I've had the opposite experience with VW. I've got 3 Jetta TDI's (03 - 175K, 04 - 110K, 05 - 90K miles) and will soon be adding a 4th. No reliability/quality-control issues with any of them. We pretty much abuse the crap out of these things. I've found they're VERY difficult to find and command a premium on the used market.
Also, owning a car that is efficient doesn't necessarily mean one is a global warming lemming. I'm the biggest 'denier' you'd ever want to meet
I also save $200 per vehicle per week in fuel costs versus the old vehicles we were driving. That's real money in my pocket to spend on gas-guzzling weekend fun cars.