Our good buddy the Auto Propet has a nice run down on why, in his opinion, diesel-powered light duty vehicles, i.e. passenger cars and the like, aren't being introduced in the U.S. in high numbers.

This topic is well timed as while in Frankfurt we witnessed first hand the viability of diesel-powered passenger vehicles. An interesting point was well stated by Autoblogger Eric when in a previous post he said, "There's also the driving styles that each technology is best suited towards, which of course then begs the question as to why the urban Europeans prefer diesel while the highway-cruising US market is leaning towards hybrid."

The global diesel and hybrid markets are currently backwards it seems, with European automakers just beginning to realize the potential of hybrids to save both fuel and money in urban markets, while the U.S. market?s interest in hybrids is still rising, despite the plain truth that American driving habits would be better served by diesels. The great Diesel/Hybrid Cross Country Challenge is proof of that.

So the real question, it seems, is whether or not the hybrid hype in the U.S. is valid, and whether or not the potentially misplaced enthusiasm for this technology should be redirected towards the development of diesel powerplants that better suit the driving habits of the average American.