Autoweek reports that a panel of auto executives at the SAE World Congress in Detroit is expecting diesel cars to make up 20 percent of new car sales by 2020. The panel also said it expects about 10 percent of vehicles sold by then to be hybrids. Both of these projections arose from the fact that consumers are increasingly citing fuel economy as one of their top concerns when purchasing a vehicle.

The Autoweek report said that the figures were suggested by BorgWarner CEO Tim Manganello, while other panelists, including Ford Product Chief Derrick Kuzak and Toyota Engineering Vice President Ed Mantey, agreed with the forecast. Manganello based his predictions on patterns in European markets, where consumers have made diesels popular: "Europe is a leading indicator for powertrain technology." The article also said that Magna Co-CEO Don Walker projected there will be 765,000 hybrids on U.S. roads by 2013, though he expects diesels and other technologies to ultimately win out with consumers.

In reviewing the comments below that article, as well as some I've seen here on TechnoRide, I ask you: How does the increased cost of diesel fuel—some 25 to 30 percent, as of late—play into this? Some say that the higher cost of fuel cancels out the increased efficiency of diesel engines. But many diesel cars average upwards of 40 mpg or better—I'm thinking mainly VW TDIs here—which to me sounds like more than a 30-percent gain.

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