WOODCLIFF LAKE, New Jersey — BMW will use the Detroit auto show to introduce its clean-diesel technology, dubbed BluePerformance. The first BMW models to feature the system will be the X5 xDrive35d utility vehicle and the 335d sedan, both of which go on sale next fall in all 50 states.
BMW trails its German rivals Mercedes-Benz and Volkswagen/Audi in trumpeting the latest clean-diesel technology, despite the fact that two-thirds of all BMWs sold in Europe are equipped with diesel engines.
The first of the new-generation BMW clean diesels is a twin-turbocharged, direct-injection 3.0-liter inline six-cylinder that makes 265 horsepower and 425 pound-feet of torque. The 335d accelerates from zero to 60 in less than 6.2 seconds and returns EPA city/highway fuel economy of 23/33 mpg. The comparable figures for the X5 xDrive35d are 7.2 seconds and 19/25 mpg.
At one time, all three were expected to join in a clean-diesel alliance, using the Bluetec system jointly developed by Mercedes and Bosch, but since have elected to pursue separate paths. VW is marketing its diesels under the long-running TDI label.
The Mercedes and BMW systems use a similar approach to reducing nitrogen oxide emissions, injecting a urea solution dubbed AdBlue into the catalytic converter.
What this means to you: The Germans can invent new nicknames until they're blue in the face, but we will always think of this new technology as "clean diesel." — Anita Lienert, Correspondent
BMW trails its German rivals Mercedes-Benz and Volkswagen/Audi in trumpeting the latest clean-diesel technology, despite the fact that two-thirds of all BMWs sold in Europe are equipped with diesel engines.
The first of the new-generation BMW clean diesels is a twin-turbocharged, direct-injection 3.0-liter inline six-cylinder that makes 265 horsepower and 425 pound-feet of torque. The 335d accelerates from zero to 60 in less than 6.2 seconds and returns EPA city/highway fuel economy of 23/33 mpg. The comparable figures for the X5 xDrive35d are 7.2 seconds and 19/25 mpg.
At one time, all three were expected to join in a clean-diesel alliance, using the Bluetec system jointly developed by Mercedes and Bosch, but since have elected to pursue separate paths. VW is marketing its diesels under the long-running TDI label.
The Mercedes and BMW systems use a similar approach to reducing nitrogen oxide emissions, injecting a urea solution dubbed AdBlue into the catalytic converter.
What this means to you: The Germans can invent new nicknames until they're blue in the face, but we will always think of this new technology as "clean diesel." — Anita Lienert, Correspondent
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