The History of Diesels: Forgotten Treasures Articles | Automotive

The Diesel Technology revolution is bringing reliability and increases in the fuel economy. There are many people internationally that are enjoying the fruits of the diesel labor. Diesels have had a rich history with the United States economy. The 1980's brought General Motors some success with the modification of the V8 engine to run on diesel fuel. The V8 modifications didn't go as expected and ran slow. They were not reliable but did offer better fuel economy.

The Mercedes Benz had success in the 80's with a selection of vehicles they made with diesel engines. The vehicles were very durable however they brought the customer numbers down a bit with the smelly smoke and noise of the average diesel engine. When Volkswagen took their chance on the diesel vehicle it spit out blue smoke and maintained the tell tale smell of the diesel.

With several tweaks and perks, Mercedes Benz and Volkswagen continued improving and manufacturing the diesel engines and offered them to the United States in the 1990's. With each passing year they grew better and more efficient then the year before. The engines were cleaner and more powerful then their last version. The lack of horsepower made them hard to sell though they continued to make them.

Mercedes, Volkswagen and many other manufacturers have continued to make the diesel engine powered vehicles still today. They sell these vehicles all over the world today. However these new and improved engines offer much more in the way of accelerations...then gasoline parts. Improving the rate in which the car gets to a set distance.

The new diesel engines get anywhere from 0-60 in anywhere from 6-8seconds! The Mercedes Benz C320 CDI SE offers over 360lb/ft of torque and offer a little under 48 miles per gallon on the highway! With current gas prices this can do wonders for your pockets!

North American diesel is a cheaper grade of diesel fuel and it omits more sulfur then the diesel overseas. This will cause havoc on the vehicles overseas. They are currently working on what is called ultra low sulfur diesel fuel. This will soon be available here by the refiners and will reduce the level of sulfur in the fuel dramatically. Now the sulfur is at 500ppm's and with use of the new fuel it will be down to 15ppm. This is a will make a large difference in the type of havoc our diesel can play on the vehicles engine.

Overall diesel engines have come a long way and though there is a lot of work still to do it will improve the reliability and the mileage we get out of fuel. The Manufacturers Volkswagen, Mercedes Benz, and many others will continue to refine our little treasures: Diesel Engines and make them more road efficient. The years are only giving them more ideas and ways to improve them. If you haven’t driven one maybe you should give it a whirl you never know what lies under the hood until you feel the power in your hands!