There were alotta black students I believe...at least from what I saw on the MTV interview. There was also an asian kid, and I'm gonna go out on a limb and guess there were some hispanic people involved. All I definitely know is that they're inner city students.
Actually, it depends on if you have a diesel engine in the first place. You have to realize that a diesel engine works differently than a gasoline engine. If you notice, a diesel engine doesn't have spark plugs. This is because a diesel ignites the fuel differently. In a gasoline engine, air is pumped into a chamber, then gas and it is all ignited by striking the spark plug, and combustion takes place. In a diesel engine, air is pumped into a chamber and when the fuel is added, it comes out with such a velocity that that it ignites itself when released (it is pressurized), therefore causing combustion in the chamber. Hence any liquid capable of performing the same function as diesel fuel can be used (ever notice how grease can catch fire?). This was the original intent of the diesel engine. However, Diesel as ASSASINATED shortly after he introduced his engine and a petroleum model is what became widely used.
Now if you notice, most earlier diesel engines weren't very efficient. They were okay, but it was nothing special, considering they still ran on petroleum. They simply provided more brute strength. When most people think of a diesel engine, they think of these smoke plume emitting and ear deafening machines that are used in large trucks and tractors. However, in the Americas, we have to get away from that concept. European cars have been widely using diesel for decades. They have different diesel grades just like we have dieffernt octane grades of gasoline. So what has made them more efficient now? TECHNOLOGY. If you notice gasoline engines became more computer controlled in the late eighties and early ninties. This revolution has JUST in the diesel world in the past five years, save for a few German companies. The black soot that you see from old diesel engines is actually wasted fuel and thus wasted horsepower and fuel economy. What is happening is that a complete combustion is not taking place in the engine, generally because of abrupt changes in revving. If you pay attention, newer diesel engines rarely ever emit this soot. The emissions actually rival many Ultra Low Emissions Vehicles (ULEV). Computers now control how much fuel is put into a chamber by constant feedback. Therefore the optimum amount of fuel is added and a more complete combustion takes place. Hence the enginer gets more horsepower and much better fuel economy. With the proper modifications (between $2000 and $5000 worth), even a behemoth like a Ford Excursion can actually get well over 20 mpg and also run 14 second quarter mile times (for those of you that don't know, that's about as fast as most high end sports cars and much faster than your common sedan). As a matter of fact, some of the fastest vehicles in the world are diesels, and they blow the doors off of any comparable gasoline vehicle. All of this is without changing to biodiesel....
Let me ALSO add, that biodiesel isn't the only way that we can have cars that are just as powerful as they are now if not more powerful. ETHANOL is taking the car market by storm. It is much more easier to market because Americans aren't used to seeing the engines already. The E85 vehicles that are currently on the road are fuled by a mixture of ethanol (85%) and gasoline (15%). Biodiesel is similar to E85 in that it is a mixture of ethanol and diesel fuel. E85 flexible vehicles however have been on the market for a few years now. I guess we'll have to wait on on a biodiesel production model vehicle...
