Yeah but GM's idea of a light duty diesel was a bastardized v-6 / v-8 off the shelf platform. I had a 6.2L GM in a 3/4 ton truck and it was enemic to say the least. Of course it didn't help that the truck was a 3spd auto, no o/d and 4.56 axles! Top speed wsa 45 mph!
I agree the big expense with diesel motors is found in the International/Duramx/Cummins designs, but those babies are built to tow and haul serious stuff. If you look at the Mercedes platform, it's not really that much 'beefier' than a normal gasoline engine (as compared with a v-8 block to say a Cummins).
I was looking at a used Jetta tdi, 2007 I believe, and it was the same price as a Wolfsburg Edition and about $2,500 more than a GLI edition.
The TDI gets 44mpg highway, the GLI gets 28mpg. So at 15,000 miles per year, at current prices, the tdi saves about $425 p/yr in fuel and the motor should last quite a bit longer than the gasser with a 5-6year break even in cost with the gasser GLI version.
Eh... maybe if the demand increased for diesel cars, the price would drop.. But then again the cost of diesel would more than likely continue to rise... Hurummph hurummph.
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