MPG-O-MATIC : Test drive of 2014 Chevy Cruze diesel

[Hershey]

http://www.mpgomatic.com/ .

[Hershey]

Not much better gas mileage than the LTZ that has the Ecotec with the 1.4 ltr.turbo .

[bronsin]

Diesel right now is about 25 cents a gallon above petrol right now in NJ. The gap is coming down but nowhere near the situation in the early 90s when gas was 99 cents and diesel 79 cents. Hell my freaking fuel oil is nearly $4! (and theres no over the road tx on that)

Still I find diesels intrigueing.

I ALMOST bought a converted Buell Blast with a 10 hp diesel in it last year but my back is no good for it.

[bronsin]

Yeah they always package "fuel saving cars" with auto trans and severely upgraded features so the cost is WAY higher than a "non fuel saving" car.

No WAY I believe that $24.5 K pricetag!

[junorico24]

Getting a diesel myself. I'll attempt my own fuel (biodiesel). I will never have to go to the pump again. Sounds good, doesn't it?

[nookandcrannycar]

Originally Posted by junorico24

Getting a diesel myself. I'll attempt my own fuel (biodiesel). I will never have to go to the pump again. Sounds good, doesn't it?

On the CityData.com website there is a member whose screen name is StealthRabbit. He owns several properties and IIRC he keeps a Rabbit diesel at each location that runs on cooking grease/oil...a biodiesel? He even is able to replace the cars cheaply when need be (IIRC he keeps tabs on this through a network of such aficionados).

[Kal-El]

I like the idea of diesels gaining success in the US, but the hurdles are many. It's really unfortunate that it starts at $25K when the standard car starts at $17K. These diesel engines demand a higher premium than a complex hybrid system. Doesn't make sense. To think you can get a Prius for less. Diesel in my area is 40¢ more a gallon than regular gas too. You'll have to drive a long time to really start saving money.

Certainly a tough sell.

[bronsin]

Did you see the 5 gallon tank of evil smelling chemicals in the spare tire position (no spare tire at all in this vehicle) necessary to pass emissions? This lasts for something like 15k miles and needs to be refilled.

By all means take the expense and inconvience of this into your calculations when considering this vehicle.

As for biodiesel you aint running your car on this stuff below ~ 30 degrees F. It wont start unless you make provision to do so on pump diesel. Oh and you better purge this stuff from the pump injectors etc on a cold night after a 50 degree day because if it congeals in the internals of the fuel system good luck getting your car started without disassembling everything or resorting to a heated garage.

Allow me to pause and shed a tear for my used 1979 MB 240D I bought for $4000 ($25,000 sticker price) with 100k miles on it from a doctor who thought the engine was bad because it knocked on startup. It was an injector knock caused by worn out injectors which alters the timing. Rebuilt injectors for $25 each cured it. (new "wonder diesel" injectors are like $300 each and need replacing every 100k miles)

I bought the car because I like working on cars. However buying a MB is a social shot across the bow of some people. They think they have to keep up with you. My neighbor and friend went out and bought a Lincoln Continental! My wife took the car to a family reunion and in a room full of people she didnt know she overheard a convensation that went like this "I heard the Bronsins bought a Mercedes Benz. It was $4000." Another woman replied "That was just the down payment deerie."

Even though it was 14 years old the car was like brand new. I always bought used cars with problems for myself and fixed them. The most I had ever spent for a car up to that point was $2000 for a 1986 Toyota pickup with 20k miles on it. Parts were dirt cheap for it. $19 for a water pump. Ditto for rotors. I averaged a couple hundred dollars a year on parts. I had to replace the origional exhaust system at 16 years (diesel exhaust system last forever) and it was $600. The nuts and bolts and clamps that held it to the body of the car were COPPER PLATED. I loosened them with a 13mm wrench and turned them off with my FINGERS. Since the replacements werent copper plated I reused them. 20 gallon tank and on the highway it got 30 mpg (at 80 mph foot on the floor) gaving it a range of 600 miles before you had to fill it up. Since diesel was 79 cents a gallon that came to ~$17.

Those days are done for good!

[nookandcrannycar]

Originally Posted by Kal-El

I like the idea of diesels gaining success in the US, but the hurdles are many. It's really unfortunate that it starts at $25K when the standard car starts at $17K. These diesel engines demand a higher premium than a complex hybrid system. Doesn't make sense. To think you can get a Prius for less. Diesel in my area is 40¢ more a gallon than regular gas too. You'll have to drive a long time to really start saving money.

Certainly a tough sell.

^^^^^ My thoughts exactly.

[nookandcrannycar]

Originally Posted by bronsin

Did you see the 5 gallon tank of evil smelling chemicals in the spare tire position (no spare tire at all in this vehicle) necessary to pass emissions? This lasts for something like 15k miles and needs to be refilled.

By all means take the expense and inconvience of this into your calculations when considering this vehicle.

As for biodiesel you aint running your car on this stuff below ~ 30 degrees F. It wont start unless you make provision to do so on pump diesel. Oh and you better purge this stuff from the pump injectors etc on a cold night after a 50 degree day because if it congeals in the internals of the fuel system good luck getting your car started without disassembling everything or resorting to a heated garage.

Allow me to pause and shed a tear for my used 1979 MB 240D I bought for $4000 ($25,000 sticker price) with 100k miles on it from a doctor who thought the engine was bad because it knocked on startup. It was an injector knock caused by worn out injectors which alters the timing. Rebuilt injectors for $25 each cured it. (new "wonder diesel" injectors are like $300 each and need replacing every 100k miles)

I bought the car because I like working on cars. However buying a MB is a social shot across the bow of some people. They think they have to keep up with you. My neighbor and friend went out and bought a Lincoln Continental! My wife took the car to a family reunion and in a room full of people she didnt know she overheard a convensation that went like this "I heard the Bronsins bought a Mercedes Benz. It was $4000." Another woman replied "That was just the down payment deerie."

Even though it was 14 years old the car was like brand new. I always bought used cars with problems for myself and fixed them. The most I had ever spent for a car up to that point was $2000 for a 1986 Toyota pickup with 20k miles on it. Parts were dirt cheap for it. $19 for a water pump. Ditto for rotors. I averaged a couple hundred dollars a year on parts. I had to replace the origional exhaust system at 16 years (diesel exhaust system last forever) and it was $600. The nuts and bolts and clamps that held it to the body of the car were COPPER PLATED. I loosened them with a 13mm wrench and turned them off with my FINGERS. Since the replacements werent copper plated I reused them. 20 gallon tank and on the highway it got 30 mpg (at 80 mph foot on the floor) gaving it a range of 600 miles before you had to fill it up. Since diesel was 79 cents a gallon that came to ~$17.

Those days are done for good!

The City-Data.com member I mentioned lives in Washington state. I forget where, but his winters certainly aren't warm, but probably not as cold as a Philadelphia/SW New Jersey winter. What he does doesn't appeal to me, as I wouldn't want to ask restaurants for the fuel, even if they are throwing it away. He has no problem with doing that. He's a pretty unusual guy. IIRC, he home schooled his kids and as a project he gave each of his kids some land and had them build a house on it....not hiring people...an 'own two hands build. IIRC, each kid sold each house for a profit.

Around the time your Mercedes was built, my uncle had an early 70s 250C. He kept that car in pristine condition. He got rear ended on a freeway off ramp and the car was totaled. The other driver was uninsured. His insurance company didn't come close to paying him what he felt it was worth. He was so pissed, he never bought another Mercedes.

[bronsin]

Originally Posted by nookandcrannycar

The City-Data.com member I mentioned lives in Washington state. I forget where, but his winters certainly aren't warm, but probably not as cold as a Philadelphia/SW New Jersey winter. What he does doesn't appeal to me, as I wouldn't want to ask restaurants for the fuel, even if they are throwing it away. He has no problem with doing that. He's a pretty unusual guy. IIRC, he home schooled his kids and as a project he gave each of his kids some land and had them build a house on it....not hiring people...an 'own two hands build. IIRC, each kid sold each house for a profit.

Around the time your Mercedes was built, my uncle had an early 70s 250C. He kept that car in pristine condition. He got rear ended on a freeway off ramp and the car was totaled. The other driver was uninsured. His insurance company didn't come close to paying him what he felt it was worth. He was so pissed, he never bought another Mercedes.

Washington State would be the bio fuel capital of the world temp wise. It seldom gets below 30 degrees F on the coast so you wouldnt have to jump through hoops to run fry oil. You would have to filter it however. I can only imagine what screwing around with 100 gallons of stinky dirty fry oil and 55 gallon drums and pumps and filters on an 80 degree day would be like.

Still if I was 20 I would be so there!

I have a feeling though that fast food places are on to the value of their discarded oil (and so are municipalities) and the "free" fuel is gone the way of the dodo.

That 250C probably saved your uncles life! I had a friend with a 79 300 SD Turbo who t boned a car in the drivers door at 45 mpg. The front bumper was a little rolled under the car and the engine and transmission were trashed. He walked away. The driver of the other car was killed. Oh was he pissed at him! He got some money and kept the car in his driveway even though he never fixed it. He used to sit in it.

My dream in life was to buy 10 acres of land and build a house on it with the materials on the property. Land in Schoharie Country NY was $1000 an acre in the 80s for really nice property in the middle of nowhere.

But I lost my job and had to move to NJ....Neutron Jack got me!

[nookandcrannycar]

Originally Posted by bronsin

Washington State would be the bio fuel capital of the world temp wise. It seldom gets below 30 degrees F on the coast so you wouldnt have to jump through hoops to run fry oil. You would have to filter it however. I can only imagine what screwing around with 100 gallons of stinky dirty fry oil and 55 gallon drums and pumps and filters on an 80 degree day would be like.

Still if I was 20 I would be so there!

I have a feeling though that fast food places are on to the value of their discarded oil (and so are municipalities) and the "free" fuel is gone the way of the dodo.

That 250C probably saved your uncles life! I had a friend with a 79 300 SD Turbo who t boned a car in the drivers door at 45 mpg. The front bumper was a little rolled under the car and the engine and transmission were trashed. He walked away. The driver of the other car was killed. Oh was he pissed at him! He got some money and kept the car in his driveway even though he never fixed it. He used to sit in it.

My dream in life was to buy 10 acres of land and build a house on it with the materials on the property. Land in Schoharie Country NY was $1000 an acre in the 80s for really nice property in the middle of nowhere.

But I lost my job and had to move to NJ....Neutron Jack got me!

My uncle was so mad he not only avoided Mercedes, but he wouldn't buy any luxury brand for about 25 years. He could easily afford any of them, but he was afraid if he got in an accident his insurance company (really any insurance company) would cheat him. Finally in the early/mid 2000s he and my aunt were in Bend, OR and the engine blew out on their 3 1/2 year old mid level Dodge and it wasn't covered by warranty. He finally let his feelings about the insurance company not giving him his due fall by the wayside and bought a brand new Lexus. Now, I doubt you could pry their Lexus sedan or their Lexus SUV away from them. I love my uncle, but some people do find him 'difficult'. I did when I was younger, but now I don't because I understand him better...and, more often than not, I agree with him.

The guy in Washington state is actually older than you, but he's not mainstream at all. IIRC, he is close to the coast and in a rural area. You're dead on re the capacity of those drums. He stores the oil on his property and I had no idea the capacity of those drums until he posted that they hold 55 gallons.

Neutron Jack...IIRC, the first poster boy for falling in love with your biographer.

[nookandcrannycar]

Originally Posted by nookandcrannycar

The City-Data.com member I mentioned lives in Washington state. I forget where, but his winters certainly aren't warm, but probably not as cold as a Philadelphia/SW New Jersey winter. What he does doesn't appeal to me, as I wouldn't want to ask restaurants for the fuel, even if they are throwing it away. He has no problem with doing that. He's a pretty unusual guy. IIRC, he home schooled his kids and as a project he gave each of his kids some land and had them build a house on it....not hiring people...an 'own two hands build. IIRC, each kid sold each house for a profit.

Around the time your Mercedes was built, my uncle had an early 70s 250C. He kept that car in pristine condition. He got rear ended on a freeway off ramp and the car was totaled. The other driver was uninsured. His insurance company didn't come close to paying him what he felt it was worth. He was so pissed, he never bought another Mercedes.

I was reading a 'How long do you plan to keep your car' thread on the CityData.com Automotive forum and the above mentioned City Data member (StealthRabbit) posted a comment to this thread...Think some of us are crazy re multiple Toyotas? This guy has 35 VWs (Yes THIRTY-FIVE VWs) -- a 76 VW Diesel Rabbit with over 300k miles on it -- a 2000 VW Camper (the only one with a gas engine) -- and 33 other VW diesels...the 'youngest' is 13 years old and the 'oldest' is 40 years old. He also has 5 motorcycles (all from the 1970s) and multiple tractors, bulldozers, and bobcats.

He's not going to get rid of any of them . He also has a Studebaker Diesel and wants to find another one.

[bronsin]

I remember the 1980 Rabbit Diesel I wanted was $8500. The salesman told me over the phone he had one I could have for $7500. But when I showed up he claimed to not have made the offer.

I went with a Subaru Hatchback for $4600 bottom line tax included. It lasted eight years and 100k miles. I replaced it with with a 1988 VW Fox wagon because I had two kids by then.

With diesels and hybrids you have to do the math!

[nookandcrannycar]

Originally Posted by bronsin

I remember the 1980 Rabbit Diesel I wanted was $8500. The salesman told me over the phone he had one I could have for $7500. But when I showed up he claimed to not have made the offer.

I went with a Subaru Hatchback for $4600 bottom line tax included. It lasted eight years and 100k miles. I replaced it with with a 1988 VW Fox wagon because I had two kids by then.

With diesels and hybrids you have to do the math!

Was your Fox reliable? A girl I was dating at the time got a new one at the same time you did . I remember driving it and thinking it was going to (though new) fall apart. IIRC, It was manufactured in Brazil. She had the 4-door sedan.

[bronsin]

Yes it was I had it for 7 years and 100,000 miles. I sold it cheap because it ran perfectly, but every once in a while wouldnt start. I found out later thats a classic fuel pump replay failure. It would have been easy to fix.

When my Dad saw it he bought one for himself. He gave it to the neighbor when he moved away and it had like 100k on it. The neighbor drove it 60 miles to and from work and put another 200,000k on it. Every time I saw him he absolutely raved about the car. He drove the Fox to work and kept a BMW for around town.

I thought the quality of the car was excellent.

The car was made in Brazil yes, but the engine and manual transmission was made in Germany. I suspect that "made in Brazil" thing was the reason people didnt buy the car in great numbers.

Oh I forgot something!!!

When we bought the Fox wagon we rejected the first one! The salesman drove up in a Fox wagon and the engine had a death rattle! I REFUSED to take delivery. They wouldnt give me another one so I went to another dealer.

That reminds me of another thing! When I bought my 09 Yaris I got a great deal. The salesman drove up with that one too. I didnt pick it out. I considered trading in the Yaris on a SMART about a year later. The SMart salesman pointed out the rear of the Yaris had been dammaged and painted over. I didnt believe him at the time but examining the car later convinced me he was right.

Let that be a lesson to you all!

[nookandcrannycar]

Originally Posted by bronsin

Yes it was I had it for 7 years and 100,000 miles. I sold it cheap because it ran perfectly, but every once in a while wouldnt start. I found out later thats a classic fuel pump replay failure. It would have been easy to fix.

When my Dad saw it he bought one for himself. He gave it to the neighbor when he moved away and it had like 100k on it. The neighbor drove it 60 miles to and from work and put another 200,000k on it. Every time I saw him he absolutely raved about the car. He drove the Fox to work and kept a BMW for around town.

I thought the quality of the car was excellent.

The car was made in Brazil yes, but the engine and manual transmission was made in Germany. I suspect that "made in Brazil" thing was the reason people didnt buy the car in great numbers.

Oh I forgot something!!!

When we bought the Fox wagon we rejected the first one! The salesman drove up in a Fox wagon and the engine had a death rattle! I REFUSED to take delivery. They wouldnt give me another one so I went to another dealer.

That reminds me of another thing! When I bought my 09 Yaris I got a great deal. The salesman drove up with that one too. I didnt pick it out. I considered trading in the Yaris on a SMART about a year later. The SMart salesman pointed out the rear of the Yaris had been dammaged and painted over. I didnt believe him at the time but examining the car later convinced me he was right.

Let that be a lesson to you all!

Wow. My former GF must have just gotten a bad one. She traded it in for an Accord about a year and a half later.

SMH re your Yaris. Shameful that a Toyota dealer would do that and sell the car as new.

[bronsin]

Yes there are bad ones as the death rattle of the one they tried to palm off on me proves.

Thats the thing I guess. Toyotas are ALL good. Theres few with major problems but I guess they exist.

Perhaps once you fix whats wrong they are good to go?