Toyota is claiming that the new Tier II bin V emissions standards for diesels in the US, the strictest in the world, are making it impossible to bring diesels to the US market. Instead the company is planning to focus on hybrids. ( via AutoBlog Green)
Their logic, however, doesn’t seem to make sense: Sure, the new clean diesel system’s from Honda, Mercedes, and BMW cost a few thousand more than their traditional gasoline counterparts, but so do hybrids. Morevoer, clean diesels that meet the new emissions requirements are open to the same tax credits available to hybird vehicles. Additionally, diesel powerplants provide the efficiency benefits that hybrids enjoy only in city driving to highway driving as well, all while being able to run on biodiesel (which further reduces emissions – except for NOx – and reduces dependence on foreign oil!). With the low-end torque diesels are famous for, clean diesel vehicles will also accelerate much faster than their hybrid counterparts, making them more attractive to a wider demographic of buyers. Oh yeah, they also don’t have batteries that will eventually run out and have to be thrown away/recycled somewhere…
Note: Published reports had previously indicated that Toyota was planning on introducing clean diesels to the US market in 2008 (article) and diesel-hybrid vehicles in 2010 (article)
You got it right! “Modern,” “advanced,” or “clean” diesel cars are an anti-terrorist play, when coupled with mass-produced algal biodiesel.