VW was the only major automaker selling affordable diesel powered passenger vehicles in the United States. You could, for instance, buy a diesel-powered Jetta sedan, Golf or Beetle for about $22k. Not anymore.

At least, not for awhile.

VW announced yesterday (Wednesday; see here) that it will withdraw emissions certification applications tendered to the EPA for all 2016 model year diesel-powered VW passenger car models. This means they will not be legal for sale in the U.S.

Which means they will not be sold.

Which means, if you want an affordable diesel-powered car, you had better hurry to your local (or not-so-local) VW dealer and buy a 2015 Jetta, Golf or Beetle TDI before the remaining inventory runs out.

After that, you'll be out of luck.

With the diesel VWs out of the game, there is only one diesel-powered car remaining that costs less than $30,000. That would be the diesel-powered version of Chevy's Cruze sedan, a kinda-sorta rival of the Jetta TDI's. Kinda-sorta, because it's about the same size. But it's much more expensive. Base price: $25,660 vs. $21,640 for the VW.

A difference – a price jump – of about $4,000.

Now, the Chevy's a nice car. But its price tag – the price difference – does a number on the economic argument for the diesel engine under its hood. You will have to drive many miles before the savings at the pump make up for what you paid up front. And that, as they say, is the rub.

VW's "sin" was to sell affordable diesels.

When people ponder purchasing a diesel-powered car, they weigh the diesel's mileage vs. that of an otherwise similar gas-engined car and base their decision about which to buy on whether the diesel's higher price "up front" would be amortized over time by the diesel engine's superior fuel efficiency. If it is, then the diesel makes economic sense.