Currently, diesel prices in the U.S. are slightly higher than gasoline. Across the pond, the story has been somewhat different. With the exception of the UK, diesel in Europe has usually been cheaper than gasoline. This was a consequence of European governments' policies on taxing fuels. Trucks and buses run on diesel, whereas cars traditionally ran on gasoline.

Nevertheless, producing diesel is more expensive than producing gasoline. For instance, according to the Spanish Ministry of Energy report on fuel prices, a metric ton of diesel cost about $826 compared to $803 for unleaded during the past month of January.

What Europeans pay at the pump differs a lot depending on the country, and not only because of taxes. Cost price of gasoline is from 47 euro cents/liter in Sweden to 60 euro cents/liter in the Netherlands. The average EU price is about 53 euro cents/liter. In the case of diesel, prices start at 51.7 euro cents/liter in Bulgaria and top 64.2 cents in Italy; the average for the EU is about 60 cents/liter.

Now let's add taxes. The most expensive gasoline in Europe last January was on sale in the Netherlands. The Dutch paid an average of 1.506 EUR/liter compared to 0.917 EUR/liter in Bulgaria. The average was 1.328 EUR/liter. In the case of diesel, Britons paid the most: 1.463 EUR/liter whereas Bulgarians paid 0.924. The average price of diesel in the EU was 1.234 EUR/liter, still cheaper than gasoline but in 14 out of 27 countries, diesel was more expensive than gasoline in January. The signs point toward a continuation of this trend. Spain's diesel became more expensive than gasoline in March, and both France and Italy seem likely to achieve the same price in the near future.

[Source: Spanish Ministry of Energy]

When General Motors previewed their new two-mode hybrid system on the Tahoe and Yukon earlier this year they declined to say what the system would cost when it goes on sale later this fall. While the mild hybrid system that is already available on the Saturn Aura and Vue is relatively inexpensive to build and install, the two-mode is considerably more complex.

Unlike the mild hybrid, the two-mode uses a completely different and more complex transmission and larger battery. The hybrids also get a lot of weight saving changes such as aluminum hood and tailgate, lighter seats and wheels and a new brake system to allow for blending of regenerative and friction braking. It's estimated that the total package may add as much as $10,000 in cost to the vehicle and GM is contemplating eating some of that cost to make it more palatable to consumers.

The company will continue to offer multiple types of hybrid systems. The mild hybrid will be the value option, with the two-mode be the more efficient but more expensive option. In addition they may offer a variant of the mild hybrid with a lithium battery and possibly plug-in capability and their is also the previously announced two-mode plug-in system for the Vue. The E-Flex is not included in the hybrid lineup because GM considers it a range extended EV.

[Source: Automotive News - Sub. req'd]

The Lexus LS 600h is already the most expensive production hybrid vehicle ever with the recently announced US price of $104,000. But when the new hybrid LS hits the UK this fall it will be starting at £81,400 or $164,000 at the current exchange rate. The flagship Lexus mates a 5.0L V-8 with the latest version of Toyota's hybrid system and all-wheel drive to give performance meant to approach that of the German V-12 sedans from Mercedes and BMW. However, the LS is rated at 20/22mpg city/hwy as compared to 11/17mpg for a Mercedes S600.

[Source: Lexus GB]

Click on the photo for the gallery from our recent review

The Nissan Altima Hybrid has only been available for a few months and you can only buy one in eight states that use the California emissions standards but the price is already going up. Nissan just announced a $590 increase to the base price of the Altima to $24,990. On the other hand the Altima is eligible for a federal tax credit of $2,350 so that will take away some of the sting. If you're interested in whether the Altima Hybrid is for you, check out our recent review of the Altima.



[Source: Nissan]

Mercedes-Benz announced the pricing for the "world's cleanest diesel." Yes, the one that narrowly missed achieving legality in all 50 states. At $52,325, the 45-state compliant vehicle is just $1,000 more than the gas-powered E350 with comparable performance. When juxtaposing stat sheets, you'll find the zero to 60 for the diesel is just one tenth of a second slower, yet it gets 27 mpg in the city and 37 mpg on the highway in contrast to the E350's 19/26 mpg.

By keeping the price competitive, Mercedes hopes continues to offer an attractive option to diesel drivers as they sold 11,000 E320 CDIs since the launch of that vehicle in 2004. The E320 BlueTec is set to go on sale immediately following the deployment of the low-sulfur diesel fuel required by the BlueTec system to American pumps nationwide in October of this year.

Related:

• Mercedes exec sees bright future for diesel, biodiesel
• Mercedes E320 Bluetec arrives as 45-State Vehicle

[Source: Car and Driver]