In real-world driving conditions, diesel vehicles outperform the mileage numbers on their window stickers. So says the EPA in a lengthy report titled "YourMPG" released earlier this week. The Diesel Technology Forum poured over all the details and noted that diesels outperform the label by 4.3 percent. Mileage numbers on sales stickers have been under fire because they don't live up to real-world expectations. But in the limited U.S. diesel market, the performance matches the tests. Some diesel products with EPA mileage numbers include the VW Golf, Jeep Liberty and Mercedes-Benz E320cdi. Heavy-duty pickups in the 3/4- and 1-ton classes aren't required to post mileage numbers. This good news should help automakers market the new diesels planned for U.S. consumers.

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• EPA does something about unrealistic mileage figures for new autos

[Source: Diesel Technology Forum]

What is it with all these surveys coming out this week? I get it already; people care about what goes into their car and what comes out of their tailpipes. Take this survey, for example. Co-sponsored by the Diesel Technology Forum and Mercedes-Benz USA, it found that way more Americans than you think are interested in diesel cars. Targeting by age, the survey found that 50 percent of people between 18 and 29 years in age and 46 percent of those between 30 and 41 would consider buying or leasing a new clean diesel car. Remember, diesel vehicles make up only about 3.5 percent of the market in the U.S. today. The survey was conducted towards the end of September, well before the recent widespread availability of Ultra Low Sulfur Diesel hit the media cycle. So where are all the cool diesel machines that Europe gets? We're getting some on this side of the pond, but there's lots more available.

[Source: Mercedes-Benz USA, Diesel Technology Forum]

For months you've been hearing us talk about the impending introduction of the new low-sulfur diesel fuel throughout the country on October 15, though, mostly in regards to ushering in Mercedes' BlueTec engine. Keep in mind that the new fuel will also have a major impact on the 8 million diesel-powered trucks that move 94 percent of the nation's goods and the 500,000 diesel commuter buses.

In a press release, the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and Diesel Technology Forum (DTF) say that the new fuel will immediately cut soot emissions from any diesel engine by about 10 percent while drivers of new diesel trucks with advanced emissions controls will realize tailpipe pollution reductions of up to 95 percent. Owners of existing diesel vehicles will have the option to install add-on components that can reduce soot emissions by more than 90 percent. Richard Kassel, head of NRDC's Clean Fuels and Vehicles Project, says that in many ways the ultra-low sulfur diesel fuel is similar to the removal of lead from gasoline a generation ago as sulfur hampers exhaust-control devices in much the same way lead once impeded the effectiveness of catalytic converters.

[Source: Natural Resources Defense Council and Diesel Technology Forum]