Sales of diesels, in UK, fall.
 

Sales for new diesel cars, here in the UK, fell by 30% in October, compared with October last year. This continues a month on month trend for falling diesel sales.
The prices of "pre-owned" diesels has also taken a dive. For UK customers, in the market for a diesel, now is the time to begin thinking about buying.

If the US had diesel cars from any other brand than VW and Mercedes, I'd have bought one a decade ago. That alone is the reason I don't own one.

As an aside, if Europe is as urbanized as I'm lead to believe, and the public transportation as developed, then I can see no reason not to own an EV. Drive the EV locally; take public transit or borrow a friend's petrol car for the longer trips.

That is my intention. I will be moving, sometime soon, to a house with a drive, a garage, and power outside. I will get an EV then. It will do for 95% of my needs and public transport will satisfy the rest.

So if I never retire, I can extend the middle third of life. I guess that makes me middle aged.

It's mostly due to politics rendering Diesel engines not viable for smaller cars, not just due to tight emission requirements but also due to other strategies such as limiting the traffic in certain places. At least in Spain, I'm aware there are restrictions on the traffic and parking in downtown Madrid under certain high-NOx conditions, and hybrids are excempt from such restrictions. The increasing availability of hybrids and a ressurging interest in gaseous fuels throughout Europe might also influence in this move.

Exactly. And with great public transport there is less need to take your car into the city.
Scotland has just built a new road bridge across the Forth, which I use to travel to Edinburgh. The old bridge, the middle of the three bridges here,
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DNnkzG1WsAAt_I-.jpg
is dedicated to public transport (scheduled buses, taxis, cyclists and pedestrians).
I can drive to a huge, FREE, car park, 7 miles north of the bridge, and from there I can get a bus into the centre of Edinburgh (£6.40/$8.40 for a return ticket- free for me as an OAP). The bus uses dedicated bus lanes to the city boundary, then prioritised lanes right into the centre of the city. A journey of 18 miles.