Bluetec magic makes diesels attractive

Mercedes-Benz has seen the future, and it is diesel.

The German manufacturer, a division of DaimlerChrysler, says it is working on a range of substitutes for gasoline-fueled vehicles, including hydrogen power and hybrids. But it considers diesel to be the most promising, at least in the near term.

The reason: diesel-fueled vehicles, on average, provide about 30 percent better miles per gallon than those that run on gasoline.

In Europe, where gasoline prices approach $7 a gallon in some places, people understand. Diesel light vehicles there now total more than half of new car sales.

But Americans have shunned the oil burners for a variety of reasons.

One is availability. Only a few manufacturers offer diesels because U.S. pollution laws are more stringent than Europe’s, and some states, such as California and New York, are even stricter, so that diesel cars can be sold in only 45 states.

Moreover, the standards are becoming even stricter. One result is that only Mercedes-Benz will offer a diesel car in the U.S. in 2007.

The car is the E320 Bluetec, a name for a new, modular technology tailored to meet the tough emissions requirements here.

It will happen in two stages: In 2007, which was timed to coincide with the introduction of new, low-sulfur diesel fuel across the country last month, the Mercedes-Benz E320 Bluetec uses two catalytic converters and a particulate scrubber to meet the emissions standards.

But because of the stricter state standards, the Bluetec still will be sold in only 45 states.

In 2008, Mercedes-Benz will introduce a different Bluetec system that injects urea, a nitrogen-rich organic compound, into the combustion process, which it says will enable it to exceed all of the emissions requirements.

Even at that, it is likely to be some time before diesels win widespread acceptance in the U.S. One is cost. Diesel-powered cars are more expensive than their gasoline-fueled counterparts, although Mercedes-Benz has reduced the premium to $1,000 on the 2007 E320.

But the E320 also is an expensive luxury car. The Bluetec model starts at $52,325 and, with a few options, the test car had a $59,855 sticker price. Fuel costs enter in as well. In Europe, diesel fuel is the least expensive; in the U.S., it sells for about the same as regular gasoline.

Attitude is another factor. Surveys have shown that most American motorists believe that diesels are slow, smelly, noisy and hard to start in cold weather.

While that certainly was true in the past, the state of the art has advanced in the 2007 E320 Bluetec to the point where anyone would be hard-pressed to identify it as a diesel. The only way you can tell is to stand outside, near the hood, and listen closely. Even then, all you hear is a subdued diesel clatter.

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