Luxury brands from across the globe have been working hard to offer fuel efficiency and and low emissions without compromising the creature comforts that define the luxury segment. Not only will efficient vehicles quiet some of critics of luxury brands, but they will help keep the American and European regulators from levying heavy fines on inefficient luxury brands.

At this years Frankfurt Auto Show, BMW will be kicking the competition up a notch with a 57 MPG EfficientDynamics version of their current 320d. This new vehicle will emit only 175 grams of CO2/km while having a top speed of 140 mph and making the 0-60 journey in a little over 8 seconds.

The best part is that the EfficientDynamics version won’t be any more expensive than the current 320d. The worst part being that BMW won’t be offering their most efficient car in the United States, where such an efficient option is most in need.

Source: Autopia

It seems like a different European automaker is coming out with a new diesel engine or vehicle option every day. Over here in Japan however, there was quite a lot of hype over one or two diesel cars that might be sold by Honda or Toyota in the United States.

Everyone was excited to see the new generation of cleaner diesels from the Japanese companies. Meanwhile, those companies are already selling diesels in Europe and cutting back on their plans to sell them in the U.S.

Is this a mistake?

I think most of us would admit that diesel has serious image flaws in the United States, but that hasn’t prevented VW’s new TDI models from flying off the showroom floors and generating quite a bit of buzz. However, if we are going to understand the reluctance of Japanese companies to bring diesel anywhere, we need to understand the reality of diesel in Japan.

In Japan, diesel is still relatively restricted to off-road construction equipment, big transport trucks, and soot-spewing public buses. The first time I saw one of these buses I thought “wow, how odd.”

Now I know better. At least 50% of buses in my area will leave a huge cloud of poisonous fumes behind it when leaving from a stop. Because I am riding my bicycle behind these buses many times, I am quite aware of how nasty the situation is, and I assure you I am not exaggerating. It is all I can do sometimes to hold my breath until I get through the worst of it and navigate away from the bus in question.

Why are public buses polluting so badly? I can honestly say that I don’t know what the issue is. Perhaps the same emissions requirements don’t apply to public vehicles or my area just has sub-standard diesel emissions requirements.

Either way, I doubt the Japanese who live with it daily have a more favorable view of the situation. If this were my only experience with diesel, I would hate it too.

VW has started a clever campaign to help consumers see the kind of mileage you can get with a TDI. It’s called TDI TankWars and what it does is challenge owners to score better than the World Record (58.8) in their VW TDIs.

The site includes information about the tanks, drivers, and cars. It also lets you thumb up or down individual tanks based on how much you believe the claims. As you can see in the above image, most people have a negative approach to the higher scores.

So far only 5 tanks have beaten the 58.8 mpg World Record, though that number should increase quite a bit in the future as it’s really quite low (as far as world records go). From the main TankWars page you can also check up on the individual users, leave comments on tanks, and view photo and video evidence confirming the claimed fuel economy.

Overall, this is a great attempt by VW to connect users with fuel economy, and it includes interesting details like tire pressure, though weather conditions would frankly be more useful. So, if you’re interested in the competition, check it out for yourself at the TDI TankWars homepage.