Dodge Pickup Fits New Air Rules

At the Washington Auto Show, the automaker presented the 2007 Dodge Ram 2500 and 3500 heavy duty trucks, with a 6.7-liter turbodiesel engine. It would be significantly cleaner than its competitors, using traps and filters to nearly eliminate emissions from particulate matter and slash nitrogen oxides.

"When you think of the Dodge Ram heavy duty pickup truck, you usually think of power, lots of torque and the ability to carry a big payload," said Tom LaSorda, the chief executive of Daimler- Chrysler's Chrysler Group.

He said the vehicle would be "the cleanest pickup truck in the marketplace."

DaimlerChrysler has outlined plans during the next four years to bring at least four vehicles to market with its clean-burning diesel technology, called "Bluetec." The technology uses filters and traps to reduce soot and nitrogen oxide emissions.

The government has been instituting tighter emissions standards for diesel engines and has required new ultra-low sulfur diesel fuel in the marketplace. The fuel and clean diesel technology work in tandem to reduce emissions.

In 2010, diesel engines will be required to emit about 90 percent less nitrogen oxide, building on upgraded standards in recent years. The Dodge Ram will be the first Chrysler Group vehicle with Bluetec, using an engine developed by Indiana-based truckmaker Cummins Inc. Diesel engines provide about a -30 percent improvement in fuel economy compared with conventional gasoline engines.

Mr. LaSorda also introduced a new clean diesel engine for Dodge Ram 1500 pickups after 2009.

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