I clearly stated it was my opinion. Point is I'm a little thin skinned at this point since I said I owned two diesel cars with two of the member here questioning what I owned. ...
Joe, as I started this thread and as I responded by asking you what the cars were, and as I have been following this thread, I think that the people posting are simply trying to fill you in on the development of the modern diesels that are in modern cars now. My late father-in-law bought an Oldsmobile with a diesel, worst car ever, swore off diesel engine forever. Can't say as I blamed him. Your experiences seem to be similar, but, just as his were, yours are based primarily on old designs.
The new engines are pretty amazing. At one time I owned the largest fleet of Iveco brand trucks in the US, the engines just ran on forever, were quiet, and sipped fuel. Too bad the rest of the truck wasn't up to that standard. But those engines proved to me that modern diesels are a whole lot better than the old designs. The successor to the smaller Iveco vans in the US seems to be the Freightliner/Mercedes/Dodge SPRINTER and that is again proving to new diesel owners that the diesel trucks are amazing vehicles.
I've already given information about the modern VW, Audi, and Mercedes Benz diesel engines. They simply are better, more efficient, and run much longer than gas engines. They are quiet, they don't rattle.
I understand that nobody will convince you, and I'm not trying to. I didn't start this thread to do that. I started it because I think the US car choices suck. Me, I'd probably be happy with a Subaru diesel 4wd car, but I'd really prefer a Volvo or M-B with AWD and a diesel powerplant.
I would sure like to see a small diesel in a pickup with about 230 hp and 24 mpg. It would not win a race but would get the job done.
Yup, that would be a great vehicle. A Ford Ranger with a 200hp TDI class engine, actually would probably get closer to 30mpg (city/hwy average) and have plenty of low end torque.