The rest of the world runs on diesels. Outboard motors, lawn mowers, cars and trucks, you name it.
The early American diesels were crummy, loud and smelly. They made a bad first impression.
Emissions concerns have stopped some US manufs and many foreign manufs from selling diesels in the US. It takes some investment to make them legal in the US.
Diesels continue to improve rapidly. Racing at LeMans has had a large impact. Diesels are superior in longevity, torque, fuel mileage and many other factors. Diesel fuel is taxed heavily in the US and requires the removal of sulphur and several different formulations which increases the price. It is a less refined fuel and should always be cheaper than gasoline.
People rationalize all kinds of reasons why they want to stay with gas engines. It is called technological inertia. They are familiar with gas. Going forward it is likely that diesels will take over a larger share of the market. Electric cars, fuel cells and other technologies will also increase. Most of this will happen at the expense of gas engines.
I love my diesel Ford and would love to have a diesel car. Some day they will run only on bio-diesel which we can grow at home.
