VANCOUVER, British Columbia - For the 2008 model year, European and Japanese auto makers plan to invade Canada and the United States with clean-diesel models that get far better fuel economy than their gasoline-burning counterparts.

The new, clean diesels will be equipped with soot-cleaning technology and most, if not all, will meet the strictest emissions standards.

It seems the diesel trend is gaining momentum and is poised to reach something approaching a critical mass. The many contenders include a range of Mercedes-Benz SUVs (sport-utility vehicles) with Bluetec diesels - M-Class, R-Class and GL-Class among them. BMW aims to bring its popular turbo diesel engines, too. And even Nissan is talking about a diesel Maxima sedan.

Volkswagen, which for decades has sold diesels here, plans to convert to new cleaner diesel technology starting in 2008. The VW system, dubbed "Blue Motion," borrows from Mercedes' Bluetec system. Early next year, VW will start the parade with its new TDI Jetta.

One barrier all these new diesels face is consumer acceptance. Gasoline-electric hybrids continue to be seen as the best "green" option by many buyers and, in particular, trend setters. And there are those who wonder if the new diesels are good and clean enough to get people to forget the diesels of the 1970s and 1980s, with their sooty emissions and, in some cases, very poor reliability.

The wild card in measuring consumer acceptance is the price of gasoline. It's at a record high and going up. Meanwhile, the growing criticism of the energy efficiency of ethanol - seen by many as yet another gasoline alternative - might lend additional appeal to this new generation of diesels.

No one is truly certain what will happen as a result of this new wave of clean diesels. DaimlerChrysler AG, parent of both the Detroit-based Chrysler Group and Mercedes-Benz, says that its new emissions technology makes diesel as clean-burning as gasoline without any performance loss. It changes the game, they say.

The technology is called Bluetec and it uses a catalytic converter and specialized filters to reduce harmful nitrogen-oxide emissions. The company is betting Bluetec will turn North American drivers on to diesel and give hybrids fresh competition. The reason: Mercedes' clean-diesel cars will cost less than an equivalent hybrid while offering greater power and acceleration, plus up to 40-percent better fuel economy over conventional gas engines.

The environmental challenge, meanwhile, is being addressed on a number of fronts. The recent requirement for low-sulfur fuel has allowed car companies to eliminate the soot problem that so turned off consumers decades ago. Now Daimler's urea exhaust-treatment technology will go a big step further, cleaning up to 80 percent of the remaining nitrogen-oxide emissions.

Of course, Daimler is not alone. Volkswagen is working on clean-diesel technologies, its own and a version of Daimler's. The first VW clean-diesel model will be a Touareg SUV, slated to launch this year or early next. BMW and Audi also have plans for diesels, as does Honda. If the Japanese, who have primarily concerned themselves with marketing hybrids as their clean technology, put their muscle behind diesel, consumers will notice.

Of course, in all of this there is a price issue. The cost of the equipment to clean up diesel emissions brings the premium for clean-diesel cars close to that of a hybrid. So the game is on to see which technology prevails, diesel or hybrid. Perhaps it will be both, depending on driver preferences and needs.