Click on the image for a gallery of high-res images of diesel vehicles at the Brisbane Motor Show.

At the Brisbane Motor Show, which started on Friday, a host of car manufacturers had fuel-efficient diesel models on display including GM Holden, Mazda, Renault, Alfa Romeo, Fiat, Ford, Audi, Saab, SsangYong, Toyota, Hyundai, BMW, Peugeot, Citroen, and Volkswagen (may have missed one in there). Many of the displays made diesel a key focus to demonstrate improved fuel economy to an Australian market which has shifted away from full-sized sedans to smaller, medium and compact vehicles in the last two years as fuel prices have risen.

As expected, the European manufacturers have led the way with the introduction of diesel passenger cars since Australia's diesel fuel standard was improved sufficiently enough to work correctly in the latest generation diesel passenger engines. Holden did have their Astra diesel and Mazda had their Mazda 6 sedan diesel on display as well however. Soft off-roaders running on diesel included the Hyundai Santa Fe and the upcoming SsangYong Actyon Sports.

Analysis: Hyundai markets their Santa Fe as "Australia's most fuel efficient SUV", while Ford had signage up reinforcing their commitment to diesel and almost Renault's entire display was focused on diesel's benefits. Fuel economy has become a critical selling factor in the last few years and the auto makers are certainly responding.



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Click on the image for two high-res images of the BP Ultimate Unleaded GM Holden Monaro.

BP had a display at the Brisbane Motor Show promoting their Ultimate Unleaded high octane fuel as improving performance and so reducing fuel consumption. BP Ultimate Unleaded has an octane rating of 98 in comparison to regular unleaded fuel in Australia has an octane rating of 91. Ultimate Unleaded also has three times less sulphur than regular unleaded plus engine cleaning additives resulting in cleaner emissions and more effective and complete combustion.

BP's display had a modified GM Holden Monaro where half the cylinders of the V8 engine were fed regular unleaded, while the other half were simultaneously fed Ultimate Unleaded. Used fuel intake valves had been removed from the engine to display the build up of carbonaceous deposits on the regular unleaded valves compared to the virtually clean Ultimate Unleaded valves. TVs also displayed video of the inside of the fuel intake manifold where again, the regular unleaded had coated the walls with carbonaceous deposits in comparison to the clean walls of the Ultimate Unleaded manifold.

In terms of actual performance results and fuel efficiency benefits, BP says that "Ultimate Unleaded can give you up to 8.3 percent more power, with an average power gain of 5.9 percent. Ultimate Unleaded can increase fuel economy by up to 4.2 percent with an average benefit of 2.8 percent."

Analysis: BP sells their Ultimate Unleaded product at a significant premium over regular unleaded so buyers need to be convinced of the benefits. Lower sulphur emissions and better performance is a good place to start - after all, 2.8 percent really adds up on millions of barrels of oil.



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[Source: BP]