A speedy Mercedes diesel without the stink Not yet sold in California, but certainly worth the wait

SFGate ^ | 11/5/2006 | Lawrence Ulrich

[Red Badger]

Take it from someone who spent a childhood in the backseat of diesel-powered cars: They stank. It wasn't just the noxious spew from the tailpipe or the kerosene odor you endured while filling up next to towering 18-wheelers. The engines clattered and shook, or they refused to start at all on frigid Michigan mornings. They even caused cancer: Several studies found the sooty exhaust to be a carcinogen, and it was linked to asthma, heart attacks and premature deaths. My only fond diesel memory was how my penny-pinching father coaxed 300,000 miles from his oil-burning Mercedes-Benz cars and International Harvester trucks, which invariably outlived their rusting bodies. So when I say the new Mercedes E320 Bluetec is one impressive machine, it is not a judgment colored by nostalgia. Swift, quiet and odor-free, this is definitely not my daddy's diesel. Indeed, the Bluetec probably strikes the best combination of space, performance and efficiency on the road. You associate 38 miles a gallon with squirrel-driven subcompacts, not a powerful midsize luxury sedan. But that is the mileage the Mercedes test car delivered in 250 miles of highway cruising. The Bluetec also posted a thrifty 28 mpg in the city. Both numbers exceeded the car's federal rating of 37 on the highway, 27 in town. With its sizable 21.1-gallon tank, travel range becomes a selling point: The Bluetec can cover a remarkable 700-plus highway miles on a tank, or enough to travel from New York to Indianapolis (or from Los Angeles to Salt Lake City). Such all-day range saves time as well as money. Based on the 32 mpg that my test car returned overall, an owner who drives 15,000 miles a year will pull over for fuel just twice a month. ......

[Red Badger]

Rest in Peace, old friend, your work is finished.......

Diesel "Ping" List: If you want on or off the DIESEL "KNOCK" LIST just FReepmail me........

This is a fairly HIGH VOLUME ping list on some days......

[Mrs. Shawnlaw]

But I LIKE that smell!

[CertainInalienableRights]

I have nothing against diesels, and although the benz may as well be made of unobtainium for me, at its price point, it looks like a marvelous machine.

However, at least in my area, diesel is significantly more expensive than gasoline, to the point that the cost savings obtained by the mileage are nearly offset by the increased fuel cost.

[Red Badger]

Me,too!.........It reminds me of my childhood.........

[texas booster]

Please toss me on the diesel ping list.

Love new technology, especially when it works.

[JamesP81]

0-60 in 6.6 isn't bad, but an 02 Nissan Maxima with a 260 hp V6 does it in 6 flat. Diesels still rev awfully slow compared to gasoline engines, but if that problem can be corrected, then that impressive 400 ft lbs of torque can be brought fully to bear.

They fix that issue and then make one that doesn't 50,000 dollars, and I might buy one. I'd feel better about a Nissan vehicle than a Mercedes, just to be honest, so I'll be waiting a while. Especially since $10k is pretty much the most I'd spend on a car anyway. So I have to wait for them to be made, and then be used enough to afford.

[Red Badger]

nearly, is close enough for me!.......

[P-40]

made of unobtainium

Everything I like seems to be made of that stuff!

[ltc8k6]

It's been a long time since diesels were that bad, though.

BMW 330d 0-60 6 seconds 40mpg highway not sold here:

http://www.caranddriver.com/roadtests/11344/2006-bmw-330d.html

[Red Badger]

Like they used to say in the 60's, "You may beat me in the 1/4 mile, but I'll beat you in the top end!"..........

[Red Badger]

Done!.....

[JamesP81]

Like they used to say in the 60's, "You may beat me in the 1/4 mile, but I'll beat you in the top end!"..........

Yeah, but I don't care about the top end, I *like* the 1/4 mile performers. Give me a Vette or a Nissan 350Z (both of which also have a good top end and carve corners with the best of them).

[Little_shoe]

My latest car is a Fiat Punto Diesel. Its a pretty fun car to drive and dosent have the smells.

[RayChuang88]

Of course, while DaimlerChrysler tries to get EPA/CARB certification for their complicated BlueTec system with the AdBlue urea gas injection to reduce NOx emissions, Honda will meet the strict regulations using a new type of plasma gas reactor catalyst to do the same thing without lugging around a tank of urea fluid. Expect Honda to offer I-4 and V-6 engines with their new technology starting in 2008 for 50-state legal models.

[Red Badger]

I owned a FIAT once........I was more familiar with the underside of it than the topside of it........

[roaddog727]

When the BMW 330d gets to the US, I'm getting one.

I'll keep my Jetta TDI and dump the Volvo S70 (gas) for the BMW.

Woo hoo.

I just hope I'm still alive when it gets here........

[bigfootbob]

Volkswagon makes a nifty little diesel that gets about 50 mpg's and doesn't make a bunch of noise or is stinky.

[Cobra64]

0-60 in 6.6 isn't bad, but an 02 Nissan Maxima with a 260 hp V6 does it in 6 flat.

Comparing apples and oranges.

My Cobra will blow off most cars on the road. But its performance has nothing to do with a diesel.

[Keyga8tor]

FIAT = Fix it again Tony