“CLEANEST DIESEL TECHNOLOGY IN THE WORLD,â€

I see VW has agreed to provide warranty for the use of B5, 5% bio-diesel. Go over 5% and your warranty is cancelled. Thats' considerate of them. What's Merc's stance on bio-diesel? The same or less?

 

This is great news from Mercedes Benz. Personally, I think Diesel Hybrid technology is really the way to go. One area where Hybrids truly shine is reducing pollution, and the one area where diesels shine is fuel efficiency. Mix the two together, and you can have a fairly low polluting very high MPG vehicle. Make the vehicle a "plug-in" hybrid, and man what a great car!

If you don't believe me, Google "Ford Reflex". Ford came out with a concept diesel electric hybid that not only looks sweet, but also has 0-60 times of approximately 6.5 seconds and gets 65 mpg!

There is some real potential here. I'd be more then happy to buy a car that is just ULEV or SULEV if it could get me 65 MPG and 0-60 speeds of less then 10 seconds. To me the big question is whether or not the American consumer can overcome it's preconcieved notions about diesel based on what we remember from the 1980's.

Peace,
Cosmo

 

Weird. In Germany they have been built to be compliant for 100% rape-methyl-ester (basically biodiesel) use for years. A lot of owners run them on 100% straight vegetable oil through the summer months.

 

The E320 will be my next car ....

 

80s? Try this morning. Diesel is the worst pollution to get farted out of the backside of a vehicle ever. 19th century technology is the way to go if you want to go back in time. If it's really an improvement they'd be putting it on tractor trailer rigs, buses and other heavy machinery, the ones who do all of the real polluting, not on expensive cars that only a few can afford.

 

JackDodge and other diesel-doubters, you should come over here to Europe and check out how much improved diesel tech is over here. About half of our passenger cars and all of our trucks / vans etc are diesel powered, but it's all with modern diesel tech (ie a lot more advanced than what you have in the States). I've spent time in plenty of European and US cities and in my opinion, despite our greatly increased use of diesel, the air is still cleaner in the European cities!

 

Uh, I think the point is that if a diesel engine is 50 state compliant, or even SULEV or PZEV, it's just as clean as gasoline. Add in an extra 20-30% energy density, and you get a car just as clean as gasoline, with better MPG. I think your comment just proves what I was trying to say: that most Americans may be unwilling to dismiss their preconcieved notions about this fuel. I'll just mention again that I think a Diesel-Electric hybrid with plug in capability would be a fabulous vehicle. That is, if it could be even reasonably affordable...

Peace,
Cosmo

 

I'm not an engineer, but I understand there are problems with the high-compression diesel shutting itself off and re-starting repeatedly in a hybrid configuration; that it's too "violent" to be "seamless". Is that the main problem?

 

That diesel emits particulate pollution isn't a preconceived notion, it's a fact. You don't have a clue about how this country operates on a pragmatic level and you don't understand how much the law of unintended consequences affects it.

 

Hi Clett,

The air may be cleaner, but it is not due to diesel use in vehicles, it would be despite it's use. Just take a look at Euro IV emissions standards compared to US federal Tier II, Bin 5.