52MPG Honda Accord.
http://www.autoblog.com/2007/06/06/new-accord-diesel-to-hit-60-mpg/

[odograph]

I look forward to them Grey, but it is "still a problem" for anyone who went shopping this past weekend.

Tell me when it will really hit the lots.

Don't tell me "the check (or diesel) is in the mail"

[George Bruce]

2007 VW diesels will be in the showroom soon. They also meet tier II, bin 5 standards and will be 50 state legal.

[Johnny V.]

Now....if they would just take that great little diesel engine and integrate it with a 1500 to 2000 # PHEV, they would have something!!

[Juanjo]

Greetings from Europe!.

it is amazing to see how globalized is the world but when it turns to Diesel Cars...it is a diferent story.

I do not want to bore you with the speech of how efficient we are over here, specailly because we are not, :-) but just to give you some figures about Diesels...:

- About 65% of the cars sold in Spain are Diesel (in Europe must be around 50%).

- Almost 100% of them run with Direct injection engines which is the technology that 10 years ago boosted the Diesel market.

- Latest BMW Series 1 118d: 51mpg measured 1/3rd on City, 2/3 on intercity road (not highway)!!!, 143HP, 8,9sec 0-60mph, 123g of CO2 per km.

- Do you think we like over here, noisy, vibrating, smoky, slow and lazy cars? :-)

- I have had some american friends over here next to me while driving Diesel cars. I always ask them after a while if they think my car was gas or Diesel...they obviously answered...Gas!! :-)

I encourage all of you to go for it and look for a nice VW TDI or MErcedes CDI or Audi TDI or Toyota D4D...

PS: Do you know we have a Mini D here which is about 70mpg!! (110HP).

[Nathan]

That's all great and all. They are more efficient for small engines (even the 300m is small) This means they produce less Co2 (sort of) but remember. They also produce more N0x. This is because by definition they burn at a perfect stoichiometric ratio. This means a hotter burn and more N2 converted to N0X. The SOX problem is fixed with the low sulfer diesel of course. The only way I see to fix the Nox issue is to capture or convert it some how. Urea is one method, (I believe Mercedes is trying that) but of course it takes "two fuels" then. Desils are good but not the be all and end all. There are significant particulate and NOX issues yet.

[eric]

Juanjo - I already have a VW TDI here in the states. My girlfriend has one too. They are quite popular, but hard to find as VW never brought over very many.

And everything you say is quite true. Most people would have no clue except for the soft clatter at idle.

[averagejoe]

I think Volkswagen missed a good bet when they discontinued the diesel version of the VW Lupo. If I'm not mistaken, it got around 75 miles per gallon. All they had to do was tweak it a bit and slap a "Rabbit" label on the back. It would have sold like hotcakes in the US.

[GreyFlcn]

There are significant particulate and NOX issues yet.

2008 diesels using closed-loop NOx traps and Diesel Particulate Filters don't have those problems.

Infact they are cleaner than gasoline cars on NOx and PM.

[Phil Degrave]

Since when is a full size sedan a "monster"?

Not everyone is friendless, dateless, and childless like eric.

[Harvey D.]

Johnny V:

Peugeot is experimenting with a similar diesel PHEV. Supposed to be on the by 2010 if it can be produced cheap enough. Some major parts will have to be produced in China or India to keep the price low enough.

[Calamity]

If all diesel becomes low-sulfur, there's going to be a lot of extra sulfur. What are we going to do with it? Can't burn it (duh!) and storing it costs money.

Perhaps we can make lithium sulfur batteries with it...

[Charles]

Sierra Club’s MPG Calculator (http://www.sierraclub.org/mpg/) figures out how much current fuel-saving technology could save car owners – and the environment – based on the year and make of the car and the average cost of a gallon of gas in one’s given area. There are other links for more information and ways to take action towards better fuel efficiency etc., as well.

[Dandy]

Take GasDandy on a road trip!

GasDandy is an easy-to-use tool that tracks a vehicle’s mileage and maintenance information, providing data that can be used for both business and personal purposes. By making these figures readily available, the program also gives the consumer the opportunity to save money and to proactively identify problems that can shorten the life of their vehicle(s). Download a free trial version of GasDandy today at http://www.gasdandy.com

[Custom Chrysler 300]

I have one, and i find the gas not too bad - i do a lot of highway driving and its great. Here is my site http://www.digitalmind.ca/300

[renato]

IT´S A BIG CAR, VERY GOOD IN BRAZIL WE HAVE FEWS THA SAME THES

HUG FOR AMERICANS

IF SOME AMERICAN WANTS TO TALK WITH A BRAZILIAN MY E-MAIL: [email protected]

[crd]

Can the car make in into production now that Chrysler is under bankruptcy?

[Aleks]

Diesel consumtion is much less in theU.S then in Europe. Here are dominant diesel vehicles. Gasoline is in use only for sport and hispeed cars.

[Process Analyst,Australia]

They're not brand-new cars but they're diesels....its so old...hard to find....

[chrysler maniac]

one of the classiest cars ever

[Thom willi]

The Chrysler 300 is designed and produced based on the rear wheel drive Chrysler LX platform.

[Abraham Sahad Virtual Assistant]

Very nice!!

[diesel chip]

wow....if they would just take that great little diesel engine and integrate it with a 1500 to 2000 # PHEV, they would have something!!

[Ellsworth Mciltrot]

Finally, something classy that runs on diesel. Usually, when people hear the word diesel, they'd tend to think of SUV's. I'm glad this is something different.