Superbowl Ad - BMW Diesel

jage · 02-06-2011, 10:37 PM

What did you think of the "Dirty Diesel" BMW ad?

My wife said, "ooh, quiet?" Somehow I missed that comment the first two times around, I was busy being offended at them misrepresenting the pollution and function of other diesels. Ah well.

**BroncoHauler** · 02-06-2011, 10:43 PM

Probably co-sponsored by CARB. Nothing like completely misleading the public.

The VW (Darth) commercial was my favorite.

Herb

billwilson · 02-07-2011, 06:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jage

What did you think of the "Dirty Diesel" BMW ad?

Love that wagon

When i got sober in 1994, i bought a $400 diesel volvo wagon
one quart of oil with each tank
anything other than a slow crawl start produced a massive cloud

was fun when people would flash headlights or honk behind me
i would just floor it

carried me and 5-8 other guys trying to get sober to meetings and back
for two years
never broke down once

EMrider · 02-07-2011, 08:02 AM

Sure, it was an exaggeration of (very) old stereotypes, but that is a very typical ad tactic. And not entirely misleading either. Old diesels were noisy and polluting.

That such a dated and misleading stereotype even needs to be overcome in the US is the odd part.

Europe figured this out decades ago. Boost the diesel share of the vehicle fleet and you get improved fuel economy and performance, with minimal or no incremental cost. The economics work. But Americans have been slow adopters, hindered somewhat by EPA emissions standards.

Good news if BMW/VW can lead a change in that trend.
R

Roonie · 02-07-2011, 08:40 AM

Don't forget Audi there A3 has diesel and has been out for awhile.

**BroncoHauler** · 02-07-2011, 09:27 AM

Have a friend with a Mercedes BlueTEC diesel. It's NICE.

In addition to my diesel SMB, I have an '05 VW Passat with the 2.0L turbo diesel. Obviously I'm a big fan of diesels, given that two of my three vehicles are diesel powered. My biggest complaint is how much more complicated they are than they used to be. Sames holds true for gas engines, but I think gas engines are more mature in their emissions-control technology, and that aspect is correspondingly more reliable than the emissions-control technology on diesels.

Herb

Zeta · 02-07-2011, 10:09 AM

The Europeans really want to sell their diesels here, but I wonder if they'll ever catch on. Diesel fuel is expensive: $3.50/gal here today. If you want gas mileage buy a Prius--we've had three and love them.

I love my diesel SMB, but we all have to admit that the super high tech diesels just aren't that reliable. My dad had a Jeep CRD. Very neat rig: 295 ft/lbs of torque, 27+mpg etc. Went south at 60k and nobody could fix it--it could have been in the BMW ad! The CRD's were very unreliable, many had hopeless EGR (sound familiar PSD people?) problems. My dad may have been lucky though. Some CRD's were trouble right out of the box. Chrysler had to buy back a ton of them--and they only made two tons or so. The VW TDI's also had their issues. Anyone heard of the entirely clogged inlet manifold problem? Also EGR related.

Many blame it on the low quality diesel fuel here, but I wonder. One would think the ULSD might have helped--didn't seem to.

Oh well. Going outside to finish installation of my Edge Insight CTS engine monitor so I can obsess over exhaust temps and--pray for me--oil vs. water temperatures.

Z

**BroncoHauler** · 02-07-2011, 10:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zeta

The Europeans really want to sell their diesels here, but I wonder if they'll ever catch on. Diesel fuel is expensive: $3.50/gal here today. If you want gas mileage buy a Prius--we've had three and love them.

True, if you want to carry a few passengers and virtually no cargo. Show me a hybrid station wagon that gets 40 mpg highway. No really, I want you to show me one because I might buy it.

Is there some fundemental reason no one builds a diesel hybrid? Seems it would give you the best of both worlds; high city mileage and high highway mileage.

Herb

sdwindansea · 02-07-2011, 10:58 AM

We bought the VW Jetta Wagon TDI (diesel) last July. We averaged 43 mpg on a roundrip from San Diego to Mammoth and back. I believe our average speed was around 75 mph and was driven with a heavy foot. It is incredibly fun to drive, the low end torque is phenomenal, and the acceleration is great. I would buy this car again in a heart beat. I really do not know of any other comparable vehicles that offer the same amount of cargo capacity, gas mileage and range (550 miles/tank), while still being an extrememly enjoyable car to drive.

Ford_6L_E350 · 02-07-2011, 11:03 AM

I thought the ad was a little over the top. Not very realistic - when was the last time you say diesels smoking like that on the road? Ok, some modified PU's smoke like that, but not many.

They could have made a bigger point about the BMW and less of an issue about older diesels.

My favorite was little Darth Vader - maybe that was a diesel!

Mike