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Originally Posted by Curious Joel
Europe has new, much stricter requirements coming out in 2007 or 2008 for diesels.. I think they have to cut the particulate emissions from like 400ppm to 15ppm, like on the new MBZ E320 Bluetec. Seeing as BMW is a European company, I'm sure it will have the new "clean" diesels.
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Traditionally, Europe and North America legislation has differed with respect to vehicle pollution regs. Regulating NOx vs particulates, for example. We got the cleaner low-sulphur fuel from October 2006 onwards, so that is no longer a show-stopper, but the new 2007 pollution regs will be a challenge for all manufacturers. It isn't that they can't meet the regs, it is that they can't safely guarantee that the vehicle will still be clean at 100,000 km or miles, depending on the jurisdiction. The liability issue is huge for the manufacturer, which is why, when diesels are released, they will likely be in very few models, and low volumes, until more experience is gained. Case in point: Mercedes is using urea injection in Europe, and BMW has announced plans to do the same. That approach will likely be used in North America. Will US owners replenish the urea tanks regularly? The vehicle will run fine without the ammonia injection, but it will pollute. Will owners ignore the warning lights when the tank is low? Will they accept a "can not drive further because it isn't legal" message? Will there be 'bypass kits' sold on Ebay? Only time will tell.
None of the European manufacturers want to introduce diesels in North America. I believe it is a losing proposition from a commercial perspective, until they have sufficient volume. Besides, they will have to retool plants to make more diesels, there is more cost. They would rather avoid the issue. They just don't want to be left out if their direct competitor (BMW, Mercedes, Audi, Volvo, take your pick) introduces a diesel. That is why, IMO, the availability dates keep changing. Promising to bring diesels here isn't the same as actually bringing them.