5 clean diesels: The future is now

With a gargantuan 425 pound-feet of torque at a low 1,750 rpm - and 400 pound-feet at 1,500 - the 2009 BMW 335d will be a challenger for Top Eliminator in stoplight-to-stoplight drag races. BMW says its twin-turbocharged, 265-horsepower 3.0-liter inline six-cylinder diesel will propel the 335d from rest to 60 mph in about six seconds. That's a big change from the old, slow diesels of 30 years back. The 335d employs high-pressure fuel injectors that squirt diesel directly into the cylinder. Expect about 33 miles per gallon on the highway: The gasoline version gets 26.

BMW sells non-turbocharged and smaller-engine 3-Series diesels in Europe: the 330d, the 320d and the 318d. Don't be surprised if these more fuel-efficient versions to appear soon in the U.S.