Diesel Passat Wagon coming to U.S.?

I heard both versions were coming stateside with a 2.0 litre TDi making around

130Hp. However, California, Maine and 2 or 3 other states may not be getting them. I know for certain that California and Maine are not allowing sales of the V10 TDi powered Toureag.

all the diesel passats will be in pretty tight supply for the next several months....diesel is available in both sedan and wagon versions in usa...

regards

Add new york to that list of no go on the TDI as of 2004. I think it includes ME, MA, NY, CA and perhaps others. I am trying to figure a way around it!

I was told that the TDi Toureag would be coming to CA in 2005 or so after some legal changes and apprently some changes to the diesel fuel that comes into the state. Maybe NY has a similar situation going on. We have more cars here in CA than anywehre else in the U.S. if I remember the stats correctly, and that means emissions laws are going to be stricter to help compensate (I'm not really sure why Maine is so worried). As far as getting around the law, I think you're screwed. I was told that even if you purchased the vehicle out of state you wouldn't be allowed to register it legally in one of the "diesel ban states" untill the vehicle was 2 years old.

We got a TDI Passat about 2 weeks ago. Also have a TDI Touareg on our lot. We got the Touareg because our dealer sold 10 Phaetons so far and the TDI Touareg was from the auto show!

In Maine, while you can't buy a TDI after 04, there is nothing in place to prevent you from buying one out of state and registering it in Maine. And there won't be, they would have had to have the implementation well under way by now. My roommate is a City Clerk - registering cars is what she does for a living. :-)

Kev>>Add new york to that list of no go on the TDI as of 2004. I think it includes

Holy smoke - ten Phaetons? I'm amazed that there is such a demand. But that's good news for VW. Last month I saw a Phaeton at our dealer the day after it arrived. It was their first one. It was silver and one of the best looking cars I've ever seen. It had a much sleeker appearance than I expected. And I'm also glad to hear that the diesel Touareg has arrived. I thought VW was going to wait until the new low sulfur diesel fuel was in use (2006?).

Bill

Who cares about California anyway? They are all morons. The Terminator is the Gov. 'nuf said. Diesel fuel releases less hydrocarbons into the air then gasoline does, especailly the new VW's. They are just as economical if not better then the hybrid cars that have a battery in them that is highly toxic and non-recyclable. Hello California!! What are you going to do with all those highly toxic batteries?

Diesels are better than gas for fuel economy, but they are worse in regard to virtually all emissions. Compared to gas engines, diesels emit more hydrocarbons, more partuculates, and a lot more nitrogen oxides which cause photochemical smog. I have a Jetta TDI wagon which I bought to save fuel, and to make a statement that I can get 45 mpg doing the same thing that a lot of people do with 14 mpg SUV's. If I lived in southern California or an other big city area where smog is a problem, I probably wouldn't have bought the diesel, even if I could. In the two places I spend most of my time, central Indiana and the space coast of Florida, smog producing emissions are not an issue.

BTW, the states where diesel cars are not currently sold are California, New York, Maine, Massachusetts, and Connecticut. All of these states, except possibly Maine, have areas where smog is sometimes an issue.

Diesels are lower than gas cars in hydrocarbon emission and particulates are getting less as sulfur content goes down. Nitrogen oxides could be controlled with a different kind of catalytic convertor but the high sulfur content of US diesel makes this impossible. On a mile to mile comparison, diesels beat gas engines for emissions per mile driven. hayden