Apr
14
BMW 118d for North America?
April 14, 2008 |
We reported recently on the little BMW 118d when it won the prestigious title of World Green Car for 2008 at the New York International Auto Show (NYIAS). Now, backed by this award and some great performance (not to mention the prestige of its BMW badge) the compact diesel is not looking back.
The 118d’s direct-injection diesel technology means that the BMW can extract almost 60 miles from each gallon of fuel and not at the expense of performance, as with many economical engines. The small BMW achieves a very respectable sub-9-second time for 0-60 acceleration and all with room for 5 people. Not a bad little package from the German manufacturers then, so why no US sales?
Despite its appearance at NYIAS, and its award scoop whilst there, BMW remains firm on its proposal to not introduce this car to the United States market. Critics may suggest that this is due to North Americas historical disenchantment with diesel under the hood of their domestic machines and poor sales of (most) diesel cars in the past. New BMW diesels are clean, low-noise (which has often been a criticism) and, dare we say it, cool! Perhaps BMW is just holding back to build up demand in what is starting to look like a very eco-hungry marketplace.
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