Autoweek figures that the “dramatic decline in diesel fuel price” is what’s causing VW and Mercedes diesel sales to increase as a percentage of total sales in recent months. But only VW’s Jetta, and M-B’s ML, GL and R Classes have diesel options to take advantage of the mini-boom. To be fair, though, not many would have predicted a year ago that Jetta diesel sales would approach 4k units per month (3,862 in May). But will it last?

Anyone remember energy independence? You know: oil addiction? Freeing America from the oppressive yoke of foreign oil importation? I guess the yoke’s on us, isn’t it children? You know, at one time, energy independence was, as Paris Hilton used to say, hot. The issue was used to justify spending billions of federal tax dollars to help our nice agribusinesspeople brew ethanol from corn. Hands up those of you who’ve heard your Mommy or Daddy saying “no one ever died defending a corn field?” Well, times change. Although the E85 federal subsidies and mandates are still there, and our corn growers are doing all they can do to ruin engines with mandatory E15 gasoline blends, you just don’t hear so much about energy independence as you used to. That’s all going to change now! I know: isn’t it exciting? And you’ll never guess who’s going to ping the people? Audi. Yes, Katy, truth in engineering. Only now it’s truth in TDI Clean Diesel!

The latest statistics from the Energy Information Administration show that diesel is actually .03 cents per gallon cheaper than gasoline on a national average. Whereas gas prices have risen considerably since their December low, the drop in diesel prices was slower, making the bounceback less extreme. According to CNN, the price parity can be traced to inventory levels. Gasoline inventory has been dropping bringing prices up more sharply. Meanwhile, diesel-making distillate supplies are increasing. Longer term, the Department of Energy expects diesel and gasoline prices to rise but not by as much as had been previously anticipated.

Trying to eke out the best mileage whilst in a major city proves difficult. Trying to get the best mileage possible while on the Strip in Las Vegas proves downright impossible. No matter, as my car has Oklahoma plates and I’m in the biggest tourist destination in Nevada. So I consign myself to appear confused and lost as I trundle down to the Mandalay Bay for their awesome buffet.

When the aircraft touched down in Oklahoma after a 36 hour journey from Abu Dhabi, my entire unit clapped in elation. We couldn’t stop smiling as we deplaned the plane, and my Commander shook my hand and say, “Welcome back, thanks for all you did, and don’t do anything stupid on your vacation.” So what better to do to celebrate my return to the greatest nation on the Earth, than create a race!

Thanks to our new feature– What Wrong With This Picture (3WTP)– I am trained in the fine art of anomaly spotting. So when I saw this Autobloggreen (ABG) photo of Emmy Rossum filling-up her Blue Tec Merc with diesel, the cognitive dissonance nearly deafened me. First, check the posture. Emmy’s feet are way too close together for proper pumping. Second, the shoes. Have you ever tried driving an SUV in high heels? (Trust me, it’s not a good idea.) Third, why is she looking at the pump? I highly doubt she’s worried about the price. And if she was worried about nozzle blowback, she’d already be standing away from the vehicle. And then there’s the photog’s reflection. Only professional photogs assume that kind of contorted position, or use such a huge aperture (the camera). And so I read the text, which seemed to indicate that this is some kind of trend: celebs ditching Priora for Mercedes BlueTec diesel SUVs. Which makes no sense whatsoever. “Recently the likes of Naomi Watts, Kyle MacLachlan and Gary Oldman have been turning up driving Mercedes-Benz BlueTec diesels like the ML320 and E320. While these vehicles are not in the same green class as the Toyota, the do offer the other attributes of a Benz with much better fuel efficiency than gasoline-powered alternatives.” Which sounds an awful lot like PR copy to me…

Motor Trend (MT) has it on the downlow that Cadillac is considering a Duramax diesel-powered version of the CTS. The 4.5-liter, 520 lb-ft turbodiesel fits just fine in the CTS engine bay, say GM sources, as long as the design-ruining raised CTS-V hood is used. The idea behind the oil-burning option: bridge the considerable performance gap between the 3.6-liter V6 base model and the bat-shit insane supercharged CTS-V. Oh yeah, and Cadillac’s Northstar replacement project has been canned, meaning the Duramax is all they have for the job. MT aknowledges that “a diesel CTS for the U.S. would be a risk,” but goes on to argue that there’s little downside to the project since the engine and transmission have already been developed. But as numerous half-baked GM products prove, just because you’re leveraging existing components doesn’t mean anyone will buy them. Especially if they require expensive fuel. In fact…