Nope, no VW diesels at all, *currently. * Exactly 2 Mercedes and many trucks.
In CA they have to use ultra low sulpher diesel fuel, which is even more expensive.
anamnesis: I’d like to see some figures that show a normal compact diesel with milage better than the Prius. :dubious: Now, at the high end, CR did say the Mercedes super diesel slightly beat out the Lexus hybrid.
Here’s a comparison for you Dr. Deth:
Golf TDi: 46 city, 61 highway.
Prius: 60 city, 51 highway.
So I guess it depends on what you drive more.
Ok, that is certainly comparable, and very impressive. However, not “that return figures well in excess of any hybrid”. The Hybrid has a slightly higher average.
Yeah, I’m impressed. Although while looking up those numbers, I saw that the Honda Insight gets 61 and 70!
EmAnJ got my figures for me.
As I said, hybrids are at a disadvantage on the highway. More fuel is required to get a car moving from a standstill than is needed to keep it travelling at a high speed. Stop and go traffic is where hybrids thrive, while diesels excel at high-speed efficiency.
They average out to approximately the same economy, although when you take into account that diesels do not command the same obnoxious price premium of the current crop of hybrids, I think it’s hard to argue against diesel being a better value. Now if only there were a marketable and affordable diesel hybrid … I doubt it’s far off, but I’m sure America will be the last to get one.
No longer made, not for several years. 
We were confused ourselves. We found the car we wanted used, we went in to the dealership to make the deal and buy it, and they told us we couldn’t have that car at the deal they were telling us about. Okay, we don’t want it, then, if we can’t get the deal on it. We went away and came back another day trying to buy a different used Elantra. Again, the deal we wanted and were assured we could get was not available come paper-signing time. We left again, and saw an ad for a new Elantra a couple of days later, and went and tried to buy that one. Oh no, you shouldn’t believe the ad in the paper, the dealership said, we don’t actually offer that deal. So, three strikes and they were out. The scam apparently was tell us anything we wanted to hear while we were looking, then change the deal once we were in love with the car and ready to buy. Wankers.
And this is after practically being held captive at a Hyundai dealership when we were just window-shopping for cars - the guy would not let us go. We basically had to walk out on him mid-sentence to get away.
Oh yeah, the Nissans. We loved the looks and feel of the Altima, but it was getting bad reviews everywhere - it’s reliability was for poopy. We test-drove a used one a couple of years old, and it had a large file of repairs on it - all were for electrical problems, which was the weak spot mentioned in all the reviews. I really don’t want a car with electrical problems.
Throatwarbler, Dodge had “worked out” its ongoing problem with the engine seals on the Neon - it kept making cars that they knew had shitty engine seals, and then recommended replacing all of them once one went, because they knew very well they would all have to be replaced. This seems to be a pretty typical attitude of domestic car manufacturers.
That they’re only driving 7k a year. So, gas savings will be minimal at that distance.
As well, hybrids, while neat and efficient, do have batteries. And those batteries typically have to be replaced at 100k. So, that’s another cost factor to contemplate.
I personally shopped around and got a leftover nissan sentra. I typically get around 38-40 mpg, it holds 4 people semi comfortably, is great for long trips, will hold a decent amount of weight. Plus, as opposed to a Civic, Yaris, etc. it was cheap, only 11k brand new. Mine is a five speed, and has plenty of pep - not only will it squawk the tires in 1st gear, but 2nd as well. Cruises comfortably on the highway at 70 or 80, and I tend to get the same mileage either way.
Let me add my vote for the Honda Fit. I bought a Civic station wagon (not the 2-dr hatchback, but the true wagon) in 1990, the last year it was made (or sold in North America, at any rate). After 17 years and 106,000 km (about 66,000 miles) it was rusting badly. But the Fit felt very similar and last May I bought one in a beautiful bright red. Nearly five months later I have not yet put 800 km on it (there were some special reasons for that low a mileage) and have driven it only once on the highway, but I love it. It handles beautifully, gets pretty good gas mileage and comes standard with lots of extras the old wagon didn’t (air conditioning, ABS, power steering, power windows, cruise control, good sound system) at, adjusted for inflation, pretty much the same price. And the wagon came in three colors, drab, drab, and drab, while the Fit has the choice of a couple of gorgeous colors (as well as drab).
From Wiki:
Early model Japanese cars often suffered from teething issues as well, especially second-tier brands like Mazda or Nissan. You are right about the domestic manufacturers in a lot of cases (GM and the nylon intake manifolds on their V6 engines, for example) but not so for the Neon.
When it comes to “what’s an American Car”, sometimes it depends on who you’re trying to please - Dad doesn’t care where the thing is made, he says “You know all the money goes back to Japan.” Disregard all those jobs BMW brings up the upstate here; they’re peanuts to some people.
Update: I’m the proud owner of a metallic blue 5-door, 5-speed Mazda3. I was in and out of there in two hours flat. Surprisingly, they got me a better rate than my Credit Union.
Using the AAA website to look/choose/buy a car was painless!
I just bought a brand new Saturn ION. Less than 100 miles on it right now. I love it.
Another vote for the Mazda3. I’m getting close to 30,000 miles on my 2006 and I’ve said from the first mile that this is the best car I’ve ever owned and the best small car I’ve ever driven.