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gauchorojo

451 CDI test drive

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I thought it was stupid for them to do the press-junket LA-to-Detroit test when PAG has zero intention of bringing the CDI Stateside.

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That shifter is awfully sparse compared to the NA 451 -- do they get a different versino in the UK?

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Posted (edited) · Report post

Every where else in the world gets that shifter (which by the way looks like the old 450 version) except for North America...

Edited by lebikerboy

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These are a bit dated, but I haven't seen them in the archives here so...

http://www.autoblog.com/photos/smart-fortwo-cdi/271024/

http://www.autoblog.com/2007/06/11/71-mpg-...pictures/print/

I am still looking for last year's original Quattroruote article where they drove from Rome to Salzburg (1000km), on one fuel tank, proving an average of 3.3L/100km... All I've found are articles referring to the QR article, but no the actual source...

Quattroruote_Preis_smart_fortwo_cdi.pdf

Can y'all tell I WANT one of these CDIs? :) Maybe I won't have to drive North to pick it up... although I have enjoyed every trip...

Cheers,

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I guarantee it's not getting 80 to 88 MPG at 70 MPH!

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Yeah that's what I meant....at 112 km/h you would be lucky to be pulling 75 MPG Imperial with a 450 cdi, and the 451 is thirstier.

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Mike:You keep saying that the 451 CDI is thirstier than the 450 CDI.On what are you baseing this? We all no that the 451 GAS model is much thirstier than the 450CDI. However, when comparing published Mercedes info, on the 2005 and 2006 CDI smarts, then looking at the Mercedes UK smart site, the 451 CDI apears LESS thirsty.I'm not saying your wrong, but your info sources must be different than mine. Thanks.

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That shifter is awfully sparse compared to the NA 451 -- do they get a different versino in the UK?

And that's the top-of-the-line passion leather-wrapped shifter. The pure's shifter looks worse.

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I would certainly prefer their "sparse" leather or "worse" pure shifter over the crap Americanized contraption we got stuck with, and that infernal "creep" function.There has to be a way for someone hack that off the car using a Euro shifter and flashing the ECU or something...

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I would certainly prefer their "sparse" leather or "worse" pure shifter over the crap Americanized contraption we got stuck with, and that infernal "creep" function.There has to be a way for someone hack that off the car using a Euro shifter and flashing the ECU or something...

+1

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I thought it was stupid for them to do the press-junket LA-to-Detroit test when PAG has zero intention of bringing the CDI Stateside.

They did it to torture the diesel nuts in Califeven if it got infinite mpg, and zero emissions, Calif is too hypocritical to allow itCM

post-329-1256417822_thumb.png

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451 cdi would be nice, but ain't gonna happen.

they already have 451 cdi in rest of world don't they ?I remember when they said the smart would never sell here< wait list now under 3 months, hmm >maybe if I stopped loaning, < giving >, a portion of my tax $ to what's left of the US domestic auto mfg'sthe 451 cdi dream would become reality sooner, than later ?CM

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The problem is that smart USA believes there is no business case for the car, and there probably isn't, with sales volume over here being very low and an expensive BlueTec conversion being required.

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The thing that baffles me is M-B could crunch the numbers and figure out exactly how many BlueTec smarts would need to be sold to make them economically viable. Why not make the public aware of this, create a sign up sheet and if they reach the number necessary make the damn thing. The same goes for a Roadster like vehicle.

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M-B engines seem to be dirty without BlueTec.....Peugeot has been using DPF only for 10 years and they sure smell clean ;) Mind you, they are not sold here.

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I stand to be corrected but as I understand it the current CDI does not meet emission requirements for North America. So some modifications to the car are needed to have it sold here, that will cost X number of dollars per vehicle. To have the car certified to be sold in North America is going to cost an additional Y number of dollars per vehicle.All M-B USA and Canada need to do is say we have to sell 10,000 or 20,0000 vehicles at whatever premium price, who wants one. If the demand is there they should be built. If the demand is not there then it should not be expected of M-B to loose money so a couple hundred or thousand people can have the car they want.

Edited by Huronlad

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Exactly. But VAG (VW and Audi, specifically) did not set out to make only their US-bound TDIs able to meet CARB regulations. It would be silly of them to make one TDI version for the EU and a "cleaner" one that meets CARB. So all the new 2.0 L "Clean TDI" Jettas and Golfs (and all the other diesels Audi will start selling here soon) sold around the world meet CARB.The "new" smart cdi is essentially the old one, but with a particulate filter installed in order to meet current EU regulations for particulate emissions. The Daimler 799 cc cdi is basically a small version of the company's other CDIs (2.7 and 3.0, specifically) that have been available for a number of years. Those engines are now getting tweaks enabling them to meet regulations stricter than EU-5, such as piezo injectors and new catalytic converters. If Daimler wanted to, they could redesign the engine to feature these enhancements for the global market, not just the US. Daimler (smart) are very proud to boast that the fortwo cdi produces the lowest CO2 output of any non-hybrid. It might make sense for them to boast that it's the cleanest all-around ICE on the market. But then again, the ED goes into series production next month, and likely mass production by the end of next year. Why bother?

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It doesn't need bluetec. The new VW TDI uses no AdBlue injection, just a DPF.

Hi, we just took a course on diesel emission technologies, put on by CARBThey are able to get "BIG" rigs to emit only CO2 & water vapourIf all the smart cdi needs is a DPF, to meet standardsIt would then seem just a case of making sure the filter regenerates properlyHow big would the filter need to be for the smart ?perhaps 2 filters & a crossover, just swap out the filled one as needed, nothing fancyCMCARB info here:http://www.arb.ca.gov/diesel/mobile.htm

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The 451 cdi already has a DPF. Mustn't be a very good one then...... ;)

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