In recognizing a lack of awareness by Americans about diesel fuel, GM has released an infographic to set the record straight. And it's about time as GM plans to introduce its 2.0-liter clean turbo diesel version of the Chevrolet Cruze next year in the U.S.
Addressing common myths surrounding diesel fuel and the operating behavior of diesel engines GM emphasizes:
diesels are not dirty
diesels do not run rough
diesels are not loud
diesels start perfectly in cold weather
diesels fuel is not hard to find
To put into perspective how important this is for GM let's look at a few U.S. market statistics:
U.S. first quarter 2012 diesel sales up 35 percent
diesel car sales grew more than 27 percent last year
diesel sales projected to double to 6 percent by 2015
Outside of the U.S. General Motors sold more than half a million diesel-powered cars across Europe, Asia, Africa and South America, which includes 33,000 Cruzes. The Chevrolet Cruze is also one of the top-selling gasoline-powered cars in the U.S. in 2011 and General Motors' best-selling model globally.
So expect more pro-diesel PR to come from the General as Chevrolet establishes itself as the only domestic automaker to offer a diesel-powered compact car.
As for the foreign automakers such as Volkswagen with well established diesel model ranges, we're sure they're happy about GM's efforts as well.
