While automakers aren't really introducing a new clean diesel-powered model every day, there's no denying there's a definite trend developing here. And it's a good thing as far as we're concerned.
If our enthusiasm for this new generation of environmentally-friendly diesel-powered vehicles we've been driving lately seems hard to understand, it probably just means you have driven one yourself. Compared to their gasoline-powered siblings, new models like the BMW X5 35d SUV and Volkswagen Jetta TDI sedan and wagon offer an attractive combination of livelier performance, significantly better fuel economy, and lower CO2 emissions that makes them awfully hard not to like.
Much of the credit for these improvements goes to the recent switch to ultra-low-sulfur diesel at fuel pumps nationwide. Add new engine designs and more effective emission controls and you end up with clean diesel models that get an average of 30 percent better fuel economy while still meeting the strictest emission standards in the U.S.
And now it appears that the final stumbling block standing in the way of more widespread adoption of clean diesel technology--namely a higher price tag for diesel models relative to gasoline-electric hybrids--has been overcome. A new analysis by the number crunchers over at AutoObserver.com found that the combination of recent reductions in the cost of diesel fuel and available tax credits from the federal government now makes many diesel-powered models a better deal than most hybrids.
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