5.21.2010
When my 11-year-old twin boys first sat in the A3, they were unimpressed. Besides the (slightly) race car-like “TDI” and “Clean Diesel” decals the Audi PR folks slapped on the car, there wasn’t anything overly sexy or exciting in the eye of an 11-year old boy. Then I started telling them about the turbocharged 2.0-liter diesel engine, the quick-shifting S tronic transmission, and the no speed limit autobahn-inspired German-engineered suspension.

2010 Volkswagen Polo

Volkswagen won two of four categories in the 2010 World Car of the Year Awards including the overall title and green car. Sister brand Audi also captured the performance car category with the R8 V10.

Hyundai i-Flow

Hyundai will unveil its first diesel hybrid concept next week at the Geneva Motor Show. The new i-Flow is a D-segment sedan that will be joined by low CO2 emissions versions of most of the company's lineup as well as a fuel cell version of the new Tucson crossover.
 

Volkswagen Up! Lite concept

At the Los Angeles Auto Show, Volkswagen unveiled a new lightweight compact concept car that features a new hybrid system. The Up! Lite is claimed to be the most fuel efficient four seat car in the world. While much of the technology in the Up! Lite will likely make it to production in coming years, the hybrid system is likely to be among the first.
 

Paolo Ferraro

A lineup of Chrysler executives took the stage in Auburn Hills to outline, the company's plans for the next five years. The tie up with Fiat will allow Chrysler to significantly upgrade its powertrain lineup by adding small engines from Italy, dual clutch gearboxes and new diesel engines. Powertrain SVP Paolo Ferraro didn't give any specific timing for the introduction of diesels to the US market but did emphasize that after-treatment systems would allow Fiat diesels to meet US and EU emissions standards.
 

2010 Volkswagen Golf TDI

Volkswagen is bringing the sixth generation of its compact Golf to the North American market for the 2010 model year and with it comes the return of diesel power. Green Fuels Forecast went to Germany to sample the new Golf TDI on its home turf.
 

BMW Vision EfficientDynamics concept

BMW unveiled its first two production hybrid vehicles along with a more efficient diesel 3-series at the Frankfurt Motor Show this week. However, the star of the BMW stand is the new Vision EfficientDynamics concept, a high-performance plug-in hybrid/diesel concept sports car.
 

Volkswagen E-up! concept

Volkswagen is using the Frankfurt Motor Show to highlight two new high efficiency concepts that are destined for eventual production. The L1 is the latest development of a tandem two seater concept that consumes only 1 l/100km. The E-up! is a battery powered version of the automaker's upcoming New Small Family mini-cars.

Audi e-tron concept

Audi has unveiled a number of new green production and concept vehicles at the Frankfurt Motor Show. Among those are flex-fuel and clean diesel variants of the A4 and an battery powered concept based on the R8 sports car.
 

2011 Ford Power Stroke diesel V8

The 2011 Ford Super Duty pickup trucks will get an all-new optional diesel engine that for the first time is being developed and built in-house by the automaker. The 6.7-liter V8 will meet the stringent new US emissions standards while improving on both output and fuel efficiency of the current engines.
 

Audi R15 TDI

The combination of a world-wide economic crisis and increasing concerns about the environment have triggered many questions about whether motorsports is relevant anymore. Scott Atherton, CEO of the American Le Mans Series discusses the economics of racing and his series attempts to promote "Green Racing."
 

2009 VW Jetta TDI Sportwagen

In September 2008 Volkswagen introduced the first new diesel powered passenger car to comply with the latest Tier 2 Bin 5 emissions regulations, the Jetta TDI. Green Fuels Forecast drove a 2009 Jetta TDI Sportwagen for several days recently found it to be a roomy car that was both engaging to drive and fuel efficient.

Audi adds a pair of new 1.6L common rail diesel engines to the European market A3 lineup. The 90 and 105 hp engines achieve up to 57.4 mpg (US) on the NEDC combined test when combined with automatic start/stop and brake energy regeneration.
 

FEV solid SCR

Powertrain engineering services company FEV displays a new solid SCR NOx reduction system for diesel engines at the Society of Automotive Engineers World Congress. The new system provides a more compact and easy to handle alternative to the urea injection systems currently being implemented to meat Tier 2 Bin 5 and EURO V and VI emissions rules.
 

2010 Volkswagen Polo

Volkswagen introduces a new generation of its B-segment Polo at the Geneva Motor Show including a production BlueMotion model as well as a concept for revised version to be produced in 2010. The new Polo BlueMotion Concept is expected to achieve a combined 71.3 mpg (US) with CO2 emissions of just 87 g/km, making this the most efficient internal combustion five passenger car yet.

Dacia Duster concept

The Geneva Motor Show will mark the debut of the first every concept vehicle from Renault subsidiary Dacia. The Dacia Duster is a four seat crossover concept powered by a 1.5L diesel four cylinder engine that achieves 44.4 mpg (US).

Porsche Cayenne Hybrid

Porsche will be publicly unveiling two greener versions of its Cayenne SUV at the Geneva Motor Show next week. The first, a diesel powered version recently launched production and will be on sale soon. The second is a hybrid variant that will go on sale in 2010.
 

Volvo announces an all-new 2.4L inline five cylinder diesel engine for its premium S80 sedan that helps it achieve 37.9 mpg (US) and meet EURO V emissions standards. The engine shares its displacement and configuration with an older engine but is otherwise new for 2009.
 

2009 Acura TSX

After announcing plans at the 2008 Detroit Auto Show to introduce a 2.2 turbodiesel engine into an Acura vehicle during 2009, those plans have now been cancelled. A Honda official denied earlier reports, that the program was cancelled for technical reasons, instead blaming current business conditions.

Audi A5 TDI

Green Fuels Forecast recently had the opportunity to sample another pair of Audi's diesel powered cars that aren't yet available in the US market.  The A4 sedan and A5 coupe are both built from a common vehicle architecture and powered by the same 3.0L TDI V6 that will debut in the Q7 SUV early in 2009. In the mid sized cars this engine provides both excellent performance and fuel efficiency.

Porsche Cayenne Diesel

Porsche announces its first ever production diesel vehicle will launch in Europe in February 2009. The Cayenne diesel will be powered by the same 3.0L V6 TDI used in a variety of Volkswagen and Audi vehicles.

Green Car Journal selects the 2009 Volkswagen Jetta TDI as the Green Car of the Year.  The diesel powered Jetta beat out the Ford Fusion Hybrid, Saturn Vue Two-mode hybrid, Smart ForTwo and BMW 335d. The Jetta's 41 mpg highway fuel economy and $21,990 base price are cited as reasons for its selection.

Volkswagen announces that its highly successful Jetta TDI cup will be back for a second season in 2009 with an expanded schedule of ten races. Thirty aspiring professional drivers will take to the track in identically prepared racers based on the road going Jetta TDI sedan. Driver selection for season two will take place in February 2009.

BMW 335d

In a year when fuel prices in the United States reached the highest levels ever, BMW is introducing the most fuel efficient car it has ever offered in this market with the new 335d. Green Fuels Forecast had an opportunity to drive BMW's first new clean diesel sedan in advance of the Los Angeles Auto Show. The 335d adds a huge improvement to fuel economy to BMW's highest volume model without sacrificing the performance the brand is known for.

Amyris yeast producing diesel

Oakland CA based Amyris Biotechnologies completes its first pilot plant to produce renewable diesel fuel. The startup biotechnology company held a modest celebration at its headquarters to commemorate the first step in its goal toward commercial production of liquid fuel by 2010. The company develops genetically engineered yeasts to transform biomass into other useful products.

VW Touareg TDI Trophy Truck

At next week's Los Angeles Auto Show, Volkswagen will unveil a new purpose-built Touareg TDI off-road racing truck. The new Touareg will run in the Baja 1000 race later this month and will be powered by a version of the 5.5L V12 TDI engine from the Audi R10 TDI sports racer.

BMW's 335d

BMW today announced pricing and fuel efficiency of its first new 50-state legal clean diesel vehicles that are going on sale shortly. The new 335d sedan is rated at 23/36 mpg city/highway and will be priced from $44,725 while the X5 xDrive35d will get a 19/26 mpg rating with a $52,025 base price.

2009 Mercedes Benz ML320 BlueTec

Mercedes-Benz is awarded the "Green Steering Wheel" by Germany's Bild am Sonntag newspaper for its NOx reducing BlueTec technology. The paper, which has been giving its "Golden Steering Wheel" to vehicles in a variety of segments for many years, added the green award in 2007.

Hyundai's new R-Engine diesel

Boasting a leg up on the German and French competition, Hyundai Motor Co. has introduced its new diesel "R-Engine" in 2.2L and 2.0L variants for markets outside North America. The 2.0L diesel engine is rated at 184hp and 289 pound-ft of torque, while the 2.2L reaches 200hp and 321 pound-ft torque.

The four-cylinder, 2.2L i-DTEC

While supporting increased efficiency requirements, Honda executives sounded less than thrilled with the structure of the new  rules during a conference call this week to discuss automotive fuel economy. John German acknowledged that the regulations will lead to higher vehicle costs to pay for new technology that is needed. On the technology front, Honda is persuing a number of fronts including hybrids, CNG, and biofuels but remained non-commital on plans to introduce its diesel engines to the US market in 2009.

Johan de Nysschen, EVP Audi of America

Despite the massive juggernaut of TDI and the logistics machinery to support a two-week drive, Audi spent the last two weeks seeding the market with the Audi Mileage Marathon in somewhat guerrilla or viral fashion. Given the word-of-mouth nature of interest for diesels, it may be the right marketing approach considering the anxious buying public and so far niche-nature of diesel buyers.

Audi Q7 TDI

The longest single stretch of the Audi Mileage Marathon is now over as the fleet of diesel vehicles rolled into Denver Colorado at the mid-point of the event. The diesel fleet is still showing impressive mileage numbers even through the more challenging conditions encountered on the circuitous route from Chicago to Denver.  The Q7s and Q5s in particular are demonstrating impressive efficiency for their segments.

With three days down and eleven to go, the first leg of the Audi Mileage Marathon is in the books and new set of drivers has taken over. As the fleet of diesels heads out of Chicago for the longest trek of the trip, the final results of the first leg have been compiled with the overall averages for the Q7s ranging from 26.4 to 20.0 mpg.

Audi's first big promotion for its upcoming diesel vehicles is starting today in Manhattan as the Audi Mileage Marathon leaves from the Tavern on the Green. For the next two weeks, a fleet of 23 diesel powered Audi cars and SUVs will visit cities all across the country as four waves of journalists from all over the world explore the capabilities of these vehicles. The participants will be vying for the best mileage on each of the four legs of the journey.

Honda Insight Concept

As with other recent auto shows, the Paris Motor Show coming up in early October will again feature a wide array of fuel and emissions saving concept and production cars from around the world. New hybrid cars will be appearing from Honda, Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Citroen, Peugeot and others will share the stage with new diesels from General Motors, Volkswagen and Subaru. Flexible bio-fueled vehicles and electrics will also be rolling out in the city of lights.

With the large truck market in US in free fall with no signs of recovery, every automaker is re-examining its future product plans. Toyota is no exception as previously announced plans to offer a diesel engine in its Tundra pickup and Sequoia SUV may be canceled.

Peugeot 908 HY

Peugeot announces a new diesel-electric hybrid demonstrator variant of its 908 HDi Le Mans Series race car at the final race of the 2008 season in England. The French manufacturer is currently testing the hybrid racer but has not committed to competition until the ACO which sets the Le Mans rules finalizes new regulations.

Renault Ondelios Concept

Renault reveals a diesel hybrid crossover concept vehicle that will be publicly shown for the first time at the Paris Motor Show in October. The Ondelios is a six passenger crossover claimed to deliver 52.3 mpg (US).

Mazda announces it will introduce a new clean diesel engine for the European Market at the upcoming Paris Motor Show. The engine features a new Mazda-developed diesel particulate filter that reduces the regeneration time and fuel consumption.

Audi Q7 and Q5 TDI

German automaker Audi is preparing to make a major push for the launch of its clean diesels in the US market with a cross-country Mileage Marathon in October. A fleet of 23 TDI powered Audis including the Q7, Q5, A4 and A3 will go from New York to Los Angeles with the drivers vying for the best possible fuel economy.

Ford ECOnetic badge

In the leadup to the 2008 Geneva Motor Show Ford has outlined it's European Sustainability Strategy.  The company plans to follow a number of paths in an effort to reduce fuel consumption and carbon dioxide emissions.  The heart of its plans is cost effectiveness.