Americans just don't like diesel but a new European alliance plus some smart technology is set to change all that. Conor Twomeyreports.
Ever wonder why almost 50 per cent of all passenger vehicles sold in Europe are diesel powered, while in America diesel sales languished at a pathetic 3.6 per cent in 2006?
Unsurprisingly, the oil companies have a lot to do with it. For a start, diesel fuel is around 10 per cent more expensive to buy than petrol, even though taxes and refining costs are largely the same for both fuels.
In addition, the oil companies have been very slow to reduce the sulphur content and improve the quality of the diesel sold in America, making it seem dirty and smelly.
Meanwhile, carmakers in Detroit were busy lobbying their pals in Washington to exempt their profitable trucks and SUVs from many emissions and fuel consumption regulations, ensuring the continuing popularity of their fuel-guzzling monsters. Simply put, it was in nobody's interests to promote diesel in America.
Not that consumers were exactly crying out for diesel power. Many Americans still recall the asthmatic VW Rabbit diesel and Mercedes 240D of the 1970s, as well as the horrific 1983 Cadillac Eldorado V8 diesel, so it's understandable why they still perceive diesels as slow, smoky lumps.
Europe's desire to reduce its dependency on oil and cut greenhouse gas emissions led many countries to increase taxation on petrol so as to make diesel more appealing to consumers.
Faced with a sudden surge in demand, carmakers rushed to develop new technologies such as common-rail injection and particulate filters to improve diesel performance, refinement and economy.
But now, as the European market becomes saturated and diesel growth slows, carmakers like Mercedes, BMW and VW are now looking to the American market as a way of recouping the significant costs of meeting stringent new Euro 6 emissions standards. Although the values of the Euro 6 regulations are still to be defined, it's expected they will be similar to the new Tier 2/Bin 5 regulations that are now in effect in California, Massachusetts, New York, Vermont and Maine.
Currently, no diesel cars are sold in these states because meeting these ultra-strict standards simply wouldn't be economically viable.
The high sulphur content of US diesel fuel makes it impossible to bring deadly nitrous oxide emissions down to acceptable levels and still make it affordable to the public.
However, now that all 76,000 filling stations in the US will soon be pumping clean diesel (sulphur content below 15 parts per million), the way is paved for an influx of European technology and a full-on diesel assault.
Mercedes (including Jeep and Chrysler), Volkswagen and Audi will kick off the diesel revolution with their shared Bluetec diesel system, which uses exhaust re-circulation, particulate filters and urea injection (a water-based additive is sprayed into exhaust gases, releasing ammonia which breaks down 80 per cent of the nitrogen oxides to harmless nitrogen and water) to clean up emissions.
Bluetec will feature in everything from the massive Mercedes GL-Class and Audi Q7 to VW's new Tiguan compact SUV and will be adopted by BMW later this year. By the end of the decade even Alfa Romeo and Honda will launch their ranges of super-clean diesels in America, with engines so advanced they won't even need the urea system.
European carmakers are keen to capitalise on their strategic advantage in the diesel market, having watched helplessly as Toyota and Honda dominated the Hybrid market.
Given how good the newest diesels are, they're certain that many American consumers will happily switch from petrol to the relative familiarity of a diesel engine, rather than the complexity and unproven longevity of a Hybrid.
Furthermore, diesel engines also operate more efficiently over the longer distances Americans tend to drive, unlike Hybrids which tend to work better in urban settings, meaning that once they get a taste for modern diesel, they won't want to go back.
Ironically, it may have been the success of hybrid cars that paved the way for diesels. Each generation of hybrid technology has evolved to such an extent that within a decade or two, it's likely that hybrid cars will have a range of thousands of kilometres and will need refuelling only a few times a year.
A shift to diesel would slow the advancement of hybrids, ensuring that oil companies keep a hold on the country's economic reins. To facilitate this shift, clean diesel had to go on sale. The domestic carmakers are probably happy about the switch to clean diesel, too. After all, what could be better for SUV and pickup sales than a thunderous but socially responsible V8 turbo-diesel under the hood?
Ford and GM are watching from the sidelines, but know their European subsidiaries have the latest diesel technology should they require it, a great comfort given how flat-footed they were caught by the Hybrid boom. Sure, the Japanese companies will have their diesels, too, but at least this time the big three have something to bring to the party.
And then there's the whole issue of bio-diesels. The marketing departments must be salivating at the prospect of American diesel produced directly from American crops grown by American farmers, powering American pickups across America's heartland . . .
Although there are skeptics, many experts and analysts (including JD Power) concur that diesel is about to explode on to the American market. With luxury carmakers being the first to market, the modern diesel will be seen as cool, clean and cutting edge.
All that's needed is a bit of education and marketing (Audi's Le Mans-winning R10 V12 TDI is a good start) and the record fuel prices and alarming climate change will do the rest.