Doing my usual due diligence scanning the web for pertinent blog or forum material for my sites, I came across the announcement of Mazda's brand-new 2.2L turbodiesel the company is rolling out for the European market. The specs on this jewel made me salivate, and made me even more jealous of those lucky Europeans. 182 horsepower, 295 lb./ft. of torque, and 42 miles per gallon.

Yet in a cruel tease, the press release also said, "the engine will be gradually rolled out for markets worldwide." Which is code for "We haven't decided whether or not we're going to offer it in the U.S., but if we do, it'll be in about 3 years."

Essentially, I currently have only one option for a diesel car right now. The VW Jetta. Yes, Mercedes offers its Bluetec line, and BMW is about to offer a 3-series and X5 diesel in the U.S. But $50k+ is a little out of range for this working stiff.

If this engine is offered in the next-generation Mazda3 or Mazda5, I would not hesitate a second to buy one. I might even get it over a Mazdaspeed model. Hard to believe, but true. I've sampled just enough of these new-style diesels to be hooked. The combination of power and economy of these newer diesels is remarkable. So what's the hold-up from offering them in the U.S.?

Well, it seems there's a pervasive perception that American consumers are largely ignorant of the virtues of modern diesels, and some customers still have a negative perception of them. Many automotive marketers believe hybrids have a decisive edge in the battle of public opinion, and despite the added cost and weight, hybrids are superior to clean diesels.

My counterpoint would be that there isn't yet a critical mass of diesel car models available in the U.S. for people to have an educated opinion of clean diesel cars. The $50k+ Mercedes and BMW models are beyond the reach of most Americans, and the VW is the only moderately-priced diesel on the market currently.

So us diesel car fans find ourselves in a Catch-22 of sorts. There aren't enough diesel cars on the market for people to get a really good idea about this new technology, yet companies won't commit to selling diesels in the U.S. until there's a high enough perceived customer demand. Supposedly Honda and Acura have some i-DTEC models in the wings about to hit our shores, and a Nissan Maxima diesel may be coming for 2010. So will '10 be the breakthrough year for diesel cars? We can only hope.