If you are used to using only premium gasoline, this cost difference will be less apparent to you but for those who like to fill up with the least expensive option, paying slightly more than the cost of premium fuel may be hard to swallow at first. It is worth noting, however, that diesel fuel is more expensive than gasoline. If you own a truck or SUV, the difference in gas mileage is usually lower but still about 20 percent higher than a gasoline-powered truck or SUV. CarsDirect reports that a diesel car will frequently get about 30 percent more miles per gallon than the same car with a gasoline-powered engine. The main reason that many people choose to buy a diesel car is for the improved fuel efficiency the cars can offer. Just make sure you're covered with an affordable car insurance policy. If you are asking yourself, “Should I buy a diesel car?” you may find it beneficial to weigh out the pros and cons associated with these types of vehicles. However, passenger cars with diesel motors are gaining in popularity, and carmakers are producing more of them each year. Until recently, most of the diesel-powered vehicles in the United States were trucks because diesel motors are much better suited for large, heavy vehicles such as tractor-trailers, construction vehicles and school buses. Some cars are available with diesel engines, and you may be wondering whether buying diesel is a good idea. But, we do understand the need to build a better engine, one that is both economically and environmentally sustainable.When you are shopping for a new car, you have many options. There’s a very real concern about the future availability of petroleum, and we don’t discount that. At Achates Power, we’re developing a more efficient internal combustion engine that not only reduces fuel consumption but also meets stringent emissions standards. Secretary of Transportation, Norman Mineta, which says that “the quickest and most cost-effective way to achieve our energy usage goals is through faster adoption of fuel-efficient downsized gasoline and diesel engines”.
Internal combustion engines aren’t going away. The challenge increases for ships and planes, which is why we’ll use liquid hydrocarbons-a near ideal way to store energy-for a long time, even if eventually the liquid hydrocarbons come from non-petroleum sources like algae, biofuels or gas-to-liquids. The amount of energy needed to carry 80,000 pounds across the country is far too much for batteries. When it comes to long haul trucks, however, electrification isn’t an option. Going forward, I expect that some passenger and commercial vehicles will see an increase in electrification as manufacturers look for ways to improve efficiency.
And, with re-charge times of up to eight hours, fueling is challenging at best. With one billion vehicles on the road today, and a projected two billion in the future, there’s no infrastructure in place currently to support the re-fueling needs of electric vehicles. The same can’t be said for their battery-electric counterparts. Moreover, batteries are expensive-from what I’ve read, around $36,000 for Tesla and $8,000 for Chevy Volt batteries.Īn additional advantage of internal combustion engines is that diesel and gasoline, as liquids, are easily transported, widely available and can be re-fueled quickly. Adding weight and size to vehicles makes them less efficient. The batteries of the Tesla Roadster, for example, weigh 450 kg and have the same amount of energy capacity as less than 1.5 gallons (4.5 kg) of diesel fuel. Diesel fuel has about 100 times the gravimetric energy density as a lithium-ion battery. So why an internal combustion engine and not a battery-electric powertrain? The reason is simple: as long as vehicles have to carry their own energy source, it’s hard to beat the forms of energy that have the most density (by both weight and volume), are easily accessible and are cost effective. Department of Energy released its Quadrennial Technology Review, which said: “the performance, low cost and fuel flexibility of ICEs make it likely that they will continue to dominate the vehicle fleet for at least the next several decades”. Since the 1860s, the internal combustion engine (ICE) has played a significant role in transportation. That’s the question I often get when I tell someone that I work for Achates Power, a company that’s developing a clean, more fuel-efficient diesel engine. “Aren’t we all going to drive electric cars soon?”