I just spent two weeks in southern Spain on vacation. The rental car I had reserved before leaving wasn't available at the airport when I arrived, so they gave me a free upgrade - to a brand new (1600 kilometers on it) Opel Meriva 1.7 diesel w/5 spd. It looks like a F*rd Focus-sized minivan. Ran like a scalded cat! My imprecise observation was that about 40% to 50% of the cars on the road were diesel. You want a Honda Accord w/diesel? No problem. Same for GM, D-C, F*rd products. A lot of japanese sedans & minivans with diesels. Not to mention european products (Citroen, Peugeot, Renault, Fiat, etc). Not surprising, I guess, with diesel fuel over USD $4.50/US gallon. Gasoline tops $5/gal. heck, they even have a class of "cars" in Europe called micro cars that are so small they don't require a driver's license - and at least one of the mfgrs (AIXAM) offers a couple of different models with small Kubota diesel engines. You can do a search on AIXAM and look at them. Metal frame with plastic body. The locals call them "hijo de puta" because when you get stuck behind one, you can't get around them on the narrow roads and they really slow down traffic. They're registered, but carry a MOPED tag.
When will the manufacturers wake up and realize that a lot of these products would be good sellers here. I saw a Jeep Liberty with a diesel (although the badge on it said Cherokee, it was Liberty body). I have a GM SUV and a GM sedan in addition to my truck, but would sure jump on a diesel when it comes time to replace vehicles.
Charlie