BlueTEC ML320 on order

So it appears that my search for "the next car" is just about over. What started in April.....is just about finished. Last Saturday (30-Aug-2008) we sat in a new 2009 ML that had rubber studded siderails. Why the sidesrails? Well, our last visit to the dealership we both felt that getting into the ML was a bit more difficult than it needed to be. At the time the dealer did not have a model with siderails to try out. So this time (a few months later)he had 2009 models in (that have tweaked front and rear styling as well as updated interior and a major upgrade to the iPod and telematics integration).

The nice thing is that since this is our second car from the dealer....he doesn't require any down payment from us at all. In fact when the car comes in (being built in November should arrive in December) if we decide that we don't want it....no problem. I think this is our best dealership experience ever in that regard.

So, why did we order something that we may not actually take home? Well, the car in question is the first 50-state legal diesel SUV. They are calling the technology BlueTEC.

How does the BlueTEC clean diesel technology work? First, the system uses an oxidizing Mercedes-Benz catalytic converter that functions to reduce carbon monoxide (CO) and unburnd hydrocarbon (HC) contents from the exhaust. Next, another catalytic converter called the DeNOx removes oxides with the help of a particulate filter. Lastly, a selective catalytic reduction (SCR) catalytic converter converts the other nitrogen oxides into pure nitrogen and water, with the injection of AdBlue, a urea-based material that helps to the conversion process.

So why Diesel when the price per gallon exceeds that of Gasoline? Well, that is something that is more of an issue now then it was earlier in the year when we thought of this. The EPA rating of the car is 18/24....which may not sound like much but given the size of this vehicle...it is quite good. Real word fuel economy has been observed much higher (29-32 highway) without anything trying to get good mileage. The cruising range of the car is about 600 miles. So compared to the non-diesel ML.....the improved efficiency of the engine will pay for itself in 18 months. The BlueTEC engined ML will use $720 less fuel per year.(Assuming $4.20 for gas and $5.00 for diesel). These estimates were down earlier in the year....but all things relative the premium of the diesel engine (around $1,000) will be paid back. Unlike our Hybrid car (Lexus RX400H) would had a payback period of over 8 years. Our ultimate combination would be a diesel hybrid. Unfortunately that will not happen until 2010. MB, BMW, Audi and Porsche will all offer a Hybrid-Diesel by then. We can't wait that long as we only have one car right now that can drive in the New England snow this winter. So keep your fingers crossed that this works out for us.

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