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One thing about the diesels is the need for the right engine oil. Once diesels become mainstream instead of a technical appeal thing, we will see engines fail from the wrong oil or total neglect. The mainstream driver is probably not a good match for these engines. It will help when US companies start to produce diesel engine oils that are up to spec, or at least test and label their products to the needed specs. The newer VW PD diesels that have the unit injector/pumps driven by a cam shaft require an oil that you pretty well have to go to the dealer to get. Otherwise you need to get some of a few brands that are been shipped in from Europe that are not on store shelves. M1 truck and SUV might be good enough, but it is not labeled for that spec and warranty would be void if the cams failed. That VW spec was developed specifically for the PD engine and the cam loads for the unit injectors. This is a real problem for many folks. And with diesel engines at 22-23 compression ratios, there is not much room for the valves. So quess what happens when the timing belt fails. The labor and parts for the TB R&R are very high and it is a very difficult DIY. The TB service life can be quite low on some engine models. So this really eats into the fuel savings of a diesel. So the added costs of the TB and engine oil, engine specific oil filters and fuel filters really does increase the cost of ownership. So savings are not what one expects from looking at fuel costs and MPGs. Also, VW has really been pushing the technology and has many examples of engines that needed to be rebuild in the field... aka really screwed up. So the technology is not yet really mature, and the engines with particulate traps are coming and they require even more exotic engine oils. As for performance, diesels are VERY quick off the line! But VW detunes the engines for NA be reducing power, probably to survive the local fuels and engine oils. Many folks modify these to get euro power levels and more and these are very fast. Meanwhile, Amoco Supreme is low sulfer and high cetane and is pretty well the best fuel out there. The fuels in CA are low sulfer and pretty decent, but you can't buy a new diesel passenger vehicle in CA right now... how cool is that?
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