Today, Mercedes, BMW, Jaguar, Volkswagon, Ford, and many other manufacturers are offering diesels to many markets throughout the world. To put it simple, forget everything you know or think you know about diesel engines in the United States.

These newer engines benefit from hundreds of technical innovations. There are several diesels in Europe that offer better acceleration than their gasoline counter parts. BMW’s 120d has 163bhp, goes 0 - 60 in under 8 seconds, and achieves 49.6 miles per gallon.

Benz offers the C320 CDI SE that has 224bhp, and over 360 lb foot of torque. This car gets just under 48 mpg on the highway, with an acceleration of 0 - 60 in under 7 seconds. Throughout North America, you won’t find a gasoline engine that offers this unique blend of fuel economy and excellent performance.

The reason why diesels haven’t caught on in North America comes down to one word - sulfur. We have too much sulfur in the diesel here in the United States. This cheap grade of diesel fuel will run havoc on the more sophisticated diesels offered overseas and cause an increase in emissions.

There is hope however, as refiners will soon be producing what is known as ultra low sulfur diesel fuel. This will help to reduce the sulfur content from 500ppm to 15ppm.

Diesel engines are more efficient. Due to the higher compression ratios, diesel engines tend be heavier than the equivalent gasoline engine. Diesel vehicles and diesel engines tend to be more expensive than gas.

Because of their weight and compression ratio, diesel engines tend to have lower RPM ranges than gas engines. This gives diesel engines more torque rather than higher horsepower, and this tends to make diesel vehicles slower in terms of acceleration. Diesel engines have to be fuel injected, and in the past fuel injection was very expensive and less reliable.

Diesel engines tend to produce more smoke and smell very funny when compared to gasoline engines. They are harder to start in cold weather and if they contain glow plugs, the diesel engines may require you to wait before you start the engine so that the glow plugs can heat up. Diesel engines are much noisier than gas engines and tend to vibrate quite a bit. Diesel fuel is less available than gas.

As the demand for vehicles grew, the demand for fuel grew as well. Other actions and events have played into the equation as well, resulting in the rising costs of fuel. As you may know, a majority of the gas we get at local gas stations comes from overseas, primarily the Middle East. Therefore, we have to pay taxes and such on the gas we use, which pays for the gas as well as the shipping. If we got our gas from within the United States, one can’t help but wonder whether or not the prices would indeed be lower.

Diesel on the other hand, has always managed to keep a price lower than gas. Diesel comes from within the United States, so the prices are of course going to be lower. The only problem associated with diesel fuel is locating it, as many gas stations don’t sell it.

When it comes to the choice between the two, diesel fuel is obviously cheaper to buy. Gas is in supply more, which means that you can find it almost anywhere. If you own a gasoline vehicle, you obviously don’t want to put diesel in it. If you own a diesel vehicle, then you of course wouldn’t want to put gas in it either.