Indeed, but the problem is that the German car makers persuaded (arm twisted?) our government that Clean Diesel would be A Thing, and as a result our Government provided incentives and all sorts ... of course we are now Post-Dieselgate and know that none of that was true, but the consequence is that we have a very high percentage of Diesel cars, and thus a pollution / particulates problem to match ...
... maybe it was also an act to reduce foreign imports, from countries where car industry was not big on diesels - such as USA?
Back in 2000 Gasoline car sales in UK were 85% of the market, that fell to 49% in 2016 - Diesel rose from 14% in 2000 to 48% in 2015 but has been falling back since and is projected to fall to 30% by 2020.
"
While diesels have long held a niche role in the U.S. auto market, it is fading fast. Just 28,604 diesels were sold in the U.S. this year [2017]
through April, down 35 percent from the prior-year period"
from
Bloomberg.com
so nothing like the same problem over your way (although you have more pickups than us, particularly down in Texas as I recollect it from my travels
)