Ford widens diesel gateway

As the popularity of the diesel in Europe continues to soar, Ford, in collaboration with PSA, is further expanding its Diesel Center's production in the UK. Phil Lake, Ford of Europe's Chief Engineer, Diesel Engines, gives AEI a tour of the facility and the technology.

Listen carefully to passing cars on almost any road in Europe and you can expect to hear a gasoline engine, then a diesel, then a gasoline engine, then a diesel. The huge popularity of the ever-quieter and smoother diesel as the provider of adequate power, towering torque, low fuel consumption, and equally low CO₂ emissions has ensured a market position that, on average across much of Western Europe, is on a par with gasoline.

Advances in its technology have put the diesel's popularity on a steep upward curve as an acceptable power unit for the car. Major developments were the introduction of the turbocharger for mass production by Daimler-Benz and shortly afterwards Peugeot, in 1978-79; the emergence of direct injection in 1984 on the Ford Transit van and in 1986 on the Fiat Croma car; and, particularly, the introduction of common-rail technology, again by Fiat Auto, for the Alfa Romeo 156 in 1997.