I was driving on the street today and headed for the on ramp for a highway, norcal people will know it as I-880. while behind this E320 CDI (current generation model), i noticed it was a diesel and i was very surprised to see it with California Plates since its illegal to buy a diesel here. So as we approach the on ramp, the driver must have floored it, cause a GIANT cloud of black smoke and particulates bursted out of the exhuast pipes.

it was worse than most tourist buses ive seen. no wonder why those things are illegal here. So horrible. just a small rant. i had to close my windows and push the recirculation button.

cant wait for those bluetecs to make their entrance this fall

 

E 320 Bluetec diesel has been legal for sale in California since October 2007. Don't know what was going on with the one you were behind but I have driven them several times from Beshoff, Capital and Tully, and I didn't get any cloud of black smoke getting on the freeway.

 

theres a difference between bluetec and CDI.

Bluetec is a new technology that MB just introduced not more than a few years ago. CDI is what they always have been using, and i believe diesels are banned from being sold in Cali

 

I can't remember in Europe but I believe they were just called CDI regardless. Might want to go over the higher mileage luxury sport sedan thread in Car Chat.

I hope your other beliefs are based on better information:

Mercedes Debuts Diesel-Fueled E-Class in California
By Matthew Phenix October 20, 2007

With the release this week of its E320 Bluetec sedan, Mercedes-Benz becomes the first manufacturer to offer a diesel-powered car that complies with California's strict air-quality standards. And the already clean E320 Bluetec sedan gets even clean with the highly anticipated arrival of Mercedes' AdBlue system, in which a water-based urea solution is drawn from a tank similar to a washer-fluid reservoir and spritzed into hot exhaust gases, releasing ammonia, which in turn converts toxic nitrogen oxides into harmless nitrogen and water. The $52,675 E320 Bluetec features a 3.0-liter 24-valve turbocharged diesel V-6 producing 208 horsepower and 388 pound-feet of torque. We can say without fear of contradiction that the engine is startlingly easy to live with: quiet, even under full throttle, and possessed of torque to rival a few gasoline V-8s. And it'll return a commendable 35 miles per gallon, too.

Launch of the E 320 BLUETEC in California

BLUETEC meets the globally most exacting emission standards


Los Angeles – With its market launch in California, the E 320 BLUETEC starts out as the world’s only diesel-engined car to be available in California today. Mercedes-Benz is thus the first automaker who complies with the stringent emission limits of California – and other federal states – with a compression-ignition engine.

Since the nation-wide introduction of low-sulfur diesel fuel in October 2006, the E 320 BLUETEC has already been available in 45 U.S. states. The E 320 BLUETEC with its 165 kW/224 hp V6 engine has a fuel consumption as low as 6.7 liters per 100 kilometers (35.11 mpg) and covers a distance of up to 1,200 kilometers (745 miles) on one tank filling. These figures have been impressing American buyers – the proportion of the E 320 BLUETEC in E-Class sales in the U.S.A. is currently as high as 17 percent.

Dr. Leopold Mikulic, Vice President with responsibility for Passenger Car Engine and Powertrain Development within Mercedes-Benz Cars, comments: “Thanks to the highly favorable emission characteristics of this car, only minor technical adjustments were required to obtain type approval for the clean compression-ignition engine in California. We are complying with the stringent LEV2 limits even with our very first BLUETEC generation and are therefore able to offer the car in all 50 states of the U.S.A.”

The demand for the other Mercedes-Benz diesel-engined models already available in 45 U.S. states continues to rise. In the GL-Class, the diesel share is twelve percent, while 22 percent of R-Class cars sold in the United States are fitted with clean diesel engines. In the M-Class, the proportion of models with compression-ignition engines is currently as high as 23 percent.


Technology package for the world’s cleanest diesel

BLUETEC is a modular emission control system which not only reduces particulate emissions by means of a particulate trap but also, and in particular, nitrogen oxides. These are the only exhaust gas constituents which in a diesel engine are still higher than those of gasoline engines, due to the diesel’s operating principle. Mercedes-Benz developed two BLUETEC versions. In the E-Class, an oxidation catalyst and a particulate trap are combined with an advanced, particularly long-lasting NOx storage catalytic converter and an additional SCR catalytic converter. The second BLUETEC version is even more effective in that AdBlue, a harmless aqueous solution, is injected into the exhaust gas flow. This releases ammonia which in turn reduces up to 80 percent of the nitrogen oxides into harmless nitrogen and water in the downstream SCR catalytic converter. The choice of BLUETEC version depends on the concept and weight of the car concerned as well as on the denoxation requirements.

On the “Road to the Future” to the mobility of the future “At this year’s Frankfurt Motor Show, we presented our roadmap into the future of mobility with the “Road to the Future”, says Prof. Herbert Kohler, Vice President with responsibility for Advanced Vehicle and Powertrain Engineering. “We demonstrated how we intend to combine clean and efficient drive systems with the highest levels of comfort and safety in the future – in an unprecedented approach.”

The next milestones on the “Road to the Future” will be reached shortly. Following the introduction of BLUETEC in the U.S.A. in 2006, the E 300 BLUETEC will be launched into the European market in December this year. Next year, as many as three clean and economical Mercedes-Benz SUV with BLUETEC technology – from the GL-, ML- and R-Classes – will line up at the start in all 50 U.S. states. These cars comply with the stringent BIN 5 norm and also have the potential to remain below the future EU5 and EU6 limits. Over and above this, Mercedes-Benz will step by step incorporate clean diesel engines in other model series.

The combination of BLUETEC and modular hybrid drive will from 2010 tap additional potential in several Mercedes-Benz model series. This will start with the E-Class whose powertrain with a total output of 164 kW (224 hp) and maximum torque of 560 Newton meters will ensure unrestricted motoring pleasure. The fuel consumption of the BLUETEC hybrid in the E-Class will be as low as 5.1 liters of diesel fuel per 100 kilometers (46.12 mpg). The first gasoline hybrid – the ML 450 – will set a new benchmark among gasoline-engined cars in the SUV segment from 2009 with average consumption of 7.7 liters per 100 kilometers (30.55 mpg).



There was talk initially that the E320 would only be available in Cali on a two year lease but that appears to have been suspended. I just didn't remember and I thought I did see an E320 that just said E320 but the guy may have debadged it. On the MBUSA site, the E320 says E320 on the right and Bluetec on the left of the trunk. I just didn't pay that much attention driving them. It is possible that an older one put out the smoke but the new Bluetec definitely doesn't

 

RXSF - you're right -- CDI is the ****ty, nasty version. no idea how he got it registered in CA....unless maybe it was one of the last CDI sold there? no idea.

but I'm very impresseed with the Bluetec...no smoke, no sound, no nothing.

 

They're called Bluetecs world wide... and frankly, if the prices of diesel were a little more stable, could be the short-term answer to the MPG woes...

 

I work in Germany and there are plenty of E320 CDI E classes around here. I've never seen them emit a cloud of black smoke when floored. The only time a black cloud is visible is when they're being started when cold and even at this point it is an almost light gray cloud that is hardly visible. Two of my work colleagues drive them, a sedan an an estate in cheaper classic trim.

I myself drive a diesel Mercedes (company car) and when I hammer it (not that there is much performance in this thing) I do not see a cloud of black smoke in my mirrors.

The US has poor diesel fuel quality and I've heard that this does not mix well with the high-tech CDI engines that Mercedes' sells here. Bluetec apparently requires a diesel fuel that is lower in sulphur content.

 

I am pretty sure that what allowed the Bluetec to be sold in Cali, and contributed to the bump in diesel prices, is that we do have a low sulfur diesel now. I don't believe it is as low as what you can get in Europe but it doesn't account for any problems. I think we both are getting of the opinion that when you get into the anti diesel folks here, their opinion is based on thirty year old cars. When people who have had a chance to see or drive, in this case a Bluetec, the reasons for passing on diesels is pretty much gone. Now if they just bring more of them here. I honestly don't know what we have to do to be given them as an option. As for complexity, a diesel will always have less complexity than a gasoline engine. Now if you twin turbocharge it, there's going to be a lot of plumbing but that won't have anything to do with diesel. As I say in the less gas guzzler thread, I don't want to be put in the position of defending diesel but I have no preconcieved opinion against them and I dearly want to have the choice to be able to buy one, or more of them.

 

I thought you could register it if it has >7,500 miles on it.

 

Technically you can get the car once's it's past 7,500 miles. So buying the E320 CDI isn't totally illegal