First, there was the Model T Ford.
Before that, the veteran Oldsmobile.
And before that was the diesel engine.
Incredibly, the advent of diesel was one of lesser-known
innovations of the 19th century.
Early Beginnings
Obviously the very first engine, constructed by German
inventor Rudolf Christian Karl Diesel in 1892, was not quite
yet up to standard for cars - or any form of transport for
that matter, being incredibly large and generating a minute
amount of power for all its efforts. Eight years later,
Diesel took his engine to the Worlds Fair in Paris, demonstrating
his engine's versatility by successfully running it on peanut
oil.
Developing New Power
Diesel perfected his model and had won the various patent
battles to have his engine named as his own. He managed
to license numerous engines to companies in the US, but
never saw his magnum opus used in a car, dying in 1913 under
mysterious circumstances. He was, however, regarded as years
ahead of his time in considering environmental impact; he
invented his engine with the purpose of producing a power
source with as little exhaust as possible. He had, in effect,
considered hybrid fuels and biodiesels right at his engine's
conception.
Diesel Under The Hood
The first production car to ever employ diesel is something
of a keenly-contested feat between Mercedes and Citroën.
Although Mercedes had widely billed their new car as the
first to use diesel at their unveiling in 1936, Citroën
had managed to replace the engines in their Rosalie range
a few weeks before, though hardly any were sold. For the
sake of argument, the first automobile journey made on diesel
was on a long-distance journey for demonstration purposes,
made six years earlier in the USA.
Modern Times
Diesel was introduced to the wider auto fraternity during
the 1950s, but was notoriously popularised mostly in HGVs
and on the railway networks in the US. In spite of this,
diesel has undergone a transformation in the last two decades.
Engines have become refined, more powerful, cleaner and
quieter. Defying the critics, speedways and grand prixes
were overwhelmed by champion diesels. BMW won with their
320d in the 24 hour race at the Nürburgring in 1998, Audi
triumphed at Le Mans (prompting other competitors to rush
for diesel engines in future races), and only recently JCB
smashed the land speed record twice in two days, pushing
their DieselMax to over 350mph.