Choosing Gasoline or Diesel Powered?

I think you've got a problem with defining the issue in terms of torque, despite what some may say. First, horsepower is defined as lifting 33000 lb-feet per minute which dimensionally is equal to moving a weight up a hill at some speed. So horsepower is whatmoves the weight. The other fact which seems to escape some people is that there is gearing in between the engine and the rear wheels, which multiplies torque. So, for example, if I am driving a diesel with 1000 lb-ft of torque at 1000 RPM, I apply that through a set of gears such that I turn the rear wheels at 60 MPH. Now, if I have a gasser that delivers 500 lb-ft at 2000 RPM, the gearing will be such that the rear wheels also turn at 60 MPH. Assuming the same wheels and tires, the gearing will be twice that of the diesel, and the torque will be multiplied by a factor of two, thus giving the SAME torque at the rear wheels for both the gasser and the diesel. (Note that because HP is torque times RPM, both engines have the same HP at the defined engine speeds). Why do people prefer the diesel then?- because it's running at half the speed and thus doesn't seem to be working as hard. It's even more obvious if you've got a gasser running flat out at 4500 RPM right under your feet. It's also obvious that if you have a 500 HP diesel it will climb better than a 300 HP gasser.
Ed