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New Commercial Shows Diesel-Powered Vehicles In New Light

By John Ostapkovich

PHILADELPHIA (CBS)--Buying a car has come a long way from Henry Ford's famous statement that a customer could have any color desired, as long as it was black.

"Lady, that's diesel!!!"

"I know."

That's the punch line from the clever Audi commercial pitting our expectations of what a diesel-powered vehicle looks like against the new reality.

EPA charts rate recent models of diesel vehicles as getting maybe 35 miles per gallon city-highway combined, but some owners report doing much better.

Doug Skorupski of Volkswagon, with a list of clean diesel models, says about 50 percent of filling stations have a diesel pump.

"When you ask somebody who doesn't own a diesel engine, are they concerned about the availability of diesel if they were to purchase a diesel vehicle, they definitely would say yes. When you ask that same question to somebody that owns a diesel vehicle, is there any issue filling up, finding diesel fuel stations and the answer is no."

Diesel vehicles and fuel cost more but Skorupski says a little number crunching shows a driver may be ahead of the game after three or four years, depending on fuel economy and driving habits.

Clean diesel is the result of now-required Ultra Low Sulfur Diesel fuel.

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