I own a VW Beetle diesel. 54 MPG and it’ll run with nearly anything on the road.Not to burst your bubble but since diesel has about 30 percent more BTUs per unit volume, you're running the equivalent of about 36 mpg in terms of energy usage. Still outstanding though. And I hear a new VW diesel coming here soon will get 70 mpg. Now that we are mandating "clean diesel" I hope to see ore diesels on the roads.
I don't think American cars are "junk". Actually the Fords are getting great reviews for quality the last year or two. But the car companies here are slow to respond to the demand for high-mileage, safe cars.