I have a 2005 vw diesel VW beetle and the lease is about to run out. I want another one but I just learned that no new diesel beetles have been allowed into the country since 2006. I am trying to find a new 2006 vw diesel beetle, if there are any around. Any ideas how I can locate one? I have tried all the usual methods without any luck.
You could always buy out your lease.
With fuel prices the way they are, a used 2006 will cost you dearly. As jsutter suggested, your best bet is to buy the one you’re driving, if possible.
Don't bother looking. VW has no new diesels yet. I doubt if any 2006 new are still around. They are bringing in new [Better} models that have been available in Europe but could not be used here because of the dirty (high sulfur) fuel we had. Now with the ULSD they can come in, but they need to work their way through the ggovernment certification process.I would definitely buy the 2005 if possible, even if you don’t keep it you can probably get a good price for it. Why are you trying to replace a three year old car?
VW didn’t meet the EPA/CARB emission regulations for diesel engines in 2006. So VW couldn’t import them into the country. That’s why you can’t find one.
By the way. The US has higher emission standards for diesel engines than Europe. That’s why VW couldn’t sell their diesel vehicles here.
Tester
Not true, they did sell the 2006 TDIs in the U.S., but they were not ready to meet the stricter 2007 requirements (requiring ULSD fuel). I believe they are licensing bluetec for the 2009 cars.
“The US has higher emission standards for diesel engines than Europe.”
That is not fully true. The US has different standards, some parts higher some lower, but in general Europe has higher standards based on most authorities. In any case the real issue was fuel The dirty (LSD) diesel available in the US is not suitable for Europe spec diesels. It damages the equipment. Now we have ULSD generally available and VW and others are getting their new models certified. It should be interesting as Europe has had a much wider choice of modern engines than we had.
If I remember correctly, the European diesels work fine and meet emissions requirements for 45 of the 50 states. It’s the oddballs like California that are the problem. Manufacturers don’t want to mess with an engine they can only sell in 45 states. Yes, the European diesels are not as clean as California would like. But what is in California’s best interest? Cars that get 45 mpg or ones that get 30 mpg? But it’s all politics and CARB needing to keep justifying their existence despite no marked improvement in California’s air quality.
California’s best interests are in protecting its people and environment. They set higher standards than the federal government, which catches up years later after the damage has already been done.
Air quality has improved siginificantly in California. Levels of lead, CO, SO2, NOx, ozone, and particulate matter have all decreased over the past few decades. I don’t know where you got your information from. Interestingly enough, I’ve seen statistics that say PZEV cars actually emit cleaner air from their tailpipes than the ambient air in some smoggy cities.
Manufacturers are perfectly capable of making PZEVs for every state, but they cost more to produce so they won’t bother until the government requires them to. I think the fact that EPA isn’t requiring all new cars to be PZEV-certified is a failure on their part - I certainly don’t fault the “California rule” states for being stringent. Thank goodness I live in NY.
There are European diesels in the US that work fine in all 50 states. I have one a 2002 TDI. I do believe some manufacturers may not have all 50 state compliant cars yet. What we don’t have yet (some makes may be here now) are the higher performance cleaner diesels that are the standard in Europe but could not come here until the ULSD (Ultra Low Sulfur Diesel) fuel was available. The trucking companies and oil companies fought it for a long time.
The fuel is here now and most of what is being sold is ULSD. As the cars are certified they will become available.It appears that at least one model has just recently passed the testing for the US introduction. I made it for all 50 states the latest requirements. It (a Jetta model) is scheduled for sale starting in September of this year. However we all know what happens to those introduction dates. It may be a few months later 
BTW it also meets the tighter Euro requirements for 2009. It was not clear to me if that was all the pollution requirements or just some part of them.