I expect great things from Honda in the next few years. They have decided to address the fuel cost problem without resorting to unproven technologies, like exotic hybrid configurations. They showed off an Accord that gets >60 mpg highway, ~51 mpg combined and it’s a diesel not hybrid. Going diesel also means that Honda can finally be aggressive in going after the European markets, but I’ll come back to this.
At 51 mpg a diesel Accord makes a lot of sense, since the gas version gets only 24 mpg highway, 21 mpg combined. Even with diesel costing 50¢ more a gallon than ~87 octane gas, you save ~$30 per fill up (assuming a 350 mile range). This means that if you fill up weekly you will save ~$1,550 a year. But you might be thinking “well a hybrid can get that kind of mpg”, but a hybrid requires an expensive and heavy battery pack, and loads of other accessories. The hybrid option adds $7,600 to the price of a Civic, and Honda likely doesn’t have much of a margin. Applying the same math assuming an Accord hybrid could get 51 mpg (which it could not, even if they still sold them) you would save $1,700 a year on fuel verses the regular model. The pay back time is 4.5 years assuming no tax credits etc, but a diesel engine costs about $1,000 to $2,000 more than a gas engine, so the pay back is 0.7 to 1.5 years. The reason diesels are more expensive are because they have to be over built, but that also means they go forever. There is also a saying among diesel people: A diesel is only more expensive for the first 100,000 miles, the next 300,000 are much cheaper. i suspect the reason there isn't a diesel hybrid in near future is Honda’s plasma-based NOx reduction systems will likely not function as well if they are constantly cycling it on and off. Urea inject is better suited for diesel-hybrid applications but that has its own problems. Also, hybrids require their own assembly line, diesels can be built on the regular line, so the margins are much better.
Where the diesel can really shine is in Honda’s Acura product line. The high performance/compression engines in Acuras require premium fuel, so the diesel price difference is greatly reduced. A hybrid would not maintain that pushed back in your seat feel that Acura’s are known for, a diesel can. As long as there is no smoke cloud the Acura brand can live happily as a diesel. In the 17 mpg Acura MDX, getting just 35 mpg from a diesel would save the weekly filler almost $2,300 a year in fuel costs, with minimal loss in performance. In the 21 mpg TL getting 51 mpg would save the weekly filler $2,130 a year in fuel. These kinds of numbers could breathe new life in to Acura sales, since the sticker shock and fuel cost double whammy can scare off some buyers. The issue will be, whether or not Acura owners will accept diesel, which is smelly and viscous and in some places a bit hard to find.
A viable diesel means Honda can finally sell cars in Europe, where for tax reasons diesel is far less expensive. They will face an up hill battle since Japanese cars are considered a joke in Germany, but it is a battle Honda can win. Here’s how: In the rest of the world, Accords are huge with luxury features, many Hondas are made in the US, with the dollar the way it is, an Accord or Acura diesel would be a bargain luxury car in the EU. After all that is how Honda won the US, cheaper cars with good mpgs (or in this case kpls.) I certainly hope the European car makers are shaking in their boots, since the American family sedan from Japan is on its way, backed by “cheap” US labor, and a weak dollar.
I also hope the American car makers are taking notes.
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