I used to have a 1979 rabbit diesel.. yea it got 60 mpg easy, and yea it was slow on acceleration.. but I guess you haven't driven VW new TDI's? the Turbo direct Injected Diesels...I owem a 205 VW TDI PD (no longer avaliable)
they are fast, don't smoke, start up in cold weather in only 5...