Until recently I think we had a phobia against diesels due to government dislike of the fuel. But, they are catching on in the passenger car market due to power and mpg.
We also have GM to blame for some apprehension about diesel. It's conversion of a 350 ci gasoline engine to diesel that blew up at 30,000 miles left a bad impression in some people's minds. GM, by the way, does not stand for Good Merchandise.
My next car will be a turbo diesel.
I've ridden in the Volkswagen/Audi (same thing) TDi diesels, 2.0 and 2.5, and they are very sweet. This isn't your dad's old no-rev smoker. A VW Golf with that 2.0 six-speed is pretty quick and gets 30/40 mpg. Too bad the US still hates diesels, because you can get a GTD version of that engine in Germany with more power and lots more torque.
For small commuters, I really feel gipped over here. Over there you can get a VW Polo diesel 1.2 (75 hp) that gets 50/70 mpg. With diesel costing less than gas over there, why bother with electrics?