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Diesel
is the New Black - Well, Maybe
If you've been watching the
commercials airing during recent episodes of Eleventh Hour,
instead of forwarding through them on your DVR, you may have noticed
a recent push for diesel. The rest of the world, of course, is
already in love with the stuff. It's only the United States' more
stringent emission regulations, as introduced last year, that are
preventing a number of great diesel-powered vehicles from being
marketed here.
As any diesel fan
knows, these
cars do put out higher levels of nitrogen oxide in their exhaust.
Automakers often explain that developing a diesel engine clean enough
to meet American standards is not cost efficient, which means that
they're not so keen on exploring diesel as a method of boosting fuel
economy, especially since diesel has never been a mainstream choice
here in the States.
Nevertheless, the push
for
cleaner, more fuel
efficient cars has a few brave
companies adding diesel
to their American line-ups for the 2009 model year, which is exciting
news for those who truly understand the benefits of the fuel. Here,
then, is a brief rundown of three of the New Diesel models, coming to
dealers near you.
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Volkswagen
Jetta TDI: VW will be the first - and only - major automaker
launching a clean diesel car in all fifty United States this year. A
variant of their popular Jetta, this is the first diesel-powered
passenger car to meet the world's toughest emission standards, They're
California's Tier II Bin 5. They're powered by 2.0-liter four-cylinder
engines that put out 140 hp and 236 lb-ft of torque, are available in
sedan or wagon body styles, and have estimated fuel economy of 29-30 in
the city and 40-41 on the highway, though actual drivers around the
world are reporting mileage that rivals Toyota's Prius hybrid. As well,
buyers of these cars can qualify for a $1,300 Federal Tax Credit.
-
Mercedez-Benz: They're
actually offering three diesel powered cars to the U.S. market, the 2009 - ML320 (5 passenger), GL320 (7 passenger),
and R320 (7 passenger), though technically these were released late
last year. All are SUV's - apparently Mercedes-Benz isn't capable of
making a small diesel car - but they're now all emission-compliant in
all of the United States, including California, which was excluded from
the original release. These vehicles are powered by BlueTec V6 engines,
have average fuel economy of 23 MPG (combined) and travel about 600
miles on a single tank.
-
Audi 3.0 liter
V6 Q7 (7 passenger): With 2009 diesel
models from VW and Mercedes-Benz, it should come as no surprise that
Audi also has an offering, after all, the three companies co-developed
BlueTec. Audi hasn't been calling a lot of attention to this release,
which is due on the market in the first quarter of this year, but then,
this is their only American TDI vehicle that meets the new, more
stringent, emissions guidelines. Despite being half as powerful as the
V12 version of the Q7, the V6 is no slouch. It provides 224 hp and
cranks out 406 lb-ft of torque. As well, Audi says it's 30% more fuel
efficient than comparable gas-powered vehicles, with a combined mpg
rating of 25, and more than 600 miles between refueling.
Despite
the three offerings listed above, the future for new diesel in the
United States remains murky. Diesel has been stigmatized here, and
associated greatly with city buses spewing forth foul-smelling smoke.
Unless a heavy-hitting customer-awareness campaign - such as those
ads being broadcast during the afore-mentioned Eleventh Hour,
we may not see many more such cars available in our market.
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