toastblows said:
Best car they ever made was that 92-94 VX....55mpg+...who cares about pollution
.
I agree with your assessment, diesel is not for fuel $$$ savings at the current time. Maybe we can get a cheap 50mpg car in america some time, like the geo metro or civic vx...wait wasnt that like 15 years ago? How about a Lupo 3L.
It is not even so much the diesel/gas debate, but the actual car itself. The only diesel passenger cars you have been able to buy in the US in the last 15 years are expensive German ones. That's it. We do not get the base crackerbox Accent diesel here, or any other small cheap car, or even a mid-size cheap car for that matter. They are all gasoline powered.
Now I realize the diesel engine option may add
some to the price of the car, but trust me there is NO WAY the diesel engine accounts for very much of a $52k E320 CDI.
I purchased new a 2003 Accent 3 door GL (the lesser trimmed model) with an automatic and A/C (both options) for less than $10k. If a diesel engine option added even $2k to the price, you are still looking at only $12k, or about HALF the price of most new Jetta TDIs, and since the Accent's 1.5L gas engine can get 35 MPGs I'd suspect a small displacement high efficiency diesel would easily get that same car to 55+, autobox and all.
So for $12k a car that could get 55+ MPG on diesel...now THAT would be an economy car. Knock the $1k slushbox option off, and you have a $11k car that would likely get 65+ MPG!!!
Now imagine that you can go to a dozen other countries in the world and pick from probably 20 cars that fit into that category (I realize cost may vary depending on region, which is all relative).
Manufacturers blame consumerism and the gov't for our situation, but bottom line is, if you live in the USA, an uber high MPG [diesel] economy car for a low price is simply not gonna happen ever again. Let alone a small truck, minivan, etc.