Diesel history...
 

The history of the diesel engine is very interesting! Dr. Rudolph Diesel's initial attempts at running an engine on coal dust (coal was common) were a failure. In his attempt to salvage the basic concept, he tried coal oil. Long story short, it worked....

Further polishing led to putting the beast in a car...the rest is history.

Dr. Diesel and his engine competed with the early gasoline-powered automobiles in the U.S. The looming impact on sales in this country was noted.

Tragically, Dr. Diesel was reported to have "fallen overboard" while on a steamer on one of his trips across the Atlantic. Thus sayeth an old edition (now long gone) of the Encyclopedia Brittanica. Hmmm....

Triva, who built the first production Diesel car? BTW, Mercedes Benz was second.