In fact, the The vehicle was solid, quiet, and emitted no visible exhaust, even under heavy acceleration. On a recent trip to France, my wife and I rented a Ford C-Max, a European model which was sort of a mini-van-agon. Audi is slated to release a clean diesel version of its A4 sedan, and Cadillac has jumped into the fray with CTS diesel scheduled for 2009.
Mercedes-Benz introduced several 2009 models powered by its 50-state legal "Blue Tec" diesel engines. The "new diesels" But times have changed. Diesels are also perceived stateside as heavy polluting cars with clackety engines. environmental standards (with state-by-state variances) traditionally rendered their development and production cost prohibitive.
Stringent U.S. Why? Diesels account for the majority of European BMW's and just under half of them worldwide. Diesel's have been largely unpopular here despite superior fuel economy, while the streets of Europe teem with them. Noisy, dirty and unpopular?
And just as many hybrid model tax credits are expiring, the BMW's will be eligible for a tax credit of $900 and $1550 under the IRS' Alternative Motor Vehicle code. The vehicles will be priced at $44,725 and 52,025 respectively. Concept models were introduced at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit earlier this year. The Greenville News (greenvilleonline.com) is reporting that the company will introduce diesel versions of its popular 3-series sedan and X5 SUV, dubbed the 335d and X5 xDrive 35d, at next week's Los Angeles International Auto Show.