There's also the bad after-taste left by this country's last flirtation with diesel in the 1980s when customers experienced sluggish, dirty, smelly, noisy, diesel cars.
Modern diesel engines with sophisticated fuel injection systems and turbochargers to improve diesel's slow take-offs, are much more family friendly. The fact that diesel fuel prices that have settled back down to slightly below that of gasoline should help, too.
Diesel cars and SUVs cost somewhat more than their gasoline-powered counterparts, but they generally have a higher resale value too.
There are still some differences in performance compared to gasoline but except early on bitterly cold mornings, most drivers would never notice. Diesel cars CNNMoney.com tested were sluggish on very cold mornings as the engine warmed up.
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