Brands competing with Mercedes, nearly all of them in fact, have either brought diesel cars to market or plan to do so very soon. While the GLK 250 BlueTEC is a decent start, it might not be enough to compete with companies like Cadillac, which announced plans for its new ATS sedan to offer a diesel engine during its first life cycle.
One of the only brands to consistently offer Americans a diesel alternative, Volkswagen is proliferating its efficient engines with luxury subsidiary Audi. Options like a 2.0-liter turbodiesel A3 OR 3.0-liter diesel V6 Q3 are making Mercedes’ efforts start to look lackluster and dated.
Stranger still is the fact that the automaker has an arsenal of small-displacement diesels already for sale un Europe. With specific plans to bring those engines to the American market decidedly absent, it seems like little more than a waiting game until more oil burners baring the three-pointed star start appearing.
Gunter Fischer, project manager for the Mercedes SL roadster hinted at those plans in an interview with Ward’s Auto, but refrained from giving specific details.
“We brought a 4-cylinder gasoline engine to the U.S. Why shouldn’t we do that with a 4-cylinder diesel? Our competitors do it,” he said. Despite that, the question remains unanswered. Maybe if the rest of the luxury car segment moves in the diesel direction, Mercedes-Benz will follow.
