Clean Diesel Cars Coming to US This Fall: 2008-2010 Timeline
New diesels will get better mileage and have cleaner emissions than your average car. Pictured above: 2009 Jetta SportWagen 2L TDI Clean Diesel.
Later this year (see the timeline below), we will finally begin to see an influx of new model diesels in the United States. While diesels make up 50% of the market share of vehicles in Europe, they’re still trying to shrug off the stigma of being dirty, noisy beasts here in the US. So what changed?
- » See also: Teenage-Built Diesel Hybrid Does 0-60 in 4 Seconds, Soon to Break 100 MPG
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What are “clean” diesels?
In 2006, the EPA required the introduction of Ultra Low Sulfur Diesel (ULSD), which removed a major polluting component of diesel fuel. Since sulfur would damage advanced emissions control systems, ULSD paved the way for better emissions control technology.
As early as August, we will start to see a new era of diesels that employ new technology to meet the strictest emissions standards in the world—BIN5/LEV II—which are enforced by 5 US states: California, Massachusetts, Maine, New York, and Vermont. BIN5/LEV II standards severely cap nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions (0.05 g/mile), one of the two tailpipe pollutants that have given diesels a bad rap (that and particulate matter).
Newer filters in these emissions systems trap particulate matter, while each model uses its own method to process NOx. Several models, including those from BMW, Mercedes, and Audi, will require the maintenance of a six- to eight-gallon tank of urea. The ammonia-rich solution (for example: Mercedes BlueTEC) is injected into exhaust to neutralize smog-forming nitrogen oxides. Since the urea tanks only require replenishing every 12,000 miles or so, inconvenience seems minimal, and some models, like Honda and VW diesels, meet emissions requirements without them.
While you might expect most of these diesels to get exceptional mileage, some of them do surprisingly poor. For example, the Mercedes and Audi models only get around 18/25 MPG (making this a good reason to continue to avoid SUVs). I know that the new emissions technology is supposed to negatively affect mileage, but 25 MPG is unimpressive, considering that VW’s Jetta BlueTDI got a road tested 60 MPG.
While the high price of diesel fuel is eating into some of the economic advantage of buying a new diesel vehicle, the difference is offset by mileage gains of 25 to 40% over comparable gas models. You might not see too much difference in sticker prices, either. Some models could cost $1,500 to $3,500 more for this new emissions control technology, but VW says its Jetta SportWagens could cost $2,000 less. Also be on the lookout for Federal tax credits that could be as large as $3,400 per vehicle.
When can we expect to see clean diesels in the US? Here’s the timeline:
1. Volkswagen
- When: August 2008
- Models: 2009 Jetta BlueTDI sedans and SportWagens
- Engine: 2-liter turbodiesel in-line 4
- Est. Mileage: 29/40 m.p.g. Sedan road tested at 60 MPG.
- Est. Base Price: $22,000 to $25,000
2. Mercedes
- When: November 2008
- Models: Mercedes-Benz ML320 Bluetec, other GL-, ML- and R-Class sport crossover utilities (and someday: Vision GLK BlueTec diesel hybrid).
- Engine: 3-liter turbodiesel V-6
- EPA Mileage: 18/24 m.p.g.
- Est. Base Price: $46,000
3. BMW
- When: Fall 2008
- Models: 335d sedan and X5 35d sport wagon
- Engine: variable twin-turbo 6-cylinder
- Est. Mileage: ?
- Est. Base Price: ?
4. Audi
When: January 2009
- Models: Q7 3.0 TDI utility wagon
- Engine: 3-liter turbodiesel V-6
- Est. Mileage: 18/25 m.p.g.
- Est. Base Price: $53,000
5. Honda (yes it’s true)
- When: 2009
- Models: Acura TSX sedan, other models could follow
- Engine: 2.2-liter i-DTEC
- Est. Mileage: 34/53 MPG
- Est. Base Price: ?
7. General Motors/Ford/Dodge
- When: 2009 or 2010
- Models: Light-duty pickup trucks
8. Nissan
- When: 2010
- Models: Maxima sedan
9. Subaru
- When: 2010
- Models: Legacy sedan or Outback wagon
- Engine: 2-liter turbodiesel flat 4
- Est. Mileage: 33/47 m.p.g. (Outback)
- Est. Base Price: $28,000 (Outback)
Header Photo Credit: VW
For more, see: Diesel Engines Clean Up for an Encore (New York Times)
Posts Related to Clean Diesels:
- 2009 Jetta BlueTDI Comes to US This Summer, Sports 60 MPG and Cleaner Emissions
- Sorry Folks, VW Diesel Electric Hybrid Not Coming to US
- Mercedes 40-MPG Diesel Hybrid: Cleanest SUV on the Planet
- The World’s Most Fuel Efficient Car: 285 MPG, Not A Hybrid
- Biodiesel Guide: 7 Steps to Buying a Diesel
I am in no position to offer advice or opinion from experience, but I do fee that “Owner” is morally obliged as a consumer to detail his bad experiences. What is the point of hiding them? Every day I spend on the Interwebs, I become more sold on the concept, “Pics, or it didn’t happen.”
At least on the two that the price is mentioned, doesn’t sound bad at all. Hopefully diesel won’t be $6 by fall, and those babies do better mileage. We hit $4 for the first time here in Champaign this morning
this is just crazy, the price of gas is annoying.
The Bosch Group just sent me an email highlighting the following points about clean diesels. I don’t have any source to cite, so you’ll just have to take their word for it:
-Clean diesel engines pack the power, offering a 50 percent better torque than a comparable gasoline vehicle
-Switching to a clean diesel engine reduces carbon dioxide emissions by up to 25 percent
-The EPA estimates that if one-third of U.S. vehicles ran on clean diesel, America could save 1.4 billion barrels of oil per day (an annual savings of nearly $170 billion)
Btw, thanks for all the editing help people! I had to read the post 4 times before I could find the errors - they’re often invisible in your own writing.
[...] Originally Posted by ThatHideousStrength Diesel is like 4+ bucks a gallon. I don’t know how much more mileage you’ll get out of it though. Clean Diesel Cars Coming to US This Fall: 2008-2010 Timeline : Gas 2.0 [...]
I have been a satisfied Jetta TDI owner since 2001. My first one was going great and hit about 45,000 miles in about 18 months of hard commuting and long distance trips before it met an unfortunate demise caused by a 1993 Caprice fleeing from the scene of an accident by running through a red light. Since I walked away from a rather severe impact that did a real mangle job on the car, I bought a second Jetta in May 2002.
That one has 150,000 miles on it with no significant repairs to the drive train. It is a reliable little car that has no trouble negotiating DC traffic, merging onto Route 50 (which often moves in excess of the posted 65 MPH) or carrying four people plus cargo.
Do not let the 90 HP number fool you - diesel engines have much better low end torque than gasoline engines because of their higher compression ratios.
My normal habit is to own cars for about 100,000 miles and then to trade them in before they start giving me trouble. (I am pretty technically oriented but too busy to work on my own vehicles.)
I have kept the Jetta quite a bit longer than that waiting for the new models to finally arrive. I am a diesel convert and believe that it is only a matter of time before the recent diesel to gasoline price differential reverses itself. I am not predicting that diesel will suddenly get cheaper, just that the relationship between its price and the price of gasoline is a temporary market condition.
A local VW dealer told me this week that the Jetta diesel sedan will be available September, 2008, but the Jetta diesel wagon will not be in the USA until September, 2009. Does anyone know if this is true? I’ve found it very hard if not impossible to get information about the new diesel wagon. I am extremely interested in any information.
“This is great except for the fact diesel fuel is even more expensive than gasoline and keeps rising.”
My car gets 20mpg @ $4.00 a gallon… a VW will get at least 40mpg at $5.00 a gallon…. So… since I get over twice the mileage wouldn’t it be much cheaper? I dont understand your comment. Are you under the impression that diesel will continue to rise and gas will stay the same? So at some point diesel will be $9.00 and gas will still be down at $4.00?
RE: “This is great except for the fact diesel fuel is even more expensive than gasoline and keeps rising.”
Where you have a diesel that gets 40 mpg v. a gasoline engine that gets 20 mpg, as long as diesel fuel is less that 200% the price of gasoline, diesel wins that cost comparison. In other words, if gas is $4 per gallon, the break even price for diesel is $8 per gallon. Who is predicting that kind of a spread?