This is the BMW I wanted to drive, not the hyped-up Hydrogen 7. I first saw a 535d more than a year ago in the back shop of Gale Banks Performance. The car was the diesel-tuner’s facility for research and evaluation but wasn’t available for a spin around the block during my visit. The guys in the shop, however, were nearly speechless with regards to its performance. Fast-foward to the LA Auto Show and BMW announces it will offer performance diesel engines in North America, starting in 2008. BMW did not reveal which engines or vehicle models will be introduced. One has to expect, however, that the 535d in some form will be one of the first. The move comes as BMW says its Advanced Diesel will meet the strict 50-state emissions standards. Nearly 70 percent of BMW sales in Europe are diesels, so consumers must demand that their BMWs be as fast as they are clean.

A 535d was available as part of the Green Car Journal magazine’s ride-and-drive of environmentally friendly vehicles during the show. Test drives lasted only a few minutes around downtown Los Angeles. While I made arrangements to follow up with longer test drives on other vehicles, this car is headed back to Europe. That’s a shame because it gets 35.3 mpg. The 530xi now sold in the states is rated by the EPA at 27/20 with a combined rating of 22 mpg.

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