Paradise, NV
Quoted from pezpunk:i think you mean Volkswagon, but yeah. Diesel is just cursed in the USA -- in the rest of the world, it has been a staple for decades, and not just for trucks. other countries use diesel engines in their cars all the time and they work fine.
really this is GM's fault -- in the 70s, they developed an Oldsmobile diesel engine intended as a more fuel efficient option for use in their sedans, and it was a complete piece of shit. instead of designing a new engine, they took an existing unleaded fuel engine and converted it to diesel ... poorly. it had a tendency to blow head gaskets because it sucked at dealing with the higher compression ratios necessary for diesel. it rusted from the inside out due to lack of a water separator. its fuel pump seals, designed for unleaded, disintegrated. it belched smoke. it sounded like a garbage truck, and was about as quick and nimble as one too. even when it worked, it was still a V8 with 120hp. not exactly what you're looking for when you're buying a fancy new sedan.
in fact it was so god-awful that it single-handedly killed off the idea of diesel engines in the USA for anything other than heavy trucks, and its stigma lasted a good 30 years. really, diesels were just beginning to creep back into regular usage for cars, when the Volkswagon scandal hit.
Not a big deal, but the Diesel V8 was used in the Toronado, which was a two door coupe, not a sedan. My buddy had one.
When the engine eventually blew in the mid '80's, he put a gasoline engine in. Funny as hell to hear it start as the starter & flywheel was for a diesel. It spun like your Tesla's wheels do on acceleration.
