Prior to the scandal, the VW TDIs had quite a following in this part of the country. And Mercedes diesels before them. So there definitely WAS demand for them. What's uncertain is how many of the current and former TDI owners are willing to go for another diesel after getting burned by VW.
I have been contributing a bit here for the last few months as a VW TDI owner. Most of us TDI owners who are also car guys do not feel "burned by VW". They designed and built a car that they thought the owners wanted (they did) but they cheated the EPA on emissions testing. Let me tell you how satisfied an owner I am.
My Golf is a 2011 and now has 110,000 miles (165,000 km). It is a 6 speed stick shift and I am on the original clutch and brakes. I am on my 2nd set of tires and have only spent $75 for a replacement coil spring in 6 years. Am I unhappy, hell no.
So would I buy a diesel again? Well that is what I am doing on this site. Besides me there are 100s of thousands of others who have not replaced theirs yet and some of them are waiting on Mazda like me. Why do I like diesels? Mainly because of the torque. The cars feel way more powerful than gas cars when starting from a stop, entering a freeway or passing a truck. Critics argue that you don't get that good fuel mileage driving in town and that is true. Instead of getting the 45 mpg I expect on the highway I get between 33 and 36 mpg around town. The thing is you just don't know until you drive one for a while.
Yes, I have been annoyed waiting for the release of the CX-5 and have been looking at other diesel models. We'll see who wins out.