Diesel fuel, long regarded as the dirtier, noisier, lamer gasoline, has been reborn as a more environmentally friendly energy source, and is poised to be unleashed on the US car market.  The International Herald Tribune (the New York Times in disguise for non-Americans (don’t tell France)) reports that the new diesel emits 97 percent less sulfur than those old models, and can pass emission tests in all fifty states, even the really really hippie ones California and New York.

In the next couple years, automakers will once again attempt to turn Americans on to the diesel market.  Mercedes, Audi, VW, Nissan, Ford, GM, Jeep, and so forth and so on will be introducing new diesel vehicles to the market by 2010.  The new diesel engines in these cars, like their dirtier predecessors, will get superior gas mileage than a normal gasoline-powered engine.  However, in addition,

Largely because they burn less fuel, the engines produce up to a third less carbon dioxide than gasoline models - compelling some environmentalists to reverse their longstanding opposition. Diesel’s drawback had been high levels of smog-forming nitrogen oxides and carcinogenic soot.

The greening of diesel involves the new ultra-low-sulfur fuel, cleaner-burning engines and a suite of emissions equipment.

Filters trap sooty particulates while catalysts use ammonia to convert nitrogen oxides into harmless nitrogen and water in the exhaust.

There are some naysayers, always naysaying, that the allure of diesel was always that the fuel cost less than gas, and now diesel is about half a buck more expensive than your regular unleaded.  As well, the engines, and thus the cars, cost more.  Yet, as diesel engines can be even more efficient than a hybrid, one might be able recoup that initial investment.

You can to read the rest of the article, and to educate yourself on what to look for when buying a diesel car.

Read More:

Clean Diesel Cars Greener Than Hybrids

An Overview of 2008 Diesel Cars

Diesel’s Second Coming