The question remains as to whether the Liberty Diesel is an option in the US market. Interestingly, a recent survey called the Consumer Acceptance of Alternative Power study done by global marketing firm J. D. Power and Associates concluded that many consumers would prefer a clean diesel engine to a hybrid gasoline/electric powertrain (such as the Toyota Pruis, Honda Civic and Ford Escape hybrids) because today’s clean diesels blend power, fuel economy and new emissions controls. While hybrids appeal to many because of their fuel economy and environmentalism, concern about hybrids ranged from worries about the longevity of powertrain batteries and a vehicle’s ability to accelerate.

The Liberty diesel’s fuel is almost entirely free of sulfur and aromatics, is biodegradable and non-toxic. While more than 1,000 petroleum distributors carry the fuel and some 300 filling stations retail various blends of biodiesel, concerns for clean diesel-fueled vehicles center around the infrastructure for fueling, and the small number of models available currently in the U.S.

DaimlerChrysler has been praised by the National Biodiesel Board for using biodiesel as the factory fillup for its Liberty diesel. Commercial fleets currently using biodiesel include a number of government agencies, such as the military, National Park Service, U.S. Postal Service, NASA, and other private companies and institutions, including Harvard and L.L. Bean.