What's with the urine?
None of the diesels currently available in the U.S. use urea injection - they all pass our current emissions standards without it. However, urea injection may be necessary in order to meet future emissions standards - especially for bigger cars. If so, it may be required to fill a small tank with colorless, odorless liquid about every other oil change, or 10,000 miles. And no, you can't just pee in the tank.
Are diesels fun?
The way diesels deliver power is a lot like old-school American V-8 engines - loads of torque down low, and not much power at high rpms. In fact, diesels can't rev faster than about 5000 rpm. (They can, physically, but they don't make any power, because the piston is moving faster than the explosion in the combustion chamber, since diesel burns very slowly.)
So diesels are fun in the same way big-block, pushrod engines are - they're fast off the line, and passing requires a stab of the right foot, not a four-gear downshift and 7000 rpm.
What do TDI, CDI, and Bluetec mean?
Bluetec is a brand name, like Kleenex or Xerox. It represents a joint effort between Volkswagen, Mercedes, and Chrysler to develop diesel engines that pass U.S. emissions standards.
Contrary to popular belief, Bluetec doesn't insinuate the use of urea. The Bluetec companies plan on calling their urea additive "AdBlue." Volkswagen is planning on calling their new diesels "Clean Diesels".
TDI is a trademarked name that Volkswagen has given its diesel injections - it stands for Turbo Direct Injection, and describes the technology that injects the diesel fuel under high pressure directly into the cylinder, which has been force-fed with pressurized air from the turbocharger. In short, TDI is pretty much synonymous with "turbodiesel."
CDI is the term that Mercedes uses for their diesels - it stands for Common-rail Diesel Injection - and which use the same high-pressure injection technology. CRD is Chrysler's version - Common Rail Diesel.
Is this diesel technology experimental?
Nope. Forty percent of BMWs sold worldwide have diesel engines. In France, eighty percent of Audis are sold with diesel engines. The U.S. is late coming to a party that's been going on for over ten years.
Where do I get one?
We've compiled lists of the cars you can get right now with a diesel engine - and asked everyone we could find to tell us what's coming in the future. Some environmental experts are urging people to check their tire pressures so that they can save five percent on fuel economy. How about saving thirty percent? Stay tuned, because the diesel revolution is about to happen in America.
Turn to the next page for the lists!
