It’s the oldest of enviro-vehicular dilemmas. Yeah, diesel cars get great gas mileage but driving one is like towing a chimney. For the past several years, however, European engineers have been making key breakthroughs in diesel emissions technology. The result is a new breed of cleaner, leaner diesel cars, and the Volkswagen Jetta BlueTDI diesel will be one of the first of its kind available in the U.S., later this year. The new diesel model is an update of the 2006 JettaTDI and employs a revamped version named the “BlueTDI”, of the 2.0-liter four-cylinder turbocharged engine that VW unveiled last fall. The new machine pushes an unspectacular yet respectable 138 horses but gets a very spectacular 60 (!) mpg on the highway. The Jetta BlueTDI’s biggest trick, though, is that it’s diesel-fuel insides manage to meet the EPA’s stringent Bin5/LEV 2 emissions standards, making it legal in all 50 states. The emissions engineering that makes this possible is way more complicated than i feel like trying to understand. Suffice it to say that the toxic nitrogen oxide emissions that usually make diesel engines ozone killers are somehow reduced and converted by what I can only assume is some kind of German black magic. The point is that by the time the Jetta BlueTDI hits our shores, gas’ll probably be around $10/quart, so it wouldn’t be a bad idea to invest in one.

Buy: ~$20,000

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