Hi Iboomalot:

___This is not about a diesel emitting smoke that you can see, it is about emissions you can’t. IIRC, the CDC runs LSD and isn’t meeting Tier II/Bin5 (LEV-2 @ 120K). I trust Ford’s Urea injection w/ SCR and DPF’s but the EPA is balking at the less then 120,000 miles without consumer intervention. When the CDC technology demonstrator dropped NOx levels by an order of magnitude, HC’s came up by the same X 2. Even with an expensive after treatment and LSD/Bio, the diesel still is not reaching Tier-II/Bin 5 (city cycle failure) let alone how much cleaner a ULEV-2 or SULEV-2 is today right off the lot. Have you looked at the PZEV ratings? You can go to any Honda dealer in California, Maine, Massachusetts, New York, or Vermont and pick up a PZEV based Accord that will clean the clock of any automobile in terms of emissions (Tier II/Bin 2). By comparison, a diesel with an additional $3,000 worth of emissions HW fixes will only become as clean as a Toyota Echo which is pretty dirty by comparison to much of what we have available to us … Place a hypermiler behind the wheel of the two (the PZEV based Accord LX/EX and a heavily emissions modded and even more expensive Jetta TDI) and you might have a year round 44 lmpg vs. 56 lmpg (Accord vs. Jetta). Care to do that math on that in real $’s? Bio is a renewable fuel and one that has more going for it then just lowered CO/CO2 as lowering imported crude is a good example but it is not a free substitute given the emissions by comparison to what we have available to us in any other number of automobiles.

___Where do we go from here? LEV-2 @ 120K miles isn’t going to cut it imho. I still think Ford might have the answer with its PZEV rated META-One but until they offer the darn CI-ICE to the public, MB and VW are going to sell barely LEV-2 capable diesels in late 2006 when on LSD. It is 2 step forwards in terms of FE but one back given the emissions by comparison to the LS gasoline that will hit at the same time. I would drive an 07 CI-ICE that barely meets the federal specs if the price was right but I will probably be on the sidelines waiting for the much less expensive UREA injected SCR solution to proliferate first.

___Good Luck

___Wayne R. Gerdes
___Hunt Club Farms Landscaping Ltd.
___Waynegerdes@earthlink.net