The Lincoln Towncar has never been known for it’s greenness, it has been a quasi luxury vehicle of choice for limo drivers for years despite only being a leathered version of the Ford Crown Vic. The primary advantage to limo owners is that it was very cheap in comparison with true luxury vehicles and it was easy to maintain. However it’s time is over.

New York’s black suite of limousines, mostly Lincoln Town Cars are set to go green by 2010 according to a new plan by mayor Michael Bloomberg:

Under the plan, the entire fleet of roughly 10,000 limousines, mostly black, that are used by businesses ranging from Lehman Brothers to Condé Nast, would be required to meet fuel-efficiency standards, attainable only with hybrid vehicles, of 25 miles a gallon in 2009 and 30 miles a gallon in 2010.

The big challenge with this is to still provide a level of luxury and space (including the big trunk space) that ex Bear Sterns employees are used to whilst traveling to the unemployment office.

The taxis and limo commission has picked up on a couple of choices being used in the main cab fleet:

the TLC have identified several efficient vehicle models that will have widespread acceptance, including: Toyota Camry Hybrid, 33mpg (city); Toyota Highlander Hybrid, 27mpg (city); Nissan Altima Hybrid, 35 mpg (city); and Mercury Mariner Hybrid FWD, 34 mpg (city) ….Lexus Rx400h AWD, Ford Escape Hybrid AWD, and Toyota Prius

Although these cars can meet the standard, a side from the Lexus they are not cars that you will see Donald Trump or his troupe of Miss Americas in. The question is then, is there a true luxury vehicle that meets these standards for New York?.

The problem is in North America there is no vehicle in the luxury car segment that comes even close. The Mercedes Benz E 320 Diesel weights in at 23mpg in the city, not even close. To get a car that meets both the luxury specification, space and mileage requirements we need to go to Europe where there are two vehicles that meet all the requirements and Donald and Marla can feel happy with:

Note: US 30 Mpg = 7.84 L/100Km = 12.7 Km per litre = 36 Imperial MPG

BMW 520d SE

This car has some really amazing fuel consumption figures. It is a 2.0 4 cylinder diesel engine that achieves 43.5 imperial MPG urban (city) or 35MPG US. The 525d came close but fell short of the mark. Of course there are some 3 series that also met the requirement, but they are too small.

Mercedes Benz E220 CDI

The Mercedes Benz E220 CDI squeaks under the wire with a 31MPG (US) however it is not available in the USA, only in Europe. Just like the 3 series BMW, there are C series that get over the bar but are too small for a comfortable ride in the back.

Of course diesels have a similar CO2 footprint to petroleum when compared to Hybrid vehicles. This is especially true if the car idles for long periods of time such as limos or cabs, hence the argument that hybrids make better sense carbon wise in New York’s cabs and limos. However the rule is City MPG not CO2 emissions so both of these cars will meet the requirement and provide a level of luxury for the Trumpetes of this world. Both of these vehicles are common in Government executive vehicle fleets (including New Zealand which just chose the 530d for it’s executive fleet).

As Europe keeps pushing up both it’s CO2 and MPG requirements you are going to see more luxury vehicles fall into this category including the long awaited Diesel Hybrid vehicles.