[Vwdiesel] Diesel vs hybrid battle heats up

[William J Toensing]

1) Thanks for the link to the auto section of the Toronto newspaper. Locally here in the Sacramento area you can buy a Prius for $1,000 off of MSRP & get immediate delivery. However the nearest VW dealer in Roseville, CA is getting a $4,000 pack above MSRP on a new TDI. Salesman at that VW dealer says most of the Mexican VW  TDI production is going to Europe as VW can get more money in the European market than in the US market. Don't know if this salesman is just pulling my leg or is serious. If he is serious, I then don't think VW is serious about the diesel market, at least in Calif. Can't afford a new car now, anyway, but if I could, I wouldn't pay over MSRP for any car! Although I prefer diesels (wouldn't be contributing to this discussion group if I wasn't) I think owning a Prius would be cheaper to own in the long run although a TDI would be more fun to drive. Here in the Grass Valley/Nevada City, CA the Prius appears the most common single model car on our local roads & the next most common are older Mercedes diesels. Many more of each than my Ford Focus ZX3. I haven't seen any other Quantums or Dashers around, other than my own.
I heard somewhere that Ford plans to bring the diesel Fiesta over here a year after they introduce the gas Fiesta & that a new Honda Insight hybrid will be here in a year that will sell for less than a Prius. Lets hope the gas/diesel prices will stay down long enough for this to happen. However, I don't think they will & suggest $5 a gallon gas/diesel be factored into any future automobile purchase.