Today marks the unveiling of the production version of Volkswagen's U.S.-targeted diesel powertrain. First debuted in Volkswagen's Tiguan BlueTDI early in March at the Geneva Motor Show, the BlueTDI technology has been developed specifically for the North American market. With its clean emissions, smooth power and good fuel economy, VW hopes the BlueTDI will help sway the average U.S. buyer toward diesel power.

The BlueTDI's focus may be on efficiency and low emissions, but it still manages to put out a good amount of power - the 2.0L BlueTDI makes 103kW (140hp) and 320Nm of torque. But it's the very clean tailpipe emissions that make this a North American - and 50-state U.S. legal - diesel powertrain.

Based on VW's well-established TDI technology, the BlueTDI drivetrain adds a NOx trap and dual-circuit exhaust gas recirculation system (EGR) to clean emissions even further. Emissions standards are strict states like California - the strictest in the world. Still, the BlueTDI system meets the hyper-sensitive Bin5/LEV2 requirements, despite the U.S. wide variation in fuel type and quality. To meet these requirements, the engine can only emit a maximum of 0.05g of NOx particles per mile (0.08g/km).