Not only does it live up to the original Land Rover Defender brief, the Grenadier goes above and beyond but it's not perfect.
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The Ineos automotive brand might be new, but what has led to the creation of the Grenadier wagon and soon, the Grenadier ute is nothing short of extraordinary.
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With the absence of the Land Rover Defender in its original, tough ladder chassis form, the gap in the market for a fully capable off-road vehicle that feels at home in the city and one which you can hose the mud out of, was left to no other than British billionaire and chemical engineer, Sir Jim Ratcliffe.
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The original idea was to simply buy the tooling and the manufacturing products from Land Rover and continue producing the Defender one way or another, but the British brand evidently wasn’t very keen and what was then conceived at the Grenadier pub in London almost as a ‘we can do it better ourselves any way’, became the Ineos Grenadier.
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Imagine this; start with a near-unlimited budget for a passion project and hire the likes of Magna Steyr to engineer your vehicle, BMW to produce the engines, ZF to make the transmission and Bosch to supply a great deal of the other parts… then you buy a pre-existing Mercedes-Benz production facility and further invest a claimed $770 million AUD in upgrades to produce the vehicle.
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That probably needs some context because if you don’t know, Magna Steyr happens to be the same company that makes a similar car, the Mercedes-Benz G-Class – or G-Wagen.
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Yep, that’s right, the same company that produces what is probably the most famous SUV in the world also happened to engineer the Ineos Grenadier. Conflict of interest? Don’t tell Mercedes.
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It gets better though; because having talked to the engineers who have made the project come to life, most are from the likes of Mercedes, Jaguar Land Rover, and even McLaren.
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Thankfully, the Grenadier starts at $97,000 (originally $85k) and not the $400,000 on-road the G-Wagen has become, and that is perhaps what the Grenadier is here to do. It’s to provide a fully capable alternative to the ultra-expensive off-roaders that have become as much a fashion icon as anything else.
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The main question isn’t about the Grenadier’s intent or its individual parts, however.
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We know Magna can engineer a car, we know BMW can make great engines that work amazingly well with ZF transmissions, and we know Bosch supplies automotive parts to the absolute majority of other manufacturers.
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The real question, is whether the Grenadier is a genuine alternative for the original Defender and befitting of a new model in 2023? The answer to that question is actually a resounding yes, but with some caveats that we will discuss in this review.
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How much does the 2023 Ineos Grenadier cost?
As previously mentioned, the Grenadier saw a substantial price increase last year which added as much as $13,000 to the price of the Wagon and Ute.
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Although Ineos has put this down to the increasing cost of materials – which is definitely a contributing factor – we also have no doubt that the increase is also driven by market dynamics of supply and demand and perhaps a repositioning of the brand itself given just how popular the original price point was with buyers.
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2023 Ineos Grenadier pricing:
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Utility Wagon
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Base: $97,000 (up 14.8 per cent or $12,500)
Fieldmaster Edition: $107,400 (up 12.5 per cent or $11,905)
Trailmaster Edition: $108,525 (up 13.6 per cent or $13,030)
Station Wagon
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Base: $98,000 (up 14.6 per cent or $12,500)
Fieldmaster Edition: $109,525 (up 13.5 per cent or $13,030)
Trailmaster Edition: $109,525 (up 13.5 per cent or $13,030)
Prices exclude on-road costs
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If you were lucky enough to get in at that price, you have got yourself a bargain, but for the rest the price increase does genuinely position the vehicle in a place now that makes you really have to consider whether you can trust a first time manufacturer to produce a vehicle that costs well in excess of $100k.
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While the price increase is unfortunate, options in the hardcore 4×4 market are limited considering orders for the LandCruiser 70 remain closed on the back of rampant demand unmatched by supply.
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There’s also no haggling given Ineos is using an ‘agency model’ with fixed pricing. The company will control inventory and pricing, and pay dealer partners a “straight-forward commission”, much in the style of Mercedes-Benz and Honda.
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Australia is a huge market for the Grenadier in terms of orders, coming in the top five, which means local market feedback and input has been well and truly taken into account. You can find a list of Ineos Grenadier retail locations here.
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What is the Ineos Grenadier like on the inside?
First impressions when you get inside the Grenadier cabin are that of a modern and actually not all that austere interior. It was not what we expected and it’s fair to say we were pleasantly surprised.
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The Recaro seats are comfortable in all available configurations, whether it’s cloth, vinyl or leather. We found the seating position in the front to be excellent for visibility and ease of access to the switchgear and cabin.
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With the majority of off-road controls cleverly placed on the roof – inspired by aircraft cockpits – there is heaps of room in the cabin itself and it never feels overwhelming or unusable.
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This is a case of what happens when a new company that has never made cars is allowed to rethink the basics. Having used the 4WD controls on the roof, the question becomes – why don’t all cars have this?
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So front seat ergonomics are fantastic, but not perfect. There are a couple of issues for right-hand drive models that seem a little bizarre.
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Firstly, the windscreen wiper does a terrible job of cleaning the edge of the right side of the screen. A decently sized area near the A-pillar on the right of the windscreen is basically untouched and given the wet and muddy conditions in which we drove the Grenadier in, it becomes a genuine visibility issue when turning right.
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You get used to it and its likely not an issue for the absolute majority of the time you are driving, but it is nonetheless a strange thing to encounter in a modern car.
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Secondly, right-hand drive vehicles are disadvantaged with the exhaust manifold of the BMW engines (diesel or petrol) both taking up an unusual amount of space in the footwell where you would usually have your footrest.
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This means your left foot is sitting a fair bit higher than one would probably be used to and if you happen to use the car on a farm, with big boots, this further exaggerates the problem.
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Again, we got used to this unexpected feature after a few hours of driving but as with the wiper, it’s not something you would expect from a modern car.
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When quizzed, Ineos engineers told us they initially planned to change the engineering of the vehicle to address it, but it would have changed the cabin or chassis size and this wasn’t feasible.
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It’s also worth mentioning that in some of the vehicles we drove, the fit and finish of the interior were not as great as we would have wished for.
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From the roof control panel feeling easy to pull off to the outside door handles that jammed (we are told these will be fixed for all Australian-delivered vehicles), there is no doubt that first batch production vehicles have some room for improvement; and hopefully those improvements are passed on to the first vehicles delivered for our market.
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For all the niggling issues, the interior is genuinely excellent for its intended purpose – it’s comfortable, it’s spacious and has heaps of storage.
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The back seat is also a great place to be for long drives as you can easily fit two six-foot adults behind one another, given the ample leg and headroom in both rows. In saying that, while the front Recaro seats are ideal for off-roading, those sitting in the back have literally no support outside of holding on to the handle.
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The 12.3-inch touchscreen display is super clear and very high resolution with wireless Apple CarPlay that works brilliantly. Ineos has outsourced the unique software and it’s on par if not better than some well-established manufacturers. You will have no issues using the infotainment system.
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Without a traditional instrument cluster, though, you are forced to use the centre screen to see your speed and we did find that a little frustrating because, unlike other vehicles in which that is also the case (Tesla being the prime example), the Grenadier’s interior is vastly larger so the focal change point from the road to the screen is also more than other vehicles.
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Given the Grenadier’s ‘instrument cluster’ is a tiny screen to show things like ignition light, check engine light etc, we feel it would have made a lot of sense to put a basic digital speedometer in that position.
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The front and rear diff locks, plus the off-road mode and wading depth controls, are on the roof but to actually engage low range and lock the centre differential you need to use an old-school lever and, to be fair, it does look a little odd sitting next to the BMW-sourced gearstick which is super modern in design and appearance. So this is definitely a case of lots of parts being put together.
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Even the steering wheel itself is interesting because, given the recirculating-ball setup, the number of wheel turns you need to do in basic manoeuvring lends itself to using a wheel that is not so circular and allows for a better understanding of the top and bottom.
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The 1255L boot is huge, and the way the rear doors open allows super quick access from the left side using the smaller door, because opening the larger one on the right is not only a heavier operation (it carries the spare tyre) but also requires far more room to swing open.
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What’s under the bonnet?
Ineos will offer 3.0-litre straight-six diesel and petrol options, both of which have been sourced from BMW and are codenamed B57 (diesel) and B58 (petrol).
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Ineos says these engines, used across BMW’s sports cars and SUVs since 2016, have been tested in the Grenadier across 1.8 million kilometres and diverse climates. It’s not a straight fit and play, with ECU tuning taking place to better unlock torque down as low in the rev range.
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The 3.0-litre twin-turbo diesel six makes 183kW of power (3250-4200rpm) and 550Nm of torque (1250-3000rpm) and is capable of moving the Grenadier from 0-100km/h in 9.9 seconds.
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The 3.0-litre single-turbo petrol six makes 210kW of power (4750rpm) and 450Nm of torque (1750-4000rpm) and is capable of moving the Grenadier from 0-100km/h in 8.6 seconds.
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Both engines come mated to a ZF eight-speed automatic transmission (codenamed 8HP51 for the petrol, 8HP76 for the diesel), with what Ineos calls a new “heavy duty” torque converter.
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The WLTP combined-cycle fuel economy for the diesel is a rated 10.3 to 11.8 litres per 100km, while the petrol uses between 13.2L/100km and 15.3L/100km.
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Both engines have stop/start, and the diesel also has a 17L AdBlue tank. The standard fuel tank with both engine options carries 90 litres.
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All Grenadiers come standard with permanent four-wheel drive (4WD), with low-range accessed through a 2.5:1 Tremec two-speed transfer case. Matching the class leaders, the Grenadier will also have a 3.5-tonne braked towing capacity.
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There are no other powertrains confirmed for the Grenadier for the moment, however, the brand is well advanced creating a hydrogen fuel-cell version and is also working on a new model which will be a full electric version on a smaller and all-new platform for 2026.
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How does the Ineos Grenadier drive?
The Ineos Grenadier came to life to meet a very specific design and engineering brief.
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The wagon and utility versions are essentially a modernised iteration of what would otherwise be considered commercial vehicles; in fact they are very much considered commercial vehicles when it comes to tax purposes.
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With that in mind, it’s vital that buyers looking at the Grenadier understand this is not a cheap G-Wagen, nor is it a new-old Defender. It’s its own unique vehicle, with its own set of characteristics and traits – some of those are better and some are worse than said vehicles.
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When it comes to driving, we will break this down into two parts; on-road and off-road.
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From an on-road perspective, the Grenadier rode exceptionally well, even on poorly surfaced roads. There is no doubt that you can drive this vehicle in the city and it will do an excellent job of keeping you happy and comfortable.
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The suspension setup and the way the vehicle behaves on sealed roads is a credit to the engineering team behind it.
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The diesel engine is undoubtedly the powertrain that makes more sense to most buyers looking to tow or do long-distance rural driving, with better fuel economy and more torque.
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Nonetheless, if you’re buying this and intend to do a fair bit of inner city driving and actually enjoy the driving experience, the petrol is a fantastic option – it’s faster, more responsive, sounds great and makes the Grenadier feel far more engaging and purposeful.
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This tester would pick the petrol regardless of requirements just for its capacity to overtake other vehicles on the highway with significant ease.
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The ZF eight-speed transmission is mated beautifully to both powertrain and frankly, given this exact setup has been used in BMW vehicles for a number of years, there is no contention around the powertrain and its ability to perform day in day out. It’s solid and reliable.
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What may catch out some buyers is the recirculating-ball setup steering box, something more suited to trucks than most modern cars.
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According to Ineos engineers, the reason this particular Bosch steering system was picked was due to its incredible off-road durability and capacity. In other words, it has been around and used in heavy-duty vehicles with over 1,000,000 kilometres without issue, and Ineos decided to go with that to suit the rugged character of the vehicle.
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This is all well and good but for on-road driving, it’s a bit of a handful, literally. The amount of turning you need to do to make a basic manoeuvre can get a little frustrating but even just turning left or right at an intersection.
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It will often see you turn, and then turn again and again until you realise you have likely done one too many rotations and turn back to correct. It’s entirely unlike a normal modern hydraulic or power steering system and more akin to driving a light truck.
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You absolutely will get used to it, and by the second day it didn’t feel as cumbersome as our initial impressions, but while this may be fantastic for those that only do long-distance drives mixed in with rural roads and off-roading, it’s not ideal for those looking to drive these around inner-city environments.
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The other option we wish it had was adaptive cruise control. Model-year 2024 Grenadiers will have autonomous emergency braking (AEB) but it will still not enable active cruise, which is unfortunate because this vehicle will likely do plenty of highway kilometres and it would be great to that driving stress further removed.
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Overall though, the on-road driving aspect of the Ineos Grenadier is much better than we expected due to the ride comfort, power and torque delivery. The cabin is also very quiet with low levels of noise, harshness and vibrations.
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Take the Ineos off-road and it goes into its true element. This is a vehicle that was designed to go off-road before it was designed to go on-road. Most car companies tend to put car reviewers on off-road courses that you can usually do in a basic medium SUV, but Ineos didn’t hold back.
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An Off-Road driving mode disengages parking sensors, seatbelt reminders and start/stop, and from a regulatory standpoint we’d imagine this function is only accessible in low-range. The hill-descent control function can brake each wheel independently.
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We crossed some of the most spectacular natural terrains, in the water, up and down Scottish mountains, and four-wheel drive tracks that would make hardcore enthusiasts proud. There is not much to say except that we never got stuck and the diff locks and the powertrain worked spectacularly.
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It can occasionally be cumbersome to engage low-range using the manual lever (neutral to be engaged first), with some occasional crunching – which occurred even to our Ineos engineers – and as there are no sensors to detect differential locking positions (to save complexity and weight), wheel speed sensors are used which means engaging and disengaging the front and rear diffs are basically manual and require movement that highlights the differing wheel speed (like a turn).
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All-terrain tyres are supplied by Bridgestone (Dueler AT 001) or BFGoodrich (AT T/A KO2) depending on spec, and Brembo disc brakes come standard. Electromechanical Eaton diff lockers front and rear are also available either as standard or an option depending on grade.
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Ground clearance is 264mm, wading depth 800mm, approach angle 36.3 degrees, breakover 28.2 degrees, and departure angle 36.1 degrees. Powder-coated skid plates and a fuel-tank plate are standard.
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The other great thing is that the amount of accessories expected for the Ineos (given the company has made the blueprint for the car publicly accessible to support the aftermarket) will be huge, so those looking to start with a base car and build what they need will have plenty of options.
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The Ineos is an excellent compromise between on- and off-road driving as it can one pretty well and the other spectacularly. The only place in which owners may find the driving dynamics challenging is in built-up, city areas that require a lot of close manoeuvring but even then, it’s an intimidating car that will make its own way.
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What do you get?
Grenadier Base highlights:
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17-inch steel wheels
Full-size spare wheel
Bridgestone AT tyres
LED headlights
LED daytime running lights
LED tail lights
30/70 split rear doors
Roof protection strips and rails
Hydraulic jack and toolkit
Immobilisealarm
Cruise control
Recaro cloth and vinyl seats
Tilt and telescoping wheel adjust
Climate control AC (second-row vents for five-seaters)
Heavy duty flooring with drain valves
Loadspace locker and tie-down rings
12.3-inch touchscreen display with rotary controller
Pathfinder off-road navigation system
Wireless Apple CarPlay
Wired Android Auto
Bluetooth audio and phone
Digital radio
USB and 12V sockets
Overhead control panel
Auxiliary switch panel and electrical prep (3 x 10A)
Options (Base) include:
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$2875 Rough Pack: Front and rear diff locks, BFGoodrich tyres
$2875 Smooth Pack: Front parking sensors, powered and heated side mirrors, a lockable central stowage box, puddle lamps, door lighting, auxiliary charge points, Thatcham Cat. 1 immobilisealarm
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17-inch steel wheels
Full-size spare wheel
Bridgestone AT tyres
LED headlights
LED daytime running lights
LED tail lights
30/70 split rear doors
Roof protection strips and rails
Hydraulic jack and toolkit
Immobilisealarm
Cruise control
Recaro cloth and vinyl seats
Tilt and telescoping wheel adjust
Climate control AC (second-row vents for five-seaters)
Heavy duty flooring with drain valves
Loadspace locker and tie-down rings
12.3-inch touchscreen display with rotary controller
Pathfinder off-road navigation system
Wireless Apple CarPlay
Wired Android Auto
Bluetooth audio and phone
Digital radio
USB and 12V sockets
Overhead control panel
Auxiliary switch panel and electrical prep (3 x 10A)
Options (Base) include:
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$2875 Rough Pack: Front and rear diff locks, BFGoodrich tyres
$2875 Smooth Pack: Front parking sensors, powered and heated side mirrors, a lockable central stowage box, puddle lamps, door lighting, auxiliary charge points, Thatcham Cat. 1 immobilisealarm
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Solid paints
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Scottish White: standard
Magic Mushroom: $900
Eldoret Blue: $900
Britannia Blue: $900
Sela Green: $900
Inky Black: $900
Metallic paints
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Sterling Silver: $1230
Shale Blue: $1230
Queen’s Red: $1230
Donny Grey: $1230
Contrast ladder frames
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Black: standard
Red: $1410
Grey: $1410
Contrast roof paints
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Scottish White: $1690
Inky Black: $1690
Contrast Wrapped nose
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Tunic Red: $1060
Emergency Orange: $1060
Contrast wrapped rear doors
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Tunic Red: $1400
Emergency Orange: $1400
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Wheels
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17-inch alloys (base and Trailmaster): $1060
18-inch steel (base and Trailmaster): $1430
18-inch alloys (base and Trailmaster): $2835
18-inch alloys (Fieldmaster): $1775
Other things
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Safari windows (base and Trailmaster): $2465
Privacy glass: $670
Leather seats (base and Trailmaster): $1850
Heated seats (base and Trailmaster): $650
Floor carpet: $370
Front and rear diff locks (base and Fieldmaster): $2790
Raised air intake (base and Fieldmaster): $1100
Integrated Heavy Duty 5.5t winch: $5430
There are also a lot of accessories, some of which we have listed below, the full list is here:
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Outside
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Side Runners: $830
Rock Sliders: $1630
40″ Front LED Light Bar (incl. mounting brackets): $960
Checker Plate for Front Fenders: $460
Roo Bar: $1990
Roo Bar Side Protection Rails: $730
Raised Air intake Cyclone Pre-Cleaner: $420
Inside
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Rubber Floor Mats: $280
Foldable Tailgate Camp Table: $440
Heavy Duty Seat Covers – Front: $490
Heavy Duty Seat Covers – Rear: $490
Cargo
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Roof Rack: $2530
Roof Cross-bars: $580
Utility Cargo Barrier – Half-height: $600
Full-height Loadspace Divider: $550
Loadspace Partition Net: $280
Luggage Retention Net – Floor: $90
Cargo Management System: $360
Collapsible Luggage Organiser: $110
Quick Release Tie-Down Rings (x4): $70
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Recovery
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Removable Winch with Tow Mounting Kit (3.5 Tonnes): $4050
Heavy Duty Spade: $60
Off-Road Recovery Kit: $630
Roof add-ons
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Roof Mounted Bike Carrier: $460
Roof Mounted Ski/Snowboard Carrier: $310
Surfboard Carrier for Roof Rack: $160
Roof Kayak Mount, J-style: $330
Roof Kayak Mount, Saddles: $280
Roof Mounted Adjustable Load Holder: $110
Roof Mounted Cargo Box: $790
Vehicle Integrated Side Awning: $970
Spare Tyre Carrier for Roof Rack: $170
Jerry Can Mount for Roof Rack: $190
Hi-Lift Jack Mounting Bracket for Roof Rack: $160
Roof Mounted Axe and Shovel Bracket: $160
Sand Ladder Flat Mounting Brackets: $220
Sand Ladder Side Mounting Brackets: $160
Spot Light Bracket: $150
Gas Bottle Holder for Roof Rack: $190
Load Mounting Brackets for Roof Rack: $180
Roof Tie-down Rings: $100
Folding Aerial Mount: $160
Lockdown Security Cable: $60
Cargo Load Straps: $30
RotopaX Mounting Bracket: $20
Is the Ineos Grenadier safe?
There is no official crash test data from any resting authority for the Grenadier and there is every chance there never will be, given the position of this vehicle as commercial rather than passenger.
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Standard safety features include:
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Front, side and curtain airbags
ESP with trailer-sway control
Tyre pressure monitor
Reversing camera and sensors
ISOFIX and top tethers (five-seat versions)
There’s no mention of driver-assist active safety features such as autonomous emergency braking or lane-keeping aids, meaning a five-star NCAP or ANCAP rating looks impossible.
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How much does the Ineos Grenadier cost to run?
The Ineos Grenadier is covered by a five-year, unlimited-kilometre warranty with five years of roadside assist.
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Servicing intervals are recommended at 12 months for normal usage or six-month servicing “for continuous use in tough environments”.
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As well as servicing Grenadiers at its retail centres, Ineos has cut a global deal with Bosch Car Service centres to cater to more remote operators. “Flying Spanner” techs based in the Australian HQ are also said to be available, if the service network needs help.
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For owners who want to carry out work on their Grenadier themselves, Ineos is taking a novel approach by providing online 3D interactive manuals with support from the technical team at HQ a call or a click away.
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“The vehicle has been deliberately designed and engineered to be easy to work on inside and out,” the company claims. It bills its “open source” approach, without trying to “ring-fence” buyers into its own ecosystem, as a point-of-difference for enthusiasts.
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It’s not yet clear what conditions will be placed on DIY owners, from a warranty perspective.
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CarExpert’s Take
There is a lot to love about the Ineos Grenadier.
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It started life as nothing but an idea at a pub between friends, and ended up bringing together an enormous amount of knowledge from some of the best engineers in the world and huge amounts of investment to create an ultra-modern, rugged vehicle that is just as suited to the farm and rural areas as it is for a drive from Sydney to Melbourne.
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The Grenadier is an excellent adventure vehicle and those looking to get out of the city, camp and enjoy a more outdoor lifestyle will also benefit massively from the number of accessories available for the vehicle.
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The only asterisks for us are the niggling initial production quality issues that we are very hopeful will be solved before local cars arrive, and a steering system which will take some buyers a bit of getting used to.

TL;DR: Citadel doesn't just have a major outsized influence in the US stock market via its market making firm/hedge fund, but also a major indirect influence via Headlands (biggest municipal bond trading firm made of 3 ex-Citadel employees), and direct influence on sovereign debt (can decide when sovereign credit default swaps pay out) with its seat on the CDDC (Credit Derivatives Determinations Committee).
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https://preview.redd.it/ltb4s44yl5pa1.png?width=640&format=png&auto=webp&s=68fc21cf2ea5bf9f1fcdf49738d7a36e77869ff6
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Hi y’all. Been some while since have been able to post regularly here, so I’m returning alongside my recent post on FHLB with a bit of a “DD". Partial rush job, so all errors are mine and mine alone (obviously)
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0. Sphere of Influence

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Over the past 84 years (/s), you lovely apes at Superstonk have been able to fish out many of the finer points of corruption crystallized into pure, unadulterated financial terrorism and financial terrorist-level crime undertaken by Steve Cohen (Point 72), Jeff Yass (Susquehanna), Doug Cifu & Vincent Viola (Virtu), as well as Wolverine Trading, Jane Street, TwoSigma, and more. But, of course, much of it has centered on our Mayo-artist-in-residence and his firm, that of none other but Ken Griffin and Citadel.
One of the biggest finds that has come to light has been the complete and utter bullshit of having (1) a hedge fund and (2) owning a market making firm that most DEFINITELY does not use that non-public information to its benefit? I mean, it would be easy for us to check except that we need 5 swipes to even access that level of inner sanctum at Citadel, which–per DLauer’s words–is more than the fucking Pentagon.
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https://preview.redd.it/4fu0w15el5pa1.png?width=606&format=png&auto=webp&s=1c47c25197fb9f5543fcad01a4dc0e30b48ebeac
But despite Ken Griffin’s reach into every aspect of the most influential stock market in the world, that is not his ONLY level of his sphere of influence. For we, dear apes, can step back and revisit this idea that Citadel’s power duo (its market making firm and hedge fund) is more like a single part of a Big 3.

1. Meet the Big 3

Citadel’s sphere of influence includes not JUST (1) the stock market business, but directly or indirectly, the (2) U.S. municipal and bond markets, plus (3) the sovereign debt/sovereign debt credit default swap markets.
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Yes, you heard that right. Citadel not only has some sufficient level of influence to tank your favorite stock–and, in turn–retirement fund, but can also effectively drive your city into the fucking ground, or even your country.
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I’ve written about each of these at length, and wanted to revisit some pieces in the wake of our recent dick twitchings of the coming financial crash.
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2. Meet the Municipal Bond Market

Citadel has an indirect grip tickling the taint of the municipal bond market, believe it or not. I first wrote about the municipal bond market here (“Headlands: How ex-Mayo mercenaries copy pasted Citadel’s model in the muni bond market”): https://www.reddit.com/Superstonk/comments/sy6ubj/headlands_how_exmayo_mercenaries_copy_pasted/. For those unfamiliar with municipal bonds, I’ll reiterate what they are and why many push them as a safe investment in most times (with some caution being thrown intermittently due to the collapse of regional banks like FRC and Silicon Valley Bank):
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https://preview.redd.it/e8bqxn3wk5pa1.png?width=1326&format=png&auto=webp&s=cc1e3c44bced207ca23105ae48110eb7298441f1
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“Municipal bonds (or "munis" for short) help towns/cities raise money for projects like building schools, parks, and fixing highways. Many retail investors--admittedly, on the wealthier side--invest in munis for tax incentives like not paying federal tax on bond returns. In certain cases, certain muni buys also mean no state taxes are paid…Just like what had happened to stocks, the old-school market for buying and selling muni bonds is going electronic. This is mainly done through an ATS, or "alternative trading system" known also as a dark pool. This speeds up the process of buying and selling munis, making it closer to a "house auction".

In the wake of the SVB (Silicon Valley Bank), there have already been rumblings of its effect on the municipal bond market (Bloomberg “Bank Woes Create Bond Bargain in Obscure Corner of Muni Market”):
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“Investor concerns over the crises within the financial industry are bleeding into a corner of the $4 trillion municipal-bond market where major investment banks guarantee energy for public utilities….
Spreads have widened on so-called prepaid gas bonds, which government agencies use to purchase long-term supplies of natural gas. Large institutional banks act as facilitators of the transactions, guaranteeing the supply and providing investors tax-exempt exposure to bank credit….

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3. San Jose, Revisited

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That part about “large institutional banks” acting as facilitators of the transactions is what we saw in part in this post by [redacted].
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https://preview.redd.it/5pp1500xi5pa1.png?width=1128&format=png&auto=webp&s=b4f48ce1f6d11fff15d44cc47b2174882e34eb03
A commenter spoke about this, and how it wasn’t Wells Fargo in doo doo but the city of San Jose.
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“I believe in theses cases it’s not Wells Fargo that has a problem but the city of San José.

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„Because presentments are currently processed automatically at DTC, IPAs have the option to refuse to pay (“RTP”) for maturing MMI Obligations to protect against the possibility that an IPA may not be able to fund settlement because it has not received funds from the relevant issuer. „ -> Wells Fargo didn’t receive the money from San José city.
Wells Fargo acts as an issuing agent for the city - the city transfers assets to the trustee and the trustee securitizes the assets and offers the money market securities to investors. The assets generate money (for example a sports arena that was build) and that money goes through the city of San José to the trustee who is managed by Wells Fargo.

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https://preview.redd.it/nc8lbgwsk5pa1.png?width=1280&format=png&auto=webp&s=35e2c386534eb904608db679a9954affe0338c9a

Wells Fargo has no liability or influence on the money that comes from the city and is distributed to the investors. If the money doesn’t come or isn’t sufficient, the assets are sold or liquidated and used to pay investors.
Anyway: Wells Fargo acts on behalf of the city and is not responsible they just handle securitization but don’t have any influence on payments or failure/default.”

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In this case, we might be seeing one of the first of MANY issues of cities up shit’s creek over this.
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4. The Municipal Bond Market Time Bomb

The size of the municipal market is A SHIT TON BIGGER than the corporate bond market, which will already show even more signs of being turbo fucked due to borrowing at low interest rates for years. Here’s the size of the municipal bond market for scale, sans banana:
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https://preview.redd.it/9pcmm2c9j5pa1.png?width=760&format=png&auto=webp&s=869c0863c6ecc788c29d6dbe37da76521a700d1e
Unfortunately, just like retirement funds, many muni investors are “buy and hold”: they buy a muni expecting a safe, long-term return with no federal income tax and then, welp, shit hits the fan. The market is heavily illiquid too, meaning if shit needs to move, then you might be fucked. Only about 1% of municipal securities trade any given day, in auctions that often take HOURS:
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“Now, the primary method of trading on this doesn't look like the New York Stock Exchange or like Nasdaq. It looks like an auction. It takes about 4 hours. An auction is initiated. Participants who come in can bid on this, and it is a competitive auction that yields a very good price.”

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Now to my understanding you can’t short these bonds, but the long time frame means its hard to sell these illiquid assets. Not only that, THERE IS NO NATIONAL NBBO (National Best Bid Offer)...you’re flying blind while this shit happens.
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Now if you’re wondering what magnanimous souls are helping municipal bonds be sold or fixed in a timely manner for cities like San Jose, well have I got news for you.
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5. Meet Headlands, U.S. Municipal/Bond Market Making Firm…Run by 3 Ex-Citadel Employees

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Two months after the sneeze (March 2021), TD Ameritrade bought municipal bond market maker Headlands. Yes, that’s right…an electronic market maker just like Citadel, this time for bonds for cities and towns vs. stocks. Now let’s check the fine fellows that run this:
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https://preview.redd.it/i1jnj88bj5pa1.png?width=1886&format=png&auto=webp&s=a6ea375e929a247f0b9618fed703ef519561a6a2

• Jason Lehman: Citadel Investment Group, began/ran their global options market making, dipped his dick in Japanese convertible bonds, and managed “Private Investments”
• Neil Fitzpatrick: Citadel Execution Services COO (Citadel Investment affiliate), ran equities/options. Ex-Knight Capital Group, did Citadel’s OTC and equity shit. Direct Edge board of directors.
• Matthew Andresen, co-CEO Citadel Derivatives (Citadel Investment affiliate). Previously served on board of directors/committees in the past from International Securities Exchange, Direct Edge, CFTC, Lava Trading (Citi’s electronic trading unit that made LavaFlow)

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Of note, Matthew Andresen founded Island, one of the 1st dark pools EVER and 2nd only to “Instinet” (who also got an even bigger wave of funds during the sneeze, info courtesy of Ringing Bells) and was featured heavily in the Scott Patterson book “Dark Pools”.
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https://preview.redd.it/ibr2d9xcj5pa1.png?width=200&format=png&auto=webp&s=ea86240da04d87d28dd9561b4afdb13d600de764
Ol Matty told us that Headlands is completely automated, and where some muni traders make 75-100 muni bond sales a day (sometimes over the phone), Headlands currently bids on 10,000+ bond auctions a day with its algo. Matty Boi even said if that number ever 10x’d “we wouldn’t notice.” Even more sus, Headlands has been growing its own “holdings” of muni bonds on its books.
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6. In Bros We Trust

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So remember, this branch of 3 ex-Citadel bros is front and center to the issues already rearing their head. In my previous post, these were just SOME of the already teetering municipal bond issues:
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• Some might have history befall them again: last time the market crashed, Michael Burry’s California went spiraling down to BBB rated for many municipal bonds. California is a special muni case where it generally does well when times are good; much of their revenue is tied to personal income taxes. But when shit goes tits up, it goes tits up.
• Major projects have tons of debt piling up due to the [March 2020 crash] New Jersey built a giant ass mall–I kid you not--called “The American Dream” over 10+ years that has no sales receipts to cover it in part due to the dropoff in retail buying. As of 2 weeks ago, the mall only had like less than $1000 in the bank to pay off muni debt (“Developer Triple Five Group also sold US$800 million of muni-debt backed by payments they agreed to make to bondholders instead of paying property taxes”)...

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https://preview.redd.it/s8wqbdtej5pa1.png?width=1217&format=png&auto=webp&s=d2ee309462354293b1a4907d0966889bd841089f

• NYC’s MTA has been getting reamed by both ends. One of the biggest shitstains on its books is that it took out a shit ton of municipal debt and opted to sell $3 billion in bonds to the Fed’s muni lending program to stay afloat

And this issues extends way beyond the U.S.' 50 states...it even affects our territories too.
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7. Hurricane

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What began this rabbit hole was the one and only welp 0 0 7, who caught wind of some fuckery in the municipal bond market:
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https://preview.redd.it/rsul8xsmj5pa1.png?width=1324&format=png&auto=webp&s=f593d8b9d18e962df50609ba114d0b7093c0cdaf
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In the post, he mentioned how "American Thinker" 's Joseph Lawler mentioned the SEC has been giving fucking STIFF Heismans nonstop (or per [redacted] the ol' Dustin Martin "don't argues" for you Aussie apes!) on FOIA requests (Freedom of Information Act) related to the municipal bond default in Puerto Rico, the BIGGEST bond default in America's history EVER.
It went all the way the way up to a federal court in California where the SEC said "we don't know what you're talking about" when others found they have fucking 2800 pages of documents on it and nearly 270,000(!) emails referencing it referencing a billion dollar Ponzi scheme on the level of fucking Bernie Madoff.
Big banks (Citi, Wells Fargo, BoFa) had their scheme collapse in 2016, potentially bribed senators to kill investigations into it by the DOJ and now the SEC is caught in yet ANOTHER 2 lawsuits saying they fucking aided and abetted this shit.

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https://preview.redd.it/te7m9b5pj5pa1.png?width=782&format=png&auto=webp&s=72fccaee202099011c280636e1501bd570544a2c
You see, because this level of municipal bond includes fuckery includes not just cities and towns, but U.S. TERRITORIES. In my post about Hurricane Maria’s effect on Puerto Rico, I talked about how UBS and others loaded up Puerto Rico with debt because of what’s called a “Treasury Put” guarantee that was even called “an exit strategy” for banks (“They describe the "treasury put" as "...the implicit guarantee -- as perceived by investors -- from a government agency to provide support in the event of financial distress by the issuer of Puerto Rican bonds."”).
Puerto Rico’s default was the largest in US history, EVER. And all this the same while guess who was holding the bag? Let’s see what W S O P tells us:
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“The reality is that a large percentage of Puerto Rico’s debt is held in tax-free municipal bonds and municipal bond mutual funds, owned not by Wall Street banks or tycoons, but by mom and pop investors seeking tax-free income.”

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https://preview.redd.it/1a2vz6brj5pa1.png?width=730&format=png&auto=webp&s=529db6c15522fd84560746523f76bc180207a496
So once again, whether its retirement funds or municipal bonds, its retail caught holding the bag. And this hasn't changed for years. We’ve seen similar fuckery with bonds for NYC in the 70s, and more recently in the 00s for Detroit.
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One astute wrinkle by the name of [redacted] posted this on that original post trying to dig into how it could all be related:
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…how the MMLF fund that expanded money/credit to towns/cities started including commercial paper…but also leveraged near the 15 to 1 ratio perhaps under the Net Capital Requirement limit:
[redacted said]: "$500B at 14:1 Leverage? If I'm making the right connection between the flavor of asset, that's just under the 15x Net Capital Requirement limit. Is this all the Fed had/could afford? Or is this all they needed at the time?

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8. Don't Bet Against America...Says the Banks and Hedge Funds That Already Did

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Commercial Paper? Municipals related? Now where does that sound familiar? Ah, yes…the city of San Jose got its call-out by Wells Fargo over COMMERCIAL PAPER. This comes as the push for ppl into municipal bond markets continues, trying to sell it as a “safe haven” to retail investors. Vanguard just recently launched its first ETF–surprise, its first US-listed ETF in 2 years– for municipal bonds (selling point: “hey everyone it’s tax-exempt! Give us money plz!”) for example:
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https://preview.redd.it/1v8qrfctj5pa1.png?width=1780&format=png&auto=webp&s=8e15ea68094ecdc212a18677fa1966158e362134
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Many of us can see all of it for what it is. Bullshit. In the wake of the SVB collapse, there is still a strong push that these regional banks–many of which lend to municipalities–will be fine. This “safe haven” theory continues, even as articles try to have them appeal abroad (such as a few days ago, “ ESG Factors of Munis May Attract Non-US Investors” “https://www.marketsmedia.com/esg-factors-of-munis-may-attract-non-us-investors/”)
Even further, one last find is that . I mean it’s not like credit default swaps can be taken on cities and towns in theory right?
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FWIW also I found an interesting research paper talking about hedge funds buying up credit default swaps, and how they could potentially bankrupt towns/municipalities through some of these moves if they wanted: https://openyls.law.yale.edu/bitstream/handle/20.500.13051/8264/MingJieWangCreditDefaultS.pdf?sequence=2
"Another potential concern is that even in a market that is generally liquid, the market for individual single-name [Credit default swap]s may be quite small, which could allow a single bad actor (a hedge fund, for example) to force a municipality into default..."

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****
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This is all while we have 3 ex-Citadel heads in charge of just how the municipal bond market moves, like that of San Jose.
So is this where Citadel’s reach stops? Clearly, no. It doesn’t stop at the US border, just like how Mayo Force One doesn’t.

10. ELI5: What’s a Soverign Credit Default Swap?

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https://preview.redd.it/x5z73ef9k5pa1.png?width=1500&format=png&auto=webp&s=e3f0155a2015cecae29d739aca7729e44565566f
That’s right, mofos. You read that sub-header right. In case you’re wondering, not only can you take out credit default swaps on a failing Swiss bank like CS, but you can do so ON ENTIRE FUCKING COUNTRIES.
In one of my old posts “Sovereign Debts & Ransom Notes: Pt. 1 The Importance of Being Non-Linearly Destabilized through Sovereign Credit Default Swaps”
(“https://www.reddit.com/Superstonk/comments/t35rdi/sovereign_debts_ransom_notes_pt_1_the_importance/”), I talked a little more about the insanity of these things even existing.
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Sovereign credit default swaps exist. Long story short: sovereign credit default swaps are insurance policies that if a country defaults (usually on its debt)then you get paid! Like many other shit that we’ve seen in the GME saga, they are a form of financial derivative (a bet that something goes up, a bet that something goes down) on an underlying (the thing you’re betting on)....They can be used to insure government debt for a country in case that country is unable to pay its debt, for example. However, just like other instruments, naked sovereign credit default swaps also exist.

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Naked sovereign credit default swaps are used to bet that a country or a country's debt will fail without you owning that country's debt. In part, they were destabilising during the Euro-crisis immediately after the 2008 financial crash. Greece was one of the countries that got naked shorted in 2008. In fact, the country got shorted so bad they were worried about fucking SHORT SQUEEZES on Greek debt and the sovereign CDSs!
In 2012, the EU put a ban on naked sovereign credit default swaps. However, workarounds include the fact that a country can effectively change its mind on it within 24 hours and all the regulatory agency can do is offer an opinion.

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There were a tons of perhaps “we will see soon” if relevant additional points in that old research, including:
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• The VIX affects sovereign credit default swaps A LOT

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https://preview.redd.it/6fp1njsck5pa1.png?width=1295&format=png&auto=webp&s=0ea74b772735a79d5aca4b0d41a658231435dd8f

• The Big Bang Protocol: ISDA helped formulate a set of rules that decides when a country “defaults”
• You can “short” a sovereign bond if you find a locate (sound familiar?: “Short sales of shares and short sales of sovereign debt will be permitted only where the seller has “located” the share or debt instrument prior to entering into the agreement and has a “reasonable expectation” of being able to borrow the shares.”)

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Crazy shit. So you might say, now this post is meant to be about Citadel’s sphere of influence you might say? “Where does Citadel fit into all this? ”

11. Meet the CDDC (Credit Derivatives Determination Committee)...Where Citadel Sit and Helps Decide Which Countries Default on their Debt

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One of the biggest GFC 2008 scenarios of sovereign credit default swaps being misused was against Greece. Afterwards, one of its biggest cases of misuse was by Elliot Management (ran by Paul Singer) who was using their position on the Credit Derivatives Determination Committee, or CDDC, to help decide when their sovereign credit default swaps against Argentina would pay out.
Wait, Eliot Management doesn’t sound big enough. Who else is on this committee?
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https://preview.redd.it/gcvfc4shk5pa1.png?width=928&format=png&auto=webp&s=f968f2765e15103295c91bc4dc7ec74836f916a4
Oh wait, so Citadel is ALSO on this committee? Alongside our favorite fucksticks like Chase, Goldman, Deutsche, and BNP?
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It’s not lost on me with seeing now that Credit Suisse has been sucked up into UBS, maybe its position on the CDDC has been absorbed further by UBS. Back then, I wrote about the fact is we know next to nothing about the sovereign credit default swaps that might be opened up against countries (be it Russia, Sri Lanka, or otherwise):
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https://preview.redd.it/t3kx1tk2l5pa1.png?width=850&format=png&auto=webp&s=f829d1a1c14d4df74fe7a2ad7d832d1409662e76

Here's one such example of a swap dealer: Swiss financial terrorist aficionados UBS AG, who registered to be a swaps dealer with the US at the end of 2012. (UBS had also been a member of the CDDC through the Greek crisis in early 2012, alongside Citadel. In Mar. 2012, they were also one of the members pressing to ask whether Greece had defaulted already.)
UBS AG registered as a swap dealer in the US at the end of 2012 enabling the continuation of swaps business with US persons. Regulations issued by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) impose substantial new requirements on registered swap dealers for clearing, trade execution, transaction reporting, recordkeeping, risk management and business conduct.
If UBS AG decides to make a market on sovereign credit default swaps like Russia, then we might also have no idea who is on the other side of the trade. This also goes for many of the other swap dealers who (surprise surprise) also sit on the CDDC board and can determine just when these sovereign credit default swaps pay out.

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Not only that, but the CDDC even can say when CORPORATE BONDS even shit the bed: late last year, they were the ones who were deciding to let everyone know whether Sunac (an Evergrande-relate company) went tits up.

12. We Say When

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For months, there has been talk of a looming debt crisis (alongside all the other ones) in the sovereign debt world.
And shit continues to hit the proverbial fan. Apart from Russia, Sri Lanka and others, emerging markets like Ghana and Zambia are beginning to feel the hits from their sovereign debt (oftentimes, trying to restructure it with creditors like China).
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https://preview.redd.it/gd0ocjuyi5pa1.png?width=2458&format=png&auto=webp&s=cb1fe0ade2f3401b2e081f8d0b55ef55cfb95ae2
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Even further, now that Credit Suisse has gone under. We may have another thing to worry about: what banks and prime brokers are housing these opaque sovereign debt structures, loans, and swaps? Even worse, what happens when they go under? Roll that less than beautiful bean footage:
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https://preview.redd.it/wt5v7uu0j5pa1.png?width=1134&format=png&auto=webp&s=df9cf3379be7ce881d7704013f4e6d92e287f08c
https://www.livemint.com/news/world/before-collapse-credit-suisse-quietly-conquered-an-obscure-debt-market-11679395660932.html
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“Before collapse, Credit Suisse quietly conquered an obscure debt market
Before its rescue by Swiss rival UBS, Credit Suisse had quietly become a major player in an obscure market that purports to help developing countries ease their debt burdens in exchange for protecting nature. Known as debt-for-nature swaps, the complex financial instruments help governments restructure their debt to raise money that can be used to fund conservation efforts.

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Credit Suisse was the sole structurer and arranger of the world’s largest debt-for-nature swap, a $364 million deal that it orchestrated in 2021 along with The Nature Conservancy, a charity, for Belize. Last year, it sealed another $150 million deal for Barbados. Credit Suisse has in recent years helped revive interest in the instruments and for the first time opened them up to institutional capital. The bank raised money for Belize and Barbados from pension funds including Sweden’s Alecta and Nuveen LLC, a unit of the US’s TIAA, by issuing so-called blue bonds tied to the deals.

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https://preview.redd.it/ysibqfz5l5pa1.png?width=734&format=png&auto=webp&s=0a1b42cd1d630041b337a008e539facc8781c4d5

he convoluted setup has drawn criticism from sovereign debt experts for its high cost and lack of transparency. And the opaque terms of the Belize and Barbados deals — the first of their kind — mean outside analysts will struggle to assess precisely what comes next.

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A lot of poorer, especially emerging market countries were already in dire straits. Now as opaque deals meant to help these countries might not come to light (are these some of the Level 3 assets that UBS was talking about?), we can ask ourselves wtf will happen when the same banks looking to save their own ass while holding these sovereign, are the same fuckers that sit on the same board that can decide when they are worthless (while I’m sure being positioned net short).
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All in all, these banks and holders of sovereign debt credit default swaps, who decide when a country goes boom, are sitting arm in arm alongside Citadel, who themselves potentially hover their greasy mayo-covered finger over the button that decides just when and how the US stock market will eventually implode.
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13. Everything Everywhere All at Once

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To recap, we then have Citadel with (1) the biggest market maker and arguably one of the most influential hedge fund able to decide which stocks rise and which fall as the US stock market teeters on the brink of collapse…
…with having (2) three of its ex-employees in charge of (not even counting other Citadel employees working there) operating at Headlands ready to help position themselves when the municipal bond market gets nuked, whether as a continued result of regional bank failure or in spite of it…
…while (3) sitting on the board that determines when ENTIRE COUNTRIES FAIL, in such a way that their hedge fund and associated pals can be ready to short and profit off failing nations that they and their fuckstick friends help cause.
Did I miss anything? Because remember, Citadel is not just Citadel, the market-maker that we all love to hate; Citadel’s sphere of influence via the Big 3 means the grip that it holds over the US and world economy is even greater than we think…and as such, far far more dangerous.

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Here is a van created to make you feel like you are still in the old cabin while parked at a wayside. This van has a gas powered heater to keep you warm, a powerful fan to keep you cool, even a hideaway toliet! Complete with a sink and a fridge, this small kitchen also has an induction stove built into it. The bed space is a queen size, with a pull out drawer directly underneath. This nomadic vehicle is equipped with solar panels and a DCDC Charger to keep all of its 4 12v batteries charged. As well as a shore power plug for when it's a bit cloudy and you don't feel like driving around. There is also a 28 gallon fresh water tank which can be put to use through the sink or the spigot installed near the fill point. With a grey water tank at 25 gallons. They both empty out the bottom of the van, for convenience and storage.
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https://preview.redd.it/ww05yv7029oa1.png?width=1280&format=png&auto=webp&s=ebf696598e2822d211d36f55dfb0f8d967535b07
Sport Utility vehicles have been around for a long time now. The different shapes, styles, and designs that car companies manufacture these days seem to be almost endless. From the massive Chevrolet Suburban to the Mini Cooper’s small Countryman, as well as every size in between. There is no doubt that if you are in the market for a new Sports Utility Vehicle in 2017, you’ll have no trouble finding the perfect sized one for your unique driving needs and preferences.
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What is a Crossover SUV, Anyway?
Many experts say that a crossover SUV is what is considered the “new minivan.” Ranging from small and sleek, to large and almost truck like, SUVs have become the new norm with the crossover class increasingly very popular. So popular in fact that the American public buys crossover SUVs like they are going out of style. Quid Pro Quo Clarice – what is the best selling car type in the United States? You guessed it, the new crossover-style SUV. Offering everything from TV screens and DVD players to four wheel drive and Wi-Fi, the “new minivan,” offers everything the American family could ask for.
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Generally larger than a car, yet smaller than the bigger SUVs, crossovers typically come with all-wheel drive, and have bigger tires than a car, which gives them a taller stance. Offering the Sport Utility features of larger SUVs, crossovers give most drivers the feeling of safety that large SUV offers, with the perks that come with owning a car or sedan, such as great gas mileage.
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Technically a crossover should be built using a unibody construction, which means the body and frame are not separate. Crossovers, (if equipped with four-wheel drive,) usually have full time four wheel drive only. This means the operator cannot elect to switch between 2 or 4 wheel drive. If bought with 2 wheel drive only, front wheel drive is what is offered.
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Crossover SUVs do not offer a low range gearbox, as opposed to larger SUVs.
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How Are Original SUVs Different?
The original SUVs, such as the Jeep Cherokees, were birthed from the late 1960s when a movement of off-road enthusiasm was noticed by the automotive industry. Manufacturers like Jeep started making four wheel drive vehicles that offered far more ground clearance, as well as a gearbox that offered a set of lower torqued gears, best used when climbing mountains, very steep grades, and even large sand dunes or boulders.
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Traditional SUVs now still offer the gear box with a set of lower gears. Also, the option of either full time or part time four wheel drive, rear wheel drive if in 2 drive, and a towing capability of over 5,000 pounds.
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SUV Model Types
Some traditional SUVs are the Jeep Grand Cherokee, the Ford Explorer, and the Subaru Outback. Crossover SUVs include the Ford Edge, the GMC Acadia, and the Honda CR-V.
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Some of the top consumer favorite crossover SUVs are represented by the Chevrolet Trax, the Kia Sorento, and the Toyota RAV4.
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Source: Autoinfluence

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https://preview.redd.it/gzxbol0b19oa1.png?width=1000&format=png&auto=webp&s=82f769e42b144bd1855d71f5281dbf45f885ec17
If you’re a car buff and have spent some time in Europe, you’ve probably seen something very interesting. Europeans not only have a love affair with efficient compact cars but also seem to be totally cool about driving diesel vehicles. In fact, as of the start of this year, almost 20% of new cars sold in the European Union featured a diesel engine. This has come at a time when the EU is pushing alternative fuel vehicles and just announced that it will ban the sale of new gas and diesel cars starting in 2035. Nevertheless, you are still going to see plenty of Mercedes-Benz, Renault, Peugeot, and Skoda diesel coupes and sedans cruising down the Autobahn, the Autostrade, and the Autoroute.
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Once upon a time, automakers thought they could get Americans interested in buying cars equipped with diesel engines. It was during the 1970s when the US was plagued by not one but two oil shocks. The 1973 and 1979 oil crises led to long gas lines, upsetting motorists and driving automakers to seek ways to make their vehicles more fuel efficient. Since gasoline is a byproduct of refining diesel oil, the thought was that you could stretch a barrel of crude further by getting drivers to use diesel instead of gas. While this made perfect sense, the experiment proved to be as big a failure here as it was a success across the Atlantic Ocean. Why did this happen? How could the brands have been so wrong about diesel cars?
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My Personal Experience
In 1977, my parents were struggling to put my oldest brother through college during a time of high inflation. In order to cut the cost of gasoline, my dad opted to buy a 1977 Peugeot 504 Diesel. There was a local Subaru-Peugeot dealership near our house, so my dad went in one day with his 1973 Cadillac Sedan DeVille and came home with a brand-new Peugeot.
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In order to accommodate his new vehicle, my dad made a few changes to the house. First, he ran an outlet from the garage to the front driveway. This would allow him to plug in the Peugeot’s glow plugs during the winter. You see, this is one drawback of owning a diesel car. During cold weather, the oil can congeal, making it difficult or impossible to start your vehicle. Glow plugs keep the diesel fuel nice and warm, ready to fuel the engine.
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Second, he needed a source of diesel oil. The nearest service station that had diesel oil for trucks was a good two miles from the house. After doing some research, my dad discovered that home heating oil was the same as diesel fuel and could be safely used in his Peugeot. The only problem was that our house had always had gas heat. He bought an oil tank, installed it in the garage, and contracted with a home heating oil company to make bi-weekly deliveries to our house.
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My dad went a step further over the years. He began doing his own oil changes at home to save money. Then, when the 1979 oil embargo hit, he added a second diesel car, a 1980 Oldsmobile Delta 88 Diesel. While our neighbors contended with long lines at the gas pump and the misery of odd and even rationing, my dad continued to cruise around in his two diesel cars. That’s because the oil embargo did not seem to affect the home heating oil business. A third diesel car would follow two years later, a 1981 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme Diesel Coupe. This had a sporty, two-tone paint job of deep blue on the body and a sandstone hood and roof. You have to keep in mind that the early 1980s still had some of the questionable taste of the 1970s. My dad would go on driving these three diesel cars for the first half of the decade, still doing his own oil changes and filling up from his home heating oil tank.
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Benefits of Diesel Cars
There are a number of benefits to using a diesel engine in a car. For one thing, they get better fuel economy than gas engines in comparable models. The Peugeot 504 would often get a robust 30 miles to the gallon whenever my dad took it out on long drives to visit my brothers and me in college in Baltimore and Boston. The same held true for the two Oldsmobile diesel cars as well.
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Diesel engines are also quite reliable. As long as my dad did his routine maintenance and remembered to plug in the glow plugs, he’d have no problem starting them up, even on the coldest days of winter. This is because diesel engines have fewer working parts than gas engines, which also helps them last longer on average. Diesel fuel burns using pressure to release energy, so there are no spark plugs. Finally, diesel fuel is safer than gasoline. While gasoline can explode, that is not possible with diesel fuel. This is why it is perfectly safe to store diesel fuel and home heating oil inside a house.
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What Went Wrong?
The failure of diesel cars in America can actually be seen in the personal experiences of my father. For one thing, most folks are not that handy. Asking them to put a home heating oil tank in their house to keep a diesel car fueled is truly going a bridge too far. If a motorist lives in an apartment building, they won’t have access to a garage to store the diesel fuel nor an outlet to keep their diesel car’s glow plugs plugged in during the winter. Also, the diesel cars that were sold in America were noisy and produced a prodigious amount of noxious fumes. Our neighbors always complained about the noise and the smell produced by our diesel cars.
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As for driving, the acceleration on the diesel cars left a lot to be desired. For example, the Peugeot 504 had a 71 hp diesel engine that could propel it from zero to 60 mph in a sluggish 21.7 seconds. I remember my Mom having to turn off the A/C on the Peugeot when she hit the highways during the summer just so she could get it up to speed to merge into traffic. It was truly a white-knuckle experience. The Delta 88 wasn’t much better, with a 5.7-liter V8 that produced 105 hp and 205 lb-ft of torque propelling this full-size beast. This was the same engine in the midsize Cutlass Supreme Diesel Coupe, making the coupe a racecar compared to the Delta 88 and the Peugeot.
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It didn’t help that the Oldsmobile diesels were notorious for design defects, like using a bolt pattern designed for a gas engine instead of one that could handle a more powerful diesel engine. In addition, the late 1970s and early 1980s was a time when General Motors was having issues with quality control, which further hurt the reputation of its diesel models. Most Americans didn’t have access to the diesel cars offered by Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen, and Peugeot. Even if they did, many American motorists couldn’t afford one of these foreign models. Thus, if they wanted a diesel car, they usually opted for one of the models offered by General Motors. As many drivers began to complain, the missteps of a few lemons tainted the entire concept of the diesel car.
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Where We Are Today
The great diesel car experiment in America is long since dead. Despite the benefits of greater fuel economy and easier maintenance, most American drivers were put off by the fumes, the noise, and the quality control issues. In addition, gas prices went down throughout the decades following the 1979 oil embargo, so there was no great push to find alternative energy sources. Finally, diesel cars have been surpassed by the success of hybrids and electric vehicles. These alternative energy vehicles provide all of the benefits of diesel with none of the drawbacks.
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My dad eventually got rid of his diesel cars too. The last one he owned was the Cutlass Supreme. He sold it to the kid next door, who was a gifted auto mechanic. Eli removed the diesel engine, putting it in a pickup truck and replacing it with a standard gasoline V8 engine.
Today, you can still find diesel engines offered as an option on heavy-duty pickup trucks, off-road models like the Jeep Wrangler, and full-size SUVs like the Cadillac Escalade, GMC Yukon, and Chevy Tahoe. But if you want to ride in a diesel coupe or sedan, you had better book a trip to the European Union before 2035.
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Source: Autoinfluence