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?
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?