Quote:
Originally Posted by nsra33
I think that Americans don't like diesel cars just because of the noise the engine makes. If you take that, the diesel cars are much better: more torque (=more driving pleasure) and much more fuel efficiency. Europeans don't buy diesel cars because the price of the liter / gallon of diesel is cheaper than the liter / gallon of gasoline, but because the fuel efficiency in cities is much better (way better) and you still have (more) driving pleasure. The price of a diesel car is a bit higher, but in Europe gasoline cars loose a lot of value (less people want to buy them), so you will recover all the money (and more) you have invested in a diesel car. Just my European perspective.
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I only partially agree to this. I am Dutch but live in the US since a couple of years, and I would never have bought a diesel in the Netherlands because you will need to drive a lot of miles in order for it to be cheaper. Diesel fuel isn't exactly as cheap anymore as it used to be back there, plus you pay a lot of road taxes in my old country for a diesel. So while it might be more fuel efficient, when the road taxes and gas itself is adding to the cost, you will need to drive a lot more in order to be more efficient in overall.
In regards to 'more' driving pleasure, I think that's a matter of personal perspective. While there may be some difference, I always felt it was minimal
Also, as to why EU drive more diesels than their US counterparts. I have no idea really but I can imagine it never got pushed through too much, plus the fact that diesel is more expensive than regular gas over here (atm diesel is about 50 cents more in my area, not much but it could be a psychological reaction towards some people).