General Motors Company (GM), Ford Motor Company (F): Will We Want a Diesel-Chevy Cruze?

So why aren’t there more diesels here?
It’s a good question. Among mass-market automakers, only Volkswagen seems to sell significant quantities of diesel cars in the United States. VW says that cars powered by its clean diesel engines accounted for 22.6% of its U.S. sales in March, a 6.6% increase over last year. Maybe it’s a German thing?

Of course, Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F) sells plenty of cars in Germany, too, and General Motors Company (NYSE:GM) even owns a German automaker – Opel. Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F) COO Mark Fields said earlier this year that the company could “react very quickly” if diesels were to start to gain popularity in the U.S. Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F) offers diesel engines in its heavy-duty F-Series pickups, but it hasn’t yet announced plans to offer any of its clean diesel powertrains in passenger cars here in the U.S.

That’s too bad. VW’s ongoing success with diesel cars in the U.S. suggests that a market can be found for the new generation of high-tech oil-burners here. If General Motors Company (NYSE:GM)’s new diesel Cruze catches on, maybe more diesel cars will follow.

What do you think? Would you buy a diesel-powered car if more were available? Scroll down to leave a comment and let me know.

The article Will Americans Buy a Diesel Chevy Cruze? originally appeared on Fool.com and is written by John Rosevear.

Motley Fool contributor John Rosevear owns shares of Ford and General Motors. Follow him on Twitter at @jrosevear. The Motley Fool recommends Ford and General Motors. The Motley Fool owns shares of Ford.

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