Mitsubishi used to sell a sturdy, body-on-frame SUV called the Pajero – known in the United States as the Montero – and it looks like Mitsu is going to resume selling Pajeros again. Just not in the United States. Probably because the new Pajero is powered by an efficient (and thus, inherently "clean") diesel engine – and we can't have that here.

If you look around, you'll see that diesel engines have been systematically withdrawn from the passenger vehicle marketplace. You can still find a few as high-dollar options in heavy-duty/commercial grade vehicles such as the 2027 Ford F-250 Super Duty I recently reviewed. But there are no diesel-powered SUVs available anymore.

The Cadillac Escalade was one of the last SUVs to even offer it. Other SUVs – such as those made by Toyota and Land Rover – do offer them. Just not here. They are readily available in Europe, Asia, Australia and Central/South America.

The paucity of diesel engines in the U.S. SUV segment is interesting because – under normal circumstances – diesels and SUVs go together like V8s and muscle cars. Diesels make more torque (and sooner in the powerband) than gas engines; this is very useful for towing and also for slogging – as through mud and snow. They are also (usually) made of stronger parts and have fewer service parts (such as spark plugs and ignition systems)  that makes them less expensive to maintain and more durable when worked hard – pulling and slogging. They also use less fuel, a big plus in a type of vehicle that usually uses a lot of fuel because of weight, poor aerodynamics and higher rolling resistance (due to aggressive tread/large tires, etc.)

The thing is, "normal circumstances" aren't in place.

The government has systematically rendered diesels everything that is unappealing about gas engines – and then some – thereby eliminating most of their appeal. Diesel engines used to be simpler engines, which tended to make them more reliable as well as less expensive to own. That changed when the government – its regulatory bureaucracy – began to really turn the screws on diesel engines in terms of allowable exhaust emissions. This was about ten years ago.