It may not be very surprising that Volvo’s V60 Plug-in
Hybrid was originally set to target the European market. North Americans as a
whole strongly prefer gasoline powered vehicles over diesel (equipped with
diesel fuel pumps and diesel injectors). They also usually prefer SUVs over
wagons. But what is the difference between diesel and gasoline, and why do we
prefer gas?
There are chemical differences between the two as they are
both derived from oil at very different temperatures, but I won’t bore you with
that. The main reason that American’s tend to prefer gasoline over diesel,
although diesel engines get better gas mileage, is because gasoline burns much
cleaner. Diesel engines are also known to be much louder. Because gasoline
engines have a low compression ratio they require spark plugs to ignite the
fuel. In addition to a spark plug they need electrical support from an electric
coil, a distributor, and an alternator. A diesel engine has a much higher
compression ratio and creates enough heat to ignite the fuel at injection, therefore
eliminating the need of a spark plug and additional electrical
support. Both engines create energy in a
four stage process (although differently): the intake stroke, the compression
stroke, the combustion stroke, and the exhaust stroke.
In the past years there have been many improvements in diesel
technology and it is being used more commonly than it has before. In regards to
Volvo’s diesel wagon, they have recently announced the XC60 plug-in hybrid as
the gasoline alternative and it will be headed to US markets soon. This
vehicle can travel up to 35 miles running on just electricity and is said to get about
100mph in Hybrid mode. What’s more important to you, better gas mileage or lower
emissions?
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