Gentleman,

I am an European born US citizen and I have lived in the USA since 1980.
i was just in Europe for the last 3 years and. In Portugal I would say 70% of
all cars are diesel. MB would be about 95%. You can buy any model including US cars with a diesel engine. I was driving a 87 300SDL. Yes diesel is more efficient and breaks down less but the main reason is fuel price. Europeanse pay about $4.75 USD per gallon of gasoline. Diesel is about 30% cheaper. Yes the cars cost more but in long run are still cheaper. So for the europeans is mainly cost effective. Diesel in our country in more expensive. Yes you get better MPG so essentialy they are cheaper to run on a long run but americans dont keep their cars for as long as the europeans.

good luck