ChuckinTucson

Was reading on autoblog.com about MB developing 3 new 4 cylinder diesel engines for use in the C Class. Engines were all the same displacement, but had 3 different horsepower ratings. I know the C is available with diesel engines in Europe, but has anyone heard when/if they will be available in the United States?

I had a 1987 190D that had 315,000 miles on it when I sold it. As far as I know, it's still running.

The appeal to me is that they were rated at 45 mpg.

Carsy

You will have to start a petition & send it to MB in the USA & Canada. They should get the message if there is enough demand.

I am very happy with my 220CDI .Unfortunately the diesel price is rising dramatically in Australia & is now 10- 15% more expensive that petrol.As 30% greater fuel economy is gained diesel drivers are still ahead .

I think that in the future we in Australia should consider natural gas to power our transport as we have large reserves & we would not be relying on the OPEC nations. It is up to the government to think ahead & make sure the infrastructure is available at the right time. Carsey.

ManchesterMerc

Hi John,
See attached quote from London evening paper regards the price of diesel, here in UK anyway. I presume it is the same in Australia.

The Mercster

Isn't the US getting the Bluetech engine version? Isn't the bluetech basically the same diesel engines - just different marketing names?

ManchesterMerc

It is basically the same engine. The difference being that you have to add adblue, this converts upto 80% of the nitrogen oxide into nitrogen and water.
Trouble is at the moment adblue is not available everywhere.

RLE

When I ordered my C300 I complained that the V-6 Bluetec engine wasn't offered in North America since the rest of the planet could buy it. And having driven a friend's '07 E-Class Bluetec I was very impressed with the power and quiet of the engine. And his 33-34 mpg highway mileage.

But now, I've gotten over my disappointment. And that's because of the cost of diesel here in Washington State which is considerably higher that the premium that my C300 uses. And of course, biodiesel prices are off the charts to the point that bio sales around here are off by 50%. Even our local county-wide transit system has quit using it even though they went on and on how "green" they were earlier.

In the E, MB puts a $1000 surcharge on the diesel model and they eliminate the availability of some of the equipment available or standard on the gas model.

I suppose they figure that "sensible" diesel drivers wouldn't want 17" wheels or the Sport kit.

As to buying a new diesel MB and driving it forever, I think that idea has passed it's prime. A significant percentage of new MBs are leased and will be gone in a year or two for the next car du jour anyway. And as reliable as the new C is proving to be, I want mine to be covered by warranty, OE or extended, while I have it, based on my past MB experiences.

Whether anything comes out of a government "investigation" of fuel prices is open to question at this point. A little late to the party, seems to me.

QQQ

Jam a tube into you a$$ and connect to the gas tank. Now that is natural gas, and it is free.

RLE

I'm trying to picture this at the gas station.

ShoremNJ

There is going to be a world shortage of diesel due to China and India. If you think diesel is expensive now, see what happens.....

dalazernet

Perhaps something like this?

nyca

Actually, its better to make electricity out of the natural gas and use that to charge a plug in hybrid that takes you out of the oil market totally for daily mileages of <= 40. That's the future for the automobile. All the other technologies are just stop gap efficiency improvers, none of them makes a fundamental change.

alpinweiss

My dealer here said the 2009 C-Class engine lineup in the US will be the same as 2008. It will be V-6 engines displacing 3.0 and 3.5 liters. They (dealership) already have the ordering information.

Nonetheless, there are persistant rumors about MB re-introducing 4-cylinder gas and Diesel engines in the USA in the near future. This would depend on consumer demand and fuel prices. We will see what happens.

Carsy

Nice to see some in the Northern Americas beginning to become innoviate. About bloody time.

QQQ

If our farts can power the car that is the ultimate form of recycling...

dalazernet

I'm quoting someone else from a post a few years back ... but

... are you insinuating that Mercedes owners "fart" ? ;-)

QQQ

Don't know, but I heard MB engineers in Germany are testing this... eating potatoes everyday.

melbourne tim

Hi Carsy,

Just got my 220CDi last week. My fuel consumption has been around 9-9.5 although I've been driving very gently. Was hoping to be closer to 7. What's your consumption like? did it improve dramatically after the first 1000km?

jherbias

Audi is going to release their B8 A4 next year w/ diesel, after debuting it in their Q7 or whatever their SUV is called. They will be using some of the same diesel technology as MB as they collaborated on it... you can wait on that car...

Carsy

Hello Melbourne Tim, Yes, the fuel consumption is improving steadily . I am now at 5,500 km & am achieving 1000 km ( 600 miles) from a tank , mainly country driving. ( about 6L/100 km overall) . I did see 4.9 l/100 km ( 57 mpg) on the computer the other day for the first time on a country trip.Normally 5.3l/100km (53mpg) on the freeway at 100km/hr.

I cannot understand why the North America is not particularly interested in diesel powered cars. They must be well off financially to be able to feed their V 6 gas guzzlers & SUVs John.

c230 sport

I'm also interested in getting one of those new for US 2009 diesel, as my daily driver. That should offset the Mercedes hybrid that I'll be getting in late Oct/ early Nov, it burns premium unleaded petrol, as well as premium rubbers (tires).

melbourne tim

Thanks, Carsy. This is very reassuring for me. I just changed from a BMW 320d and was getting just about exactly the claimed 6.7L/100km and was disappointed with the fuel consumption in my C220. I'll be monitoring it carefully!

jrct9454

Well, I had our C300 in for its A-Service last week, and had a long conversation with one of the salespeople while I was waiting [MB Portland OR].

I mentioned how I really wanted the new-gen 4 cyl diesel, and to my shock and surprise, he actually knew what I was talking about. He believes the new twin-turbo 4 cyl will be offered in the C for the American market as a model year 2010 car, starting in the fall of 2009. He thinks the announcement will come at the NY Show next April.

This is the first time I have talked to ANY Mercedes person actually in the business who thought we were going to see a C diesel in our market any time soon. I hope he's right. We promised to stay in touch as events develop.

Germancar1

It could very well happen if all of the Bluetecs take off this fall. If gas prices stay where they are, we're likely to see a 4-cylinder gasoline C-Class again too.

M

nigel.eaton

MB commonly make 4 variants here in Europe at present, 2 engines at 2 performance levels is common (BMW & Audi do it too) 4 cylinder 200/220 CDI and 6 cylinder 280/320 CDI

Hope it helps..