Just when did the aha moment come to Mercedes engineers? Who was the first to say, "Hey, why can't we just scrub diesel exhaust with a pee sprayer"? Then again, the Krebs-Henseleit cycle really does sound like something that would go on inside a German car. But however the technology was developed, the urea-injection system is Mercedes's best hope to make its cars road legal in the important markets of California, New York, Connecticut and others with the strictest emissions stadards. As Automotive News reports, the biggest possible snafu is the EPA's apprehension about emissions control becoming the responsibility of car owners, who would have to make sure the system is periodically charged with, well, you know.
From Automotive News:
"The idea is: If you can sell Coca-Cola and windshield-washer fluid at filling stations, you can also sell urea in small amounts, such as half a gallon or one gallon," a spokeswoman said.
The company also is working to set up a hot line for drivers to call so they can get urea sent to them overnight if the tank should run out in an area of the country where there is none available.
It's all very clever to scrub diesel exhaust with pee, but c'mon Mercedes, do you we really have to buy it at the 711? And what about the law of unintended consequences? What's to stop a new yellow black market from arising. We'll know more by 2008.
Related:
Mercedes' Clean New Diesels: Urea Got Me [internal]