Japan set to have 'clean' diesel cars

TOKYO, Jan. 5 (UPI) -- Japanese auto manufacturers are set to release diesel cars that use advanced technology and are being described as "clean" by auto industry analysts.

The Kyodo news agency said Saturday that while many still associate diesel-powered vehicles with pollution, experts say the new vehicles will dispose of diesel's negative image.

"The days of noisy, stinking diesels are now over," motor industry analyst Aritsune Tokudaiji said. "Diesels will provide the most useful fuel-saving technology for the coming decades. Clean diesel vehicles will be in full bloom in the marketplace."

Among the companies preparing to release the vehicles are the Toyota Motor Corp., Nissan Motor Co. and the Honda Motor Co.

Honda in particular has set its sights on introducing the vehicles in the United States in 2009, with a vehicle that meets the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Tier II Bin 5 emissions requirements, Kyodo said.