Now why NONE of the ultra kewl VW TDI PD engines will be tooling around anywhere in North America:
From Jamie VonDruska at the Vortex:
"THE reason why TDI engine choices are extremely limited right now is NOT Volkswagen of America's fault. So before you go putting them up on the stake, take a deep breath and relax.
The main reason why we aren't getting these new diesels is emissions. There are two issues that are causing this problem. The first is that states like California (and now New York and Mass.) have passed new stricter emission standards with very low particulate standards as they related to CAFE fleet ratings. The existing 1.9l TDI does not fully pass the particulate standard for those states. So in order to protect VWoA's CAFE fleet standard rating, VWoA only sells a VERY small handfull of TDI models in those states. If more states keep adopting these new standards, the TDI engine as we know it now will become extinct in North America.
The second part to this problem is our diesel fuel. Our diesel fuel is not nearly as well refined as the diesel fuel available in Europe. This means that VWoA has a much harder time getting the current 1.9l TDI to pass emissions (for instance VWoA uses the variable vane VNT turbo from the European 110hp 1.9l to get the 90hp 1.9l to pass emissions). This also means problems for the new high pressure fuel injector units being phased into all TDI engines in Europe, as they don't handle the poor quality fuels well. These new "pumpe duse" high pressure direct injectors are the future of VWAG's diesel strategy and are more sensitive to fuel quality than existing common rail injector systems.
So what can VWoA do? They are lobbying our government to force the petroleum companies to better refine diesel fuel. Daimler Chrysler is also lobbying for the same better diesel fuel standards (so there goes your big three conspiracy). The main people preventing new legislation like this are the petroleum companies that don't want to make big investments in new refinery equipment, and the trucking industry which is fighting it tooth and nail. The trucking industry is an extremely powerful group that doesn't want to pay the higher costs associated with new better fuels. VWAG is also working on preheating catalytic converters to help meet emission standards since turbocharging makes it difficult to get the catalytic converter up to proper temperature so it can do its job.
The American attitude towards diesel in general right now is *not* favorable. People still have a lot of misconceptions about diesel engines going back to the late 70's and early 80's, plus the black smoke belching, noisy trucks on the road don't help either. The last Jetta TDI model we had here at Vortex came the week after we had a 1.8T Jetta. I drove my mother in both cars (both GLS trim, so identical in features).
She thought the TDI model was a base model simply because it was so noisy compared to the 1.8T the week before. Again perception... American's are used to quiet, refined gas powered engines. While the new TDI models are vastly and tremendously improved over old VW diesels, no one will mistake it as a gasoline powered engine."