Chrysler is dropping their  successful (engineering) CVT because too
many customers complained it does not "Shift" like any other automatic
transmission. Go figure... the brass in Detroit are too worried about
what they perceive consumers want - that's why Detroit will not be
selling their 50 - 70 mpg diesel cars in the US market - they sell  them
over seas now. They will have egg on their face (again) when Subaru  and
Honda do this in the months to come.

-dave

It's chalk and cheese.  Nissan CVT works good; customers don't
complain.  Chrysler CVT in Caliber shoots blanks; customers
complain.  Maybe because it shifts like s#@t.

Ford dumps CVT out of 500 (It will never be a Taurus!).  Engine too
small; performance sluggish.  A year later the CVT is replaced by a
joint Ford/GM 6-speed, which gets identical mpg and is less
expensive.  Oh, they also added a  more powerful engine.

What's on the face?  Is it egg or ego?????

The jokes on whom???

And have you checked the price of diesel recently?   The price eats
up most of the mpg advantage vs. gasoline.

Blame our friends in DC
jd

Yeah, washington has higher taxes on diesel and so does michigan. They
don't want us backing off on our oil use. Here gas is $3.65 and diesel
$4.19 - almost 15% higher. They burn about 40% less fuel, but most
people see the 54 cents and don't look any further.

How many people do you think will buy a $20k sub-compact diesel and pay
the extra 54 cents to get 50 - 70 mpg ? Jeep couldn't make enough of the
Liberty, and the Grand Cherokee CRD is on the lot 1 - 2 days before its
gone. Most dealers only dream about a car that moves like that :-)

-dave

Come on guys lets stick to the rotary.

-------------------------------------------------------
Let me try to be clearer on this.
Discussing diesel aircraft engines is OK on here.
Even discussing non rotary engines is OK on a strictly technical merit basis.
Discussing car transmissions in the context of engine efficiency is
also OK. It helps people understand all engines better.

Anything that smacks of politics we want to stay away from and that includes
global warming.

Tax policy is in the category of politics.
What kind of cars people buy is up to them and based
on emotions for the most part. Not what we want to talk about on here.
Car operation economics and pollution are other subjects not
related to aircraft engines because draconian emission rules have a large
detrimental effect on MPG. That too can be eliminated as not applicable
to aircraft engines.

There are plenty of list out there devoted to these subjects.
Please use them if you wish to discuss these issues.