[fshagan]

Originally Posted by instarx

You are completely wrong. Almost no European diesels were imported into the US over the past decade because US diesel fuel had too high a sulfur content, which would have trashed the European cars' advanced emission systems and possibly damaged the engines themselves.

Because new EPA regulations went into effect in late 2007 that required US oil companies to switch to making only ultra low sulfur diesel (ULSD), European and Japanese manufacturers can now start to import the advanced diesels they have had for years.

So it wasn't that European diesels were so dirty they couldn't meet US EPA standards, but that they couldn't do it on lousy US fuel. It is simply untrue that the Europeans have been using "dirty diesel" engines for years.

I am not "completely wrong". None of the current European diesels are "50 state diesels" because they are too dirty. They cannot pass California's stringent air quality rules that the EPA is adopting nationwide. They are all too dirty, but as I said, VW is said to be close to getting theirs certified. This Yahoo auto story - Diesel - Overview - Yahoo! Autos - says:

Currently no new diesel passenger vehicles can be sold in the five states that adhere to the more stringent California requirements: California, Massachusetts, Maine, New York and Vermont. The current diesel Liberty, Beetle, Golf and Jetta, in other words, are 45-state vehicles. The EPA, however, is tightening its diesel emissions requirements, and moving them more into alignment with the California requirements. The point at which the two map exactly for passenger cars is called Tier 2 Bin 5 (T2B5).

For a 2007 or later model year diesel passenger car to be sold in all 50 states, it must meet the T2B5 emissions requirements. Currently, there are no T2B5-compliant, 50-state diesel cars. One is on the horizon�-the new Mercedes E320 BLUETEC, to be introduced in 2007. BLUETEC refers to the emissions after treatment system that enables the vehicle to meet the T2B5 standard. The 2007 E320 BLUETEC has NOx emissions that are more than eight times lower than the outgoing 2006 E320 CDI

So far, none of the cars meet our more stringent requirements to be sold in all 50 states. The 2007 BLUETEC didn't make it yet, but the VW engine is close to being accepted (according to VW, it should show up late this year).