Renewable Gossip

A diesel-powered SUV from Japan is just over the horizon.

This post originally appeared on the Popular Mechanics website, where you can read it in its entirety. Written by Ken Gross.

Despite widespread acceptance of diesel engines in Europe (approximately 90 percent of the cars in the U.K. use diesels), Americans still shudder at the memory of General Motors’ hapless gas engine-based diesels of the 1980s, and smoky, clattery Mercedes-Benz 300SD oil burners. But there are some signs of progress. Persistent German carmakers continue to introduce new clean-burning diesel cars and SUVs, and next year, even the Japanese will enter the diesel market. We just had a sneak preview of a diesel-powered Mazda CX-7 that’s on sale now in parts of Europe and Japan, and we came away impressed. (more…)