Sept. 16, 2008 - Despite technological gains, automakers are struggling to promote "clean diesel" vehicles among Americans who still see diesel as gasoline's dirtier, poorer cousin, Advertising Age reports.

While diesel vehicles account for 50% of the cars on European roads, diesel models account for only 2% of new light-vehicle sales per year in the U.S., says Mike Omotoso, senior manager at J.D. Power & Associates.

"We have huge perceptual barriers with diesel launches," says Jack Pitney, VP-marketing for BMW of North America. "There's a tremendous opportunity for us but also a real education challenge."

Beyond the image of diesel as dirty, marketers are struggling to educate consumers on the facts about diesel fuel.

Though many drivers will see the price of diesel surpassing the price of gasoline by about .45, "you can drive longer distances between fill-ups [with diesel]," says Omotoso. "Diesel provides 30% better fuel economy."

Car manufacturers have recently started to push their diesel products to the U.S. market. Companies like Ford, BMW, and Mercedes-Benz, are launching ad campaigns and websites to promote the alternative to gasoline.

BMW's education push seems to to be working at raising the curiosity of some, according to Pitney who says "diesel" has been among the top ten search terms on bmwusa.com in the year since the ads started.

Mercedes-Benz has patented its latest emissions-reducing technology for diesel as "Bluetec," incorporating this year's eco-theme trend, "Blue is the New Green", into its campaign.