Volkswagen bosses surprised by US diesel take-up

Thank you to Tourismo for pointing out the harmful natture of diesel emissions. It should also be noted that the EU7 emissions standard due to come into force within the next few years is to include NOx emissions and particulate emissions as well as CO2. This is effectively the death knell for diesel engines as it will become increasingly expensive to get diesel engines through the emissions tests thus adding tothe cost of the car. In small cars (with low profit margins) it may become uneconomic for manufacturers to offer a diesel variant. In mid-size cars the profit margin calculation may come down to intangibles such as "brand" and "image" to determine if a profit can be made. Audi A3 and A4 type cars may continue to be offered with a diesel engine whereas the Focus and Mondeo type cars may not. Ultimately the tightening emissions regulations will end diesel engine production due to the essential nature of the fuel. Of course petrol engines will follow diesels into the grave eventually but not for a decade or two more. Autocar has run a number of articles pointing this out over the last couple of years the latest was on 13 Oct 13. This is quite likely one of the reasons Roll-Royce will not offer a diesel engine. Their model cycles are 10 years long or more whereas most other cars have a 4 to 7 year model cycle. Rolls-Royce would not want to risk the cost of engineering a diesel variant which will not last out the model cycle of the next Phantom. Also the take up for a diesel Rolls-Royce would likely be exceptionally low so the cost of development would never be recouped anyway. Having owned a 2012 Mercedes V6 diesel CLS I can understand why a diesel Rolls-Royce would not be appropriate since no matter how well sound-proofed a diesel engine is it is still inherently noisy and has unwanted vibrations in a luxury car. The CLS was only ever "refined" once warmed through and cruising on a motorway. Sat in traffic or around town it sounded like a taxi. The main advance in diesel engined cars' refinement over the last decade has mostly been in realtion to sound-proofing and not the running characteristics of the diesel engine itself.