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Then you step up in horsepower. "PowerTech E engines (60 to 200 hp) are a simple emissions solution that feature a fixed-geometry turbocharger, full-authority electronic controls and a high-pressure common-rail fuel system or electronic unit pump fuel system," says Laudick.

At the top of the line is the more complex PowerTech Plus engines (149 to 600 hp) that feature cooled EGR, a variable-geometry turbocharger, state-of-the-art engine control unit and electronic unit injector system or high-pressure common-rail fuel system.

"These technologies overlap across displacement options, and the only engines that are available in just one platform are the PowerTech Plus 9.0L and 13.5L," says Laudick. "So it has more to do with offering customers multiple technology solutions than it does with letting the technology be dictated by the engine size."

Clearly, no one solution fits every application. "There are many ways to meet the new regulations. And given the range of engines to which the regulations apply, it's critical to match the right solution with the right application," says Farrar. "The industry's solutions range from controlling the byproducts of combustion in-cylinder to recirculation of exhaust gas back to the combustion chamber with cooled EGR."

Compatibility issues
Some on-road technologies transfer to off-road engines; others do not.

"Both similarities and differences exist among the technologies used to meet the emissions standards for on- and off-highway engines," says Laudick. "Most of the differences exist because conditions in which off-highway engines have to perform are so widely varied, as opposed to the more consistent conditions for on-highway engines. So John Deere takes technologies that have proven to be effective, sometimes in on-highway applications, and adds technologies that have proven to be specifically suited to off-highway environments."