Pay Now or Later?

Hybrids are not worth the cost. Honda made straight gasoline engine cars 20 years ago that got better mileage than any hybrid currently on the market. There was the CRX HF, the Civic VX, etc. Then Honda made the first Insight that got around 70 mpg - (may have been only rated ~68, don't remember the exact numbers).

A basic Civic, straight gasoline will get 40 mpg in real driving if you aren't a leadfoot. How many more thousands of dollars are needed to get the Civic hybrid mileage of about 50? Too many. Bad deal. Having said that, IF you are loaded and can afford it, go ahead and buy a hybrid - they DO get better mileage than the CURRENT crop of gas guzzling vehicles being offered.

Diesel should be limited only to industrial vehicles that need the high torque. Diesel is used in the machines that provide our food, distribute it, mine for minerals, distribute it, etc...... If consumer automobiles start adding demand for diesel on top of the high demand from industrial vehicles, the price of diesel will skyrocket, as will the price of food, and other industrial products.

The other reason diesel should not be used in passenger vehicles, (including pickups) is that it stinks. They are not even close to getting the stink out of diesel exhaust- new vehicles are better for a few thousand miles, then things change, and they stink just like the old ones. PU!

Whatever happened to the 1973 Dodge Colt that got an honest 52 mpg. My girlfriend back then had one and we drove it all over Florida and never got less than that, even on the Interstates at 80.