Well heck, let's change the subject--this is a discussion forum afterall... We all know the ol' 240D is alright!

Oops, my bad... diesel fuel, *by quantity*, does have a higher energy density than gasoline--gallon vs gallon. Diesel fuel is much heavier, and its molecule chains are longer.

By weight, gasoline would win of course... for example, 40 lbs of gasoline does have more potential energy than 40lbs of diesel fuel. I must have been thinking in those terms.

I may not have been very concise or specific with my displacement remark, so here's a more pragmatic explanation--see if you agree:

There is so much more Hydrogen and Carbon in a certain quantity of diesel fuel, it requires a whole lot more oxygen in order for complete oxidation to take place. Thus, one either needs more displacement OR some forced induction... otherwise you'll end up with a 72bhp 2.2 liter naturally aspirated 4 cylinder diesel, when similar sized 8 valve gasoline engines can do about 130bhp with similar street tuning.

Ahhh, yes... then there's the added benefit of smoking people in a diesel! Though sometimes I'm embarrassed to "floor it" because of the smoke... other times (with a tailgater) I'm thankful that I have that little feature--good for hours of entainment!

-Joe