Diesel has long been associated with trucks, tractors, noise and filth in addition to efficiency. Luxury car manufacturers had shied away from offering them stateside for decades because of those preconceived consumer notions, that is until the environment and efficiency once again became a mainstream concern.

Both Audi and BMW (Mercedes as well but we are not going to detail them) have been offering clean diesels in the US for the past few model years. From a marketing perspective and performance standpoint they have gone about things almost in polar opposite ways.

BMW has focused on diesels as being just as livable and near performance equals as their petrol powered bretheren with some emissions and efficiency benefits. With two different models, the X5 and the 3 series being offered with a single diesel engine to power them BMW has narrowed their market but also kept the initial investment low.

Audi has raced diesels in endurance events such as Le Mans and touted the performance but has offered up to consumers fuel sipping engines. They may not have the best performance but the consumer reaps the benefits at the pump. With Audi being aligned with VW, they were able to introduce multiple vehicles powered by different diesels engines thanks to economies of scale.

BMW had trouble moving its Advanced Diesels at launch becase of the increased pricing over gas powered versions. That was combated by offering a substantial rebate to consumers to make the pricing more inline with gas versions. This helped move vehicles from showrooms but not as well as many expected (us included).

Audi (as well as VW) has had a constant stream of customers for diesels and at some points there have been waitlists for vehicles because demand was well ahead of supply. Audi has reportedly sold 3 times the number of diesels in the US compared to what they had projected with A3 winning Green Car of the Year.

With the introduction of the updated X5 35i, and its increased fuel economy; the Advanced Diesels selling point has been further diminished. Those looking to tow a trailer still will low the gobs of torque from the diesel, a narrow market at best. So sales may slow even further.

With MINI drivers screaming for a diesel motor and some BMW drivers looking for a fuel miser, it begs the question as to whether BMW missed the market with the Advanced Diesels? Or will there be 4 cylinder diesels introduced in the X1 and MINI Countryman to meet the current market demands that may also tarnish the brands performance image to some consumers?