Diesel Automobiles Experience a Renaissance

SEE ALSO: Diesel Vs. Hybrid

Washington DC May 23, 2008; After years in the automotive wilderness, largely exiled to the smoky borders of truck stops, diesel is coming home.

But the New York Times reports, Americans may not recognize its freshly scrubbed face.

Diesel's cleaner-burning fuel, rolled out in 2006 and hailed by the EPA as a historic advance, has made diesel engines as green as gasoline or even hybrid models.

In the meantime, advances like turbo-charging and high-pressure fuel injection have transformed diesel cars from soot-belching slowpokes to smooth, tidy, and powerful machines that many Americans would have a hard time distinguishing from gasoline models.

With technical and environmental hurdles overcome — and facing tougher mileage standards that call for a 35 mpg average by 2020 — automakers are rushing in with clean-diesel cars, which typically get mileage 25-40 percent higher than gasoline.

Volkswagen says it will be the first to market, with Jetta sedans and wagons arriving in August. Mercedes and BMW will follow closely. Click Here for a NYT slideshow of diesels coming to a lot near you.