My 8000# crew cab pickup gets right at 21mpg on the interstate at 2000 rpm which is about 70mph. if you figure the horsepower to weight ratio that is better than the TDI VW!!!

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2003 Ford Crew Cab 6.0 Powerstroke Diesel 6 spd 4x4(For Sale)

1981 MB 300SD 190,000 miles Gray with cream interior.(sold)
1981 MB 300SD 239,000 miles Cream with Brown interior.(sold)

I'll bet someone in Maine has a finger in the gasoline industry!!!:p How is it that Europe, who tends to be "environmentally conscious" has more diesels than anyone else? Over there, only the rich drive gasoline and you get special discounts to buy a diesel car. I used to have a diesel Rabbit with only 52 hp, but it never missed a lick. I now have a TDI Beetle and love it, bought it for my 100 mile interstate commute for which a Toyota Prius is not well suited...I also searched and found a BIG old CHEVY Silverado with a 6.2L V8 diesel in it....how many trucks get 25-30 mpg with a big block in them? Even the Power Choke and Dura Dudds don't get that great mileage. My old Benz is a gasser, I preferred a diesel, but they hold their value so well I couldn't afford one for the purpose intended for it. But, providing we are "allowed" to purchase diesel cars in the next couple years, I plan to get one of the new CDI Mercedes when they come over here. Our government officials have too much interest in the oil industry...I'll bet they all have green lining in their pockets...driving those gas guzzling land yachts up and down capital hill all the while helping Saddam to build another palace.
Sorry this is so long, but I'm pi$$ed off.

Just want to clarify why I said the Prius was not suited for my interstate commute...at the time I bought my TDI, the Prius didn't get that awesome fuel economy with the AC on, and on long high speed commutes. I live in TN and use the AC regularly, so the engine would have to run all the time (the model I looked at said the AC required the engine and not the electrical motors to run). If I were a city driver a hybrid might be fine...but for my commute, give me an engine.

Diesel Power, I'm glad you enjoy your hybrid, and it seems like Toyota offers a superior package compared to that of Honda. I had a Civic Hybrid for a year but it had too many quality issues, mainly rattles and crazy auto-shutoff system which would sometimes shut down the engine at very inappropriate times. Towards the end of my ownership, the engine developed a slight knock, and that was the last straw for me. I also didn't like the way Honda advertised 50 mpg on the highway whereas I only managed about 44 actual average. I say actual because the mileage meter consistently showed 2 mpg more. Can I ask what kind of mileage you get from your Prius?

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2004 VW Jetta TDI (manual)

Past MB's: '96 E300D, '83 240D, '82 300D, '87 300D, '87 420SEL

My lifetime average so far is 45.2 mpg. I've only owned the car three months, so this is only one winter season, where the mileage is expectedly down some - even in the south. My highest recorded tank was between St. Louis, MO, and Oklahoma City, OK, where I logged 51mpg on the highway. My lowest was from Decatur, TX, to Amarillo, TX, where I logged 35.2, on a December trip to Colorado. The low highway figures were due to fighting 30mph headwinds on a road trip. As most of my driving is indeed highway, I've been floating around the middle to upper 40's on most tanks. My MPG computer is rather optimistic as well. On that 51 mpg figure, it stated that I averaged 54.8 mpg.

My model also runs the A/C off of the engine. I've found little difference in fuel economy so far when I have used it.

What some people miss is, these cars show you visually how vehicles behave in various conditions.

The hybrid's strenth is in the city, where the electric motor nudges the car between traffic lights. Get it onto the highway, with the gas motor chuffing off the miles, and economy drops.

I think Toyota has performed a magnificant engineering feat -- but given that, I still love my TDI, a real torquer with 45 L.A. metro mpgs.

FYI: to buy an '04 TDI for CA, NY and a few other states including ME tied to CARB standards, the car needs to be used and have 7,500 miles on the clock.

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'91 300D 2.5 Turbo 330K
'00 VW TDI Golf, 190K
'67 BMW R50/2
'73 Norton Commando Interstate