This is a few months old… I wonder how much truth there is to it? Got my hopes up! 330D here i come!
BMW to bring some of the best engines on earth to the USA in 2007
4/14/2005
Dang! It’s about time!
I want an X3 3.0 diesel!
BMW, Honda Will Enter U.S. Diesel Market
With new European emissions standards on the horizon, BMW and Honda are looking to the U.S. as a market for diesel-powered vehicles. The German company plans to begin selling diesel-powered vehicles here in 2007. The first BMW diesel entrant is likely to be an SUV.
BMW claims to be able to meet 2007 emission standards in the U.S. and will market its vehicles as high torque and low fuel consumption alternatives to the gasoline engine.
BMW offers diesel engines in all but two of its models sold in Europe, where nearly half of all BMWs sold are powered by diesels.
In the United States, federal clean air regulations that will phase in over the next four model years require low-sulfur diesel fuel and low-emission engines. The dirty fuel now sold in the U.S. is what is giving diesels a bad name and making it hard for them to meet emission standards.
Honda also has an eye on the U.S. diesel market. A Honda Motor Co. executive says the company is studying ways to offer diesel-powered vehicles in the United States and vows that Honda will offer diesel cars in the United States in the very near future.
Honda views the U.S. as a potentially big diesel market. The company also views U.S emissions standards as a difficult obstacle to overcome.
Diesel engines are one of the few holes in Honda’s U.S. product plan. The company has been active in promoting hybrid vehicles such as the Insight. It also was an early investor in research of hydrogen, natural gas and solar-powered cars. But Honda has been slow to invest in diesel technology.
Last year the company introduced its first Honda-built diesel auto engine, a 2.2-liter diesel offered in the Accord sold in Europe. For 2005 model year it also introduced a diesel version of its European-market CR-V SUV. In the past, the company bought a small number of diesels from Isuzu and Rover.
