The Nissan Path

From looking through this 2008 PF maintenance brouchure I see three listings for 'Hybrid' control, battery and brake systems. Damn I hope Nissan turfs that whole PF hybrid idea and gives North America a simple fuel efficient diesel engine PF as has been made available throughout the rest of the world.

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I've heard that part of the problem with diesel vehicles in NA is the particular emissions standards here. I'm not sure that it's true, but I've heard it. It is a shame though as when I was growing up my dad had a diesel truck and he loved it. I almost bought a much older PF with the diesel engine before I bought the 06 I have now.

geoffstgermaine wrote:I've heard that part of the problem with diesel vehicles in NA is the particular emissions standards here. I'm not sure that it's true, but I've heard it. It is a shame though as when I was growing up my dad had a diesel truck and he loved it. I almost bought a much older PF with the diesel engine before I bought the 06 I have now.

I don't remember the specifics, but something recently changed that will allow the US to have many more diesels on the roads in the near future. Sure, there have always been a handful of diesel cars out there, but they haven't been legal in all 50 states. Here's a good site for diesel news:

http://mydrive.roadfly.com/blog/ExJxZ3/

Diesel engines burn very very lean and hot, which makes lots of NOx, and the only reasonable way to reduce the NOx is with a catalytic converter.

The problem though is that US diesel fuel up until this year was high sulfur cheap junk compared to what the European refiners are required to produce, and sulfur destroys Cats.

So at the same time more and more stringent NOx emission rules were taking effect, the refiners were dragging their feet about the new requirement to produce only Ultra-Low Sulfur Diesel fuel, and all light duty Diesel engines in the US got squeezed out.

Now ULSD is here, as well as new particle trap technologies, so we're going to be seeing a large increase in the number of passenger diesels in the US over the next few years.

As for a Hybrid Pathfinder, I think that would be a cool option to have. Nissan has always been so way behind in fuel economy it's not even funny, so any progress in that area would be more than welcome.

Thanks for the info RacerZX. Interesting to know.

RacerZX wrote: Nissan has always been so way behind in fuel economy it's not even funny, so any progress in that area would be more than welcome.

Not sure I agree with this, when I was looking at '05s, the Pathfinder posted the best fuel economy numbers out of the Explorer, Trailblazer, Durango, and Grand Cherokee.

LittleStevie wrote:

RacerZX wrote: Nissan has always been so way behind in fuel economy it's not even funny, so any progress in that area would be more than welcome.

Not sure I agree with this, when I was looking at '05s, the Pathfinder posted the best fuel economy numbers out of the Explorer, Trailblazer, Durango, and Grand Cherokee.

Maybe Carl was referring to the imports-at least the imports from Asia. I know at least 2 of the vehicles you mentioned are in the top 10 worst SUVs according to many, many comparison sites, surveys, etc. But I would have to agree that the imported 4x4s seem to have better mileage than the home grown variety.

Whenever I read comparison tests almost any Nissan/Infiniti vehicle comes in poorly in MPG, both compared to other brands and to Nissan's inflated MPG marketing numbers. Comparing to V8 powered american vehicles doesn't count.

HP numbers also used to be vastly over rated, especially compared to the German brands, but that's nicely changed with the latest motors like our VQ40.

I'm all about deisel. Especially with the availablility of Biodeisel which I'm hearing truckers love. F ethenol, and think about all the waste oil from McDonalds and other rental food retailers that could be used for something more productive than keeping Jenny Craig and the makers of lipitor in buisness. The fuel economy for my path is dismal but livable for as long as gas stays below $4/gal. If it goes any higher I'm moving to the desert and getting a KTM superenduro.

Amen brother. My daily drive is a '85 VW Diesel in which I burn %100 BioDiesel. Gets around 45MPG, 3 times as good as my Path.