These are good things to
These are good things to debate, but can we all agree that the in-line 5 in that Passat is perhaps the crappiest engine installed in a mainstream mid-size family car :)? By comparison I offer the Mazda 6 with its 2.5 liter in-line 4 (40 mpg highway). If the Mazda 6 does come out with its diesel in the US we will have a great comparison then. The Ford guy says he is thinking of it for MPG improvements. Are there any examples of a car made by Ford (or Chevy or Dodge) with a diesel that ever had a lower cost per mile to operate than its top rated gasoline engine? The Cruze Eco gas has the same MPG combined that the diesel it brags about does. Diesel MPG advantages, like you say, are all very selective. You have to find an old tech gas engine to compare to a brand new diesel.
That said, anyone who buys a pony car with anything les than a V8 secretly hates themselves.