Travelling across the desert is a risky activity especially when the car being used is unreliable. It is difficult to find a car that meets specific desert conditions as well as the desert terrain. This is because the desert has unlevelled sand and camouflaged sand dunes that can easily damage the car.
However, there are cars that are tailored to meet such conditions for instance, the Audi Allroad 2.5 Tdi is capable of holding a 7 litre-engine enables a power output of 180 or 162 bph thus allowing less fuel consumption. There are also sports utility vehicles (SUVs) which are designed for off road purposes and are yet fuel efficient. These include the Suzuki, Mitsubishi and Honda.
Four-wheel drives are also fuel efficient and are capable of travelling on all roads for example the 2006 Toyota 4Runner with V6 has a low fuel consumption of 21MPG, the Impreza Wagon, Subaru Outback, the Audi A4 and A6 wagons and also the Honda Element.
Most motorists grapple with the huge task of selecting the most appropriate fuel for their vehicles choice is usually between diesel and petrol.
The proponents of diesel are quick to argue that the benefits of using diesel out weigh those of petrol by far though this is debatable.
Diesel is said to perform highly while emitting much lower emissions of carbon monoxide than petrol while engines run on petrol are less noise polluting and are cheap to repair.
But while petrol may be cheaper, its high carbon emissions and its being non-renewable make it less favorite especially since the world is slowly going green to reduce global warming.
It is however necessary to note that diesel is not without its disadvantages as it is more expensive and cars run on diesel are very noisy.
Perhaps the way forward in this debate is to acknowledge that while this two fuels have their faults; diesel is currently more favorable than petrol but just barely.
The cleaner fuels
Today, automotive fuels also include ethanol and alcohol fuels and bio-gasoline. Alcohols are blended with gasoline in these automobiles or cars due to the less energy per liter exhibited by them. Alcohols are used to increase octane, reduce emissions, and as alternate fuels that can be got from crops. This certainly keeps a check on the green house effects and such automobiles are the need of the hour.
Electricity run automobiles or cars
Electrics are considered superior due to the silent electric motors. They also offer long range and high specific energy. The introduction of the semi-conductor controls and improves batteries and can deliver a high torque at low revolutions, simply convenient isn’t
Gasoline engines have the advantage of being lighter than diesel and they can work at higher rotational speeds. The consistent development of gasoline engines has improved efficiency and reduced pollution. Indirect fuel injection used in aircraft engines is now a part of racing car engines and road cars running on gasoline. The Clean Air legislation has made it mandatory for automobiles or cars running on gasoline to be fitted with catalysts and fuel injection. Gasoline engine automobiles or cars can also run on LPG, with modifications. This does affect the mileage but it still is considered convenient and useful by many.
Diesel-engine cars were first introduced in the 1930s. The diesel fueled automobiles or cars offer 50% fuel burn efficiency, in comparison to the 27% by the best gasoline engines! However, the down-side of these automobiles or cars is the emission of exhaust gases with fine soot particulates. The trend followed by manufacturers today is to fit these automobiles or cars with filters. The versatility of the diesel run automobiles or cars is that most of them can also run on bio-diesel with no modifications! Diesel cars are fast catching on popularity with more and more people turning to diesel run engines.
