I was adding up my gas expenses for my last trip to Utah and came to a sobering conclusion: I can't spend this much money on fuel for a one week trip. So in the future I'm either going to have to carve out two weeks or more for a long trip or not go at all. Reality is that not going will be feasible far more often than finding two weeks free.
So this is a sad state of affairs and I find myself thinking about how I arrived here. Conclusion: our vehicle choices here in the US suck. Our big diesel engine trucks offer a 3-4 mpg advantage but at 5-7k in increased cost up front, this is a completely irrelevant advantage. The conclusion is obvious: we need better engines in this country. We all know that turbo diesel engines have been available around the world for some time and they provide fuel economy at least twice that of our full sized trucks here. Some might cite our emission standards here as the reason for the lack of diesel engine availability, but we have had a great turbo diesel engine here for years: the Mercedes found in the Sprinter vans. So it can be done.
The Ford F150 was supposed to have a diesel engine this year but it was scrapped. Consumers want these engines. At this point I am forced to conclude that the lack of availability of these engines is a conspiracy between the automotive and oil companies. Nothing else makes sense. And I'm sick of it.
So despite the fact that I believe a strong US-based manufacturing sector is vital to the recovery of this nation, and despite the fact that I go out of my way to buy American whenever possible, I have made the following conclusion:
Mahindra, bring your truck, and I will buy it.
So this is a sad state of affairs and I find myself thinking about how I arrived here. Conclusion: our vehicle choices here in the US suck. Our big diesel engine trucks offer a 3-4 mpg advantage but at 5-7k in increased cost up front, this is a completely irrelevant advantage. The conclusion is obvious: we need better engines in this country. We all know that turbo diesel engines have been available around the world for some time and they provide fuel economy at least twice that of our full sized trucks here. Some might cite our emission standards here as the reason for the lack of diesel engine availability, but we have had a great turbo diesel engine here for years: the Mercedes found in the Sprinter vans. So it can be done.
The Ford F150 was supposed to have a diesel engine this year but it was scrapped. Consumers want these engines. At this point I am forced to conclude that the lack of availability of these engines is a conspiracy between the automotive and oil companies. Nothing else makes sense. And I'm sick of it.
So despite the fact that I believe a strong US-based manufacturing sector is vital to the recovery of this nation, and despite the fact that I go out of my way to buy American whenever possible, I have made the following conclusion:
Mahindra, bring your truck, and I will buy it.