GM Stays Committed To Diesel Plans Despite VW Woes

After decades of being all but ignored by American car buyers, diesel cars looked poised to take a growing chunk of market share away from traditional gas engines. Then, just as things were looking up, Volkswagen’s diesel cheating scandal made front page news across the world, tarnishing the notion of “clean diesel” and almost certainly causing some automakers to reconsider plans for future diesel models.

But not General Motors, at least according to North American President Mark Reuss. In an interview with Car & Driver, the GM bigwig confirmed that plans for diesel-powered Cadillacs and a new Chevy Cruze Diesel were still going ahead despite the diesel backlash.

GM has already confirmed a bigger but lighter 2016 Chevy Cruze Diesel, so it makes sense that the automaker wouldn’t want to backtrack on plans it has just announced. However, Cadillac’s diesel plans are a bit further out, which would make it easier for them to just sort of fall out of sight. But Ruess said there wouldn’t be any development delays for these new four and six-cylinder motors, which are mostly aimed at European buyers.

Unfortunately for the Detroit-based automaker, European governments are having second thoughts for their near-unanimous support for diesel vehicles. Already, countries like France are eliminating subsidies for diesel vehicles, and English government officials have signaled similar plans. The Volkswagen diesel scandal has already delayed the rollout of the Chevy Colorado/GMC Canyon Duramax diesel models for further EPA testing, and GM’s insistence on moving forward with its diesel plans could come back to bite them.