Diesels got a bad rep because of the 'converted' diesel engines put forth by GM/Oldsmobile. Rather than designing an engine to be diesel from the start (as would Mercedes, VW or Volvo), they tried to "reverse engineer" a 350 V8 gasoline engine block. Bad idea!
To be fair to GM, many folks who purchased them were not familiar with the maintenance requirements of diesels and would often unknowingly do things that were harmful to the car.
Diesels today are light years ahead of where they once were, and many can rival gasoline engines with regard to overall enjoyment. They put out gobs of torque at lower RPMs, and burn much, much cleaner than even a few years ago.
The overall savings is not as large as it once was, since diesel fuel now costs 15 or 20 cents a gallon more than unleaded regular; thus eroding much of the advantage obtained by getting more miles per gallon of fuel. Diesels are much more popular in Europe because they tax diesel fuel at a much lower rate than unleaded gasoline. {If gasoline were $4 and diesel were $3, we would be seeing more diesel cars here in the states!}
As for trucks, the additional pulling power/torque of a diesel engine speaks for itself - mostly by the number of people who willingly pay a huge premium (over $4000 for most trucks) to get an oil-burner under the hood of their new Dodge Ram, Chevy Silverado or Ford Super Duty. Getting 17 mpg with a diesel rather than 10 or 11 from a gas V-8 is a significant difference that will "pay for" the diesel option in a few short years.
I suppose Toyota will eventually bring a diesel truck to the US market, or at least offer one sourced from their Hino truck division. We have a few Hino cab-overs where I work, and they are all diesel-powered. (Hino is made by Toyota, for those of you who don't know.)
Good night!
P.S. My work truck is diesel-powered, a 2000 International 4900 with a DT466 and a seven-speed manual transmission. It requires a CDL because it is rated at 32,000 pounds.
