In article m,
Martin Underwood wrote:
Also, I notice that over here, very few diesel-engined cars have
automatic transmission - diesel and automatic seem to be mutually
exclusive.

Not anymore with the larger diesels. I read that the majority of BMW 5
Series diesels are now autos. Of course, small diesels are usually bought
by those wanting 'cheap' motoring, so the extra cost and poorer fuel
consumption would rule against an auto. They also need decent electronic
control to perform well with a diesel.

--
*Black holes are where God divided by zero *

Dave Plowman London SW 12
RIP Acorn