America is going to have to invest in some type of infrastructure eventually if we truly “want” to reduce our dependency on foreign oil. It’s not going to happen without the government forcing the issue. Most European nations have done it, and they have about 60% of their cars running diesel. Imagine how much less foreign oil we’d consume if we simply ran half our cars on clean diesel (refer the the article linked above).

As for hybrids and electrics – how “clean” are they when the batteries have to be replaced? People automatically think diesels are “less clean” than hybrids and electrics, but when you start doing some in-depth research, that might not be the case.

Plus, from the perspective of performance, diesel has a ton of appeal over hybrid technology. If you’ve paid any attention to the diesel pickup market, you’d know how much potential diesels have in terms of performance. So from a car guy, here’s hoping Audi is successful with their clean diesel promotion!

Here’s a post with some comparison figures:

http://www.whybuyusedcars.com/2009/07/16/3-reasons-hybrid-car-save-money/