Growth of any size comes at a good time – Volkswagen AG’s planned combination with Porsche won’t lead to job losses at the sports-car maker, even as Porsche’s “considerable” debt complicates merger talks. “Job reductions won’t be part of the acquisition,” Chief Executive Officer Martin Winterkorn said. Diesel sales haven’t harmed VW, its merger with Porsche, or their bank account. The question is, will an “alternative” fuel, which has been around for decades ever fully catch on – meaning can we ever go to clean diesel for the sake of environment, and our pockets?

One of the main reasons alternative fuels have yet to flood the market is accessibility. Diesel saves your MPG, but until recently cost much more then regular unleaded gasoline – that was before we saw $3 and $4 per gallon last summer. But North Americans, specifically in the US, need to become used to clean diesel over regular gasoline – and auto makers have to get on the ball when producing cars that run on such fuel. Maybe VW has taken those baby steps, along with other German auto makers like BMW & Mercedes, towards re-introducing America to diesel.