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Originally Posted by instarx
Not quite true. You can lease a brand new E320 Bluetec diesel in California right now. Check with your local MB dealer if you don't believe me.
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I'm not sure this is true ... the last information I saw was dated a few days ago (July 1) and said that they would be leasing them "soon", or that customers could order one "now". They have missed the intro date several times because they have trouble passing the California standards, and I suspect this is another case of that, where the press release is premature.
The latest list of acceptable cars to be sold new in California that are not filthy, polluting, planet-destroying cars is at
Background Material: 2008 California Certified Vehicles, but it hasn't been updated in over a year. Maybe the planet hating evil Europeans who desecrate the environment and give us things like fascism, nazism and communism (as well as warm beer) have finally gotten one of their cars clean enough to pass our enlightened standards. They will soon if they have not so far.
Quote:
Originally Posted by instarx
That "filthy, polluting, planet-destroying" comment might have been construed as ironic banter if you had not paired it with "Europeans must not care about the environment; they have been using dirty diesel engines for years...".
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So "irony + irony = serious"? I hope I have enough hyperbole in the sentences above to make that equation equal out to ironic banter for you. (I am serious about the warm beer, though). Let me know what particular combination of words would do it for you and I'll try to comply.
Seriously, I do want to see diesel available here, as I think it is the best choice for long-term improvements in fuel efficiency and energy independence (barring some kind of breakthrough in battery technology that gives EVs the range and quick charging ability to pass muster with Americans). Bio-diesel can be made from non-food sources such as algae, and it can be distributed through the existing infrastructure (unlike ethanol, which is problematic in terms of pipelines and storage). Bio-diesel can also provide a "short term closed loop" carbon cycle rather than increasing the amount by releasing carbon trapped over the past few centuries.
The extra $1000 or so cost over conventional gas engines is also less than the premium for gas/electric hybrid systems, so there's only the price differential in the fuel to worry about in terms of consumer acceptance. And that objection will probably be mitigated by the higher mileage diesel vehicles generally get.