<but b/c a tdi is so slow i don't have problem getting away from <them anyway

TRY to pass my VW TDi on the freeway.... Go ahead, TRY.

Forget about even TRYING if we are climbing a steep grade... No Contest. You won't even be close.

Stoplight gran prix, well, I get low 2.2 sec 60 ft times on STOCK economy tires and wheels, and about 400 bucks in mods.

THere is a guy in the UK with a 14.2 second 1.9 Tdi. Still gets 40 MPG.

If I want low emissions I will ride a bicycle.

Sure you can get a junkyard turbo, but will it run well on pump gas? Will it get over 20 MPG driving 50 mph? (I get 40 driving 90+ everyday) Will it last 500,000 miles? Will it have a warranty?

Do you shift your car at 6k+ rpm all day? What happens to your economy then? I drive my car hard all the time and get 40 mpg. It sure is fun.

Before my Golf, I had a H23a Prelude '92, an 88 CRX Si before that, and an '84 CRX Before that. The Prelude lasted 8 years and 200k before I sold it for the VW, but used a quart every 4-600 miles. Shift any of these hondas below 4000 rpm and its a dog. But that's how most people drive.

I can say without qualification that my VW is the most fun car I have EVER owned. Its no Vette or NSX but damn is it fun. A GSR or Civic Si is limp-wristed as hell unless you drive it like you stole it revving the pee out of it, then it's just OK.

<Flame shield on>

It is the crappy fuel we have here that is holding back the diesels. Don't count them out yet.

Hybrids, eh.... Ever heard of Conservation of Energy? The battery charging and discharging in a hybrid is not 100% efficient... not even close. The fuel economy is achieved by making the car little more than a tin can with wheels. My VW is SOLID as a tank (but doesn't feel heavy) and feels like a real car not a torqueless rollerskate.