The only diesel Ford will be offering for anytime in the near future is going to be in their F-series pickups. This is according to Mark Fields, Ford’s U.S. division president, during an interview with Automotive News.

Both manufacturers, Toyota and Ford, cite the high cost of engineering to meet the strict US emissions standards as the main reason.

I somewhat understand this from Toyota, after all they have their Prius hybrid. In the fuel economy game Toyota’s Prius is synonymous with hybrid. So Toyota has their brand and identity fairly well cemented.

Ford, on the other hand, could take this opportunity and run with it. They could be the innovators or iconoclasts, and make a new name for itself. With the right technology they could even license it like Mercedes and Bluetec. Diesel powered vehicles only need the correct marketing for people to understand their true potential. Ford, however, seems to be content with their lagging sales. To be the third largest car company, and falling.

What’s going to happen in 2009 when Euro 5 emissions standards hit Europe? Euro 5 standards are very close to US Tier2 Bin 5 standards in effect for 2007. Will Toyota and Ford stop selling diesel altogether when diesel is half of the market in Europe? They should develop the technology now for the US, then they can use it in their European marketing as already meeting Euro 5 standards.

I guess they’ll leave it to Honda to legitimize diesel in the US. I’m looking forward to test driving an Accord or Acura MDX diesel. I don’t even like Honda vehicles, but that may change after their diesel. Meanwhile Toyota will obviously be fine, while Ford continues to decline.