The model name “Panamera” is borrowed from the legendary long-distance race Carrera Panamericana. With average fuel consumption of 6.5 l/100 km (39.2 mpg) and a potential range of 1,200 km (745 miles) the Panamera Diesel truly lives up to its name. The 250 hp diesel engine produces 405 pound-feet of torque  between 1,750 rpm and 2,750 rpm and it takes the Panamera Diesel 6.8 seconds to accelerate from 0 – 100 km/h (0 – 62 mph) and 4.5 seconds from 80 km/ to 120 km/h (50 – 75 mph). The top speed is 242 km/h (150 mph).

The diesel engine itself comes originally from Audi, a sister brand within the Volkswagen Group. Porsche engineers reworked the engine and adapted it to the unique demands of the Panamera Diesel. The modifications include the latest technology in common rail direct fuel injection including piezo valves at a pressure of 2000 bar and turbocharging via electrically-controlled variable geometry turbocharger. Combined with the highly advanced eight-speed Tiptronic S automatic transmission and the standard auto start/stop function, the Panamera Diesel is the most fuel efficient model offered by Porsche. It beats the Panamera S Hybrid (7.1 l/100km; 33.6 mpg) and the Cayenne Diesel (7.2 l/100 km, 33.4 mpg) by roughly 10% and meets the EU 5 standards easily. Its CO2 emissions are 172 g/km.

Options for the Panamera Diesel include the Porsche Active Suspension Management (PASM), adaptive damper control and adaptive air suspension with additional air volume offering the driver a wide spread of suspension characteristics from Comfort, to Sport and Sport Plus. The Panamera Diesel comes equipped with comfort seats, a two-zone automatic climate control, and a 7-inch color screen with ten audio speakers.

With the presentation of the F125! (the name is based on the company’s 125th anniversary) Mercedes-Benz provides a view of a potential S-Class of the future. The F-Cell hydrogen research vehicle is equipped with four electric motors close to the wheels and can go up to 1.000 kilometers (621 miles) without refueling. Its F-Cell plug-in hybrid system uses the automaker’s latest high performance lithium-sulfur high voltage battery. The battery powers the car for the first few miles before the F-Cell is activated. It transfers hydrogen and air in a chemical reaction to energy which powers the batteries of the F125!. This leads to a combined system power of 313 hp.

Another star of the Mercedes-Benz show is the concept car of the B-Class E-Cell Plus with an estimated range of 600 km (373 miles). An additional gasoline engine works as a range extender for the electric lithium-ion battery, which is stored in the Energy Space. The Energy Space is a specially developed, space-saving intermediate floor in the front of the rear axle.

Mercedes also unveiled the completely reworked B-Class. In its second generation, the new B-Class offers buyers a numerous innovations which are new to the compact segment. Attention Assist, which has been available for several years on larger Mercedes vehicles including the E350 BlueTec sedan that recently joined our new long-term test fleet,  and the Collision Prevention Assist are among the most important ones. Also the engines of the new B-Class have been reworked with new direct fuel injection technology. The new diesel-powered B-Class is rated with an average fuel consumption of only 4.4 l/100 km (53 mpg).

The current fleet of the SLK- and M-Class cars will get new diesel engines. The Mercedes-Benz SLK 250 CDI is the first diesel-powered roadster. It features a four-cylinder diesel engine with a power output of 150 kW / 204 hp. The new ML 250 BlueTec 4MATIC has a fuel consumption of only 6.0 l/100 km (39 mpg) a 25% improvement over its predecessor.

The International Energy Agency announced plans to release 60 million barrels of oil from its emergency reserves in the coming month to counter supply disruptions in Libya.  Oil prices were down almost five dollars to $91 on Thursday.

In recent weeks, drivers have already seen slightly lower fuel prices as economic uncertainty and the Greek debt crisis pushed crude prices lower. The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) reports that the avergae price per gallon in the U.S. dropped from $3.781 on June 6 to $3.655 on June 20, although just how much prices will drop in the coming weeks is uncertain.

The spot price for ultra-low sulfur diesel fuel has dropped from $3.198 on June 14 to $2.945 on June 21.

The new labels will continue to include miles per gallon and electric-equivalent ratings.  They will favor hydrogen fuel cell vehicles and electric vehicles, which will be the only vehicles getting the top score (all 10s) under the new system.  Diesels should fare well on fuel economy, according to EPA estimates, but may not do so well on the smog rating.

Additional new information on the label will include an estimate of how much fuel or electricity it will take to drive 100 miles and information on the driving range and charging time of an electric vehicle.

The new 10-point scale comes after the Department of Transportation and the Environmental Protection Agency proposed A-through-D grades for fuel economy and pollution. Many groups including automakers objected, fearing that the car buyers would infer that the grade indicated a vehicle’s overall quality.

Our new fuel economy and environmental labels are a win for automobile consumers and for the nation’s energy independence,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood in a prepared statement. “These labels will provide consumers with up front information about a vehicle’s fuel costs and savings so that they can make informed decisions when purchasing a new car.”

In September, the U.S. plans to announce new standards for fuel economy and greenhouse gas emissions for commercial trucks, vans, and buses starting in the 2014 model year as well as new standards for passenger vehicles for the period from 2017 to 2025.

Automakers can voluntarily adopt the labels earlier than the 2013 deadline.

Whether it’s a photo of your car being delivered at the BMW Welt, the Audi Forum, or the Mercedes-Benz Delivery Center, your car at the Grand Canyon, or your car on a winding road, we want your pictures.

Now you can show off your best car photos and win prizes to boot by entering the My Diesel Photo Contest.

The prizes are:

• First prize – Bluelounge Sanctuary charging station
• Second prize – Jabra Stone 2 Bluetooth headset
• Third prize – Innergie mCubeSlim universal travel power adapter for notebook computers

In addition, your winning photos will be featured in an upcoming issue of The Diesel Driver.

Here’s how The Diesel Driver My Diesel Photo Contest works:

1.) Select your best photos (maximum of six)

2.) Enter the Contest

Tell your friends and family to look at and vote for your photos. The votes will help guide the judges as they review the photos.

The contest judges will then pick the top three images, using input from readers of The Diesel Driver.

The Diesel Driver magazine will award first, second, and third prizes to the winners.

See the The Diesel Driver My Diesel Photo Contest Rules for complete details.

For the drive to Frankfurt, I had an elegant deep sea blue metallic BMW 520d sedan with an interior of dark wood trim and oyster leather. The car was relatively new with only 1.968 km (1.222 miles) on the odometer and it came fully equipped with all the latest innovations we saw in the BMW 535d sedan that we drove to Bratislava six weeks earlier.

Important safety features such as the Lane Departure Warning and the Active Blind Spot Detection were included. It also came equipped with Dynamic Damper Control, a Head-Up Display, and the new 8-speed sport automatic gear box.

Over the past year, I’ve had the opportunity to experience several versions of BMW’s 2.0-liter diesel engine (BMW 320d Edition EfficientDynamics and BMW 120d convertible), so this engine is well known to me. The first time I got to try out the reworked 2.0-liter diesel engine with its 184 hp and 280 pound-feet of torque was on the all-new X3 xDrive20d last December on my tour of Berchtesgaden and Austria.

Fuel economy for all of these cars was exemplary.  Indeed, because of these experiences, I was looking forward to seeing the performance and fuel economy of the BMW 520d first hand. According to the official data, the BMW 520d can go from 0 to 100 km/h (0-62 mph) in 8.1 seconds. It has a maximum top speed of 225 km/h (139.8 mph) with the 8-speed sport automatic gearbox.

The 520d’s fuel economy ranges from 6.4 l/100 km (36.75 mpg) in city driving to 4.5 l/100 km (52.3 mpg) on the highway. Combined fuel economy of the EU test cycle is 5.2 l/100 km (45.23 mpg).  In contrast, the 535d is rated at 7.9 l/100 km (29.7 mpg) in the city and 6.1 l/100 km (38.5 mpg) on the highway.

For my drive to Frankfurt I had a choice of several different routes and I opted to take the Autobahn A8 (direction Stuttgart / Karlsruhe) and A5 (direction Frankfurt). According to Google Maps, this would be a four hour drive with a total distance of 433 km (269 miles).

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