An island nation far along the (rocky) road to sustainability

Much of last month’s visit to Iceland by a group of international automotive journalists involved test drives of the new European editions of the mid-size Mercedes-Benz M-Class and full-size GL-Class sport-utility vehicles. The U.S. versions of those models were introduced last year. The essential difference between the two groups is that the European models are available with advanced diesel engines. The American models, at this writing, are gasoline only.

But there was a clever subtext to all of the romping around narrow, gravel-strewn mountain roads, many of them bereft of guard rails to protect wayward motorists from ending their lives or substantially ruining them on the rocky lava fields below.

European car manufacturers and many of their suppliers, most notably France’s Michelin, lately have been pushing the notion of sustainable mobility. It is a campaign motivated by financial necessity and altruism.

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