Quote:
Originally Posted by PaulC
Diesel cars are a farce in the U.S., and will continue to be so unless gasoline prices are artificially inflated through taxation. Even Carlton defected to the gas V8 crowd with his 740iL.
Look at the new VW Jetta. A gas 2.5 model costs thousands less, and while achieving inferior fuel economy compared to the turbodiesel model, diesel fuel costs 40+ cents more a gallon in my area, which does a nice job of squashing any operating cost benefit. If I had a new diesel Jetta, my only hope for economic salvation would be that a fair number of saps in the used car market would pay a huge premium for such a car when I became disgusted and traded it in on another big SUV.
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Only a complete idiot would buy a new car strictly to save money. A new car is almost always a depreciating asset and doesn't save any money regardless of its fuel economy. There are much better reasons to buy a new, fuel-efficient vehicle like the diesel Jetta, such as the low-end torque and the low fuel consumption itself, which extends your range and lowers your emissions and petroleum consumption. Right now with all fuels being very cheap (here diesel is even cheaper than regular at about $2.20 a gallon) naturally fuel costs will be low and vary little between models. But wait until gas is $4 again, I'm sure you'll be singing a different tune.
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2004 VW Jetta TDI (manual)
Past MB's: '96 E300D, '83 240D, '82 300D, '87 300D, '87 420SEL
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