Just a note - the reason that small diesels are not popular here is because of the California Air Resources Board's idiotic measurement methods.
They count total emissions not per-mile, but per-gallon, completely ignoring that the diesel-powered vehicle will go farther on the same amount of fuel.
By far the biggest reason that car diesels are not popular in US, while they are popular in Europe, is that diesel fuel is taxed similarly to gas here. In Europe it enjoys significant tax advantage. A small contribution is bad experience consumers had with GM's diesels 1978-1985, which were a poor product.
I also really don't get the obsession of mpg, when comparing different fuels. Diesel is about 30% more energy dense than gas. If I told you that the car got 100mpg on coal (which has even higher energy density) would that be exciting?
Huh? That would be a pass for cars that use more gas.
The federals standards are grams per mile. CA's testing facilities use parts per million gauges, but the threshold is model-specific so the readings can be used to identify grams per mile violators.
Ford doesn't have any interest in maintaining that myth -- they only have one hybrid model. Toyota is the only company currently getting rich off that particular myth.
They couldn't sell it in the US because by US standards it's tiny, underpowered and expensive.
The Honda Fit is tiny, underpowered and sells just fine. I think the article is correct on why it won't sell; size and power don't mean as much as they used to.
In this case, it would destroy that myth by saying that expensive diesel cars are also a way to get fuel efficiency. An imported version of their car would cost slightly more than a Prius (arguably the iconic hybrid) in direct outlays. Plus, with diesel being more expensive than gasoline, you could well have a more expensive car in the long run. If the fuel costs 10-20% more, you need to get 10-20% better fuel efficiency. Assuming Prius mileages around 50 mpg, you can do this, but only barely, and that's assuming the relative price of diesel stays the same.
the problem with Ford is that they just stopped trying. Sure they can't import the diesel version...but the Fiesta is a very light car, throw a tiny engine in there, and you'll get a 45-50mpg 100hp commuter. Sure it won't have as much torque, but at this point people are willing to sacrifice power for mpg.
There was a spike in fuel-obsessiveness about six weeks ago, but now prices have flattened off people care much less. People only care about saving fuel when fuel prices rise suddenly, not when they're flat-but-high.
No, six weeks ago was just a guesstimate. You could probably try plotting the frequency of the words "gas prices" and similar phrases showing up in news stories over time to gauge interest (speaking of which, trend picking via time-dependent news analysis is a pretty good startup idea...)
In my opinion, gas prices are one of those things which people are maximally irrational about. Since they vary from day to day people are far more aware of how much they're spending, while other larger expenses are more easily ignored. For a couple of months people were selling their SUVs for cheap and buying new small cars for more than RRP -- I was almost tempted to pick up a cheap used Lincoln Navigator or similar just to take advantage of it.
Google Trends says approximately six weeks ago is a good guess; looks like news references to gas prices peaked in mid-July, while web searches peaked a couple months earlier:
I know a lot of people who would love to have a Diesel Cooper Mini, but like the Fiesta, it will never be sold in the US. I'd love to have one and run it on biodiesel. (This month, I am using Waste Vegetable Oil derived fuel.) My dad would love to have one, and he's almost 80!
They count total emissions not per-mile, but per-gallon, completely ignoring that the diesel-powered vehicle will go farther on the same amount of fuel.