Petrol prices hiked screamed the newspaper heading. We know that prices of things always goes up, courtesy inflation, but prices of petrol have gallopped.  Fuel prices -hike in petrol, diesel, kerosene, LPG-pinches EVERYONE’s pocket.  The image below shoes the hike in fuel prices in Delhi since June 2002.

It has a brutal impact on the entire economy. It becomes a pain at the pumps, in the houses and even in the industries. Indian politicians claim that the common man will be pushed into poverty and privation by the price hike, while farmers and agriculture will be ruined.  It compels and threatens to change the way we live, eat, enjoy and travel.  Rising fuel prices is continuously affecting the lifestyles. People are continuously restricting themselves from buying new cars and even from going for a long drive. Rise in fuel price is devastating.

People  blame the government for being insensitive to public concerns. Citizens from all walks of life are demanding a reduction in the exorbitant taxes levied on petrol. “This hike is totally unjustified. This is nothing but loot of the common man by the government. A product which costs Rs 30 is being sold at Rs 60, which is a 100 per cent taxation. We call for its roleback”. The picture below shows why the fuel bill is on fire(courtesy Times of India)

No we are not the only one, our neighbour countries are struggling too.

A great article on Fuel price hike at cpic.net.in

 Alternative to Petrol Car

Petrol price hikes are  influencing the car buying decision of people and are making people look for alternative to Petrol car. An interesting article at carazoo.com is=”http://www.carazoo.com/article/1306200803/Whats-Best—Petrol,–Diesel,-CNG,-LPG,-Electricity,-or-Hybrid” target=”_blank” rel=”nofollow”> What’s Best – Petrol, Diesel, CNG, LPG, Electricity, or Hybrid?

Comparison of a petrol engine and Diesel engine.

 

 Diesel  costs less and diesel cars give more mileage. The question boils down to Is diesel car worth the extra cost?

Bottom Line: A diesel car is the more economical choice –but only if you drive a lot.

DwsAuto has a amazing article on “Should you buy a diesel car or a petrol car?” comparing Maruti swift petrol and diesel for our calculations here. To read  =”http://www.dwsauto.com/should-i-buy-a-diesel-car-or-a-petrol-car/” target=”_blank” rel=”nofollow”>Click here

Diesel car at Cost of Petrol

But what if you get the diesel car at the cost of Petrol car. An answer to all your fuel prayers.  Fiat has come up with =”http://fiat-india.com/upgrade_to_multijet.aspx?partner=id8″ target=”_blank” rel=”nofollow”>THE FIAT UPGRADE OFFER. Buy any Fiat Linea or Punto car today and you could get lucky with a free upgrade to Fiat Multijet diesel technology – for the price of a petrol car.

=”http://fiat-india.com/upgrade_to_multijet.aspx” rel=”nofollow”>

Fiat and diesel engine development

Fiat Group has long been at the forefront of diesel engine development, and pioneered both direct injection (1986 Fiat Croma TD i.d.) and ‘Unijet’ common-rail technology (1997 Alfa Romeo 156 JTD). Five years later, in 2002, the group debuted Multijet technology with the 140bhp 1.9 JTD 16V, before rolling it out across all of its diesel models, including the revolutionary 1.3 16V Multijet, or SDE (Small Diesel Engine).

=”http://www.fptmultijet2.com/” rel=”nofollow”>

The original common-rail diesel technology, developed first by Fiat and known as UniJet, used two injections of fuel into the cylinder. This radically improved the noise and vibration created by the traditional diesel engine. The next development that came created more control over the injectors, both by the computer and the physical behaviour of the injectors themselves. Named for its ability to have up to seven injections into the cylinder each time, the MultiJet was born. 

It enables the engine management computer to optimise the combustion for every combination of driver demand (the accelerator pedal) and engine speed, and create the best possible injection sequence. It means a quieter, more comfortable drive for both the driver and passengers, with lower vibration levels, better fuel consumption and improved responsiveness. All Fiat diesel engines use our MultiJet techn

The jury of the International Engine of the Year Awards elected the 1.3 litre MultiJet turbodiesel engine produced by Fiat and GM as International Engine of the Year 2005 in the 1.0-1.4-litre category. It’s a very smooth and quiet diesel application that offers fine driveability and performance, combined with economy”. Swedish judge Lasse Sward summed the engine up thus: “Small, lightweight, smart and very fuel efficient”. =”http://www.carpages.co.uk/fiat/fiat-multijet-diesel-engine-04-06-05.asp” target=”_blank” rel=”nofollow”>Ref

A next breakthrough in diesel technology:  MultiJet 2

Multijet 2 now represents the next leap forward in refinement of the fuel delivery process. It consists of a brand-new system of injection pump and solenoid injectors, which will be supplemented in time with a further twin-piston pump development. The main improvement over existing Multijet injectors is in the system’s further improvement in the ability to finely control the fuel flow, to the notable benefit of emissions and low-mid-range torque. Pictures below show the difference between MultiJet and MultiJet-2

 

The video of  MultiJet in action  can be seen at =”http://www.fptmultijet2.com/” rel=”nofollow”>fptmultijet2.com

Interested readers can read details of JTD or uniJet Turbo Diesel, a Fiat Group’s term for its current common rail turbo diesel engine range at =”http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/JTD_engine” rel=”nofollow”>Wiki. Interesting multijet2 video at =”http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZnFAEDgnfss” target=”_blank” rel=”nofollow”>YouTube.

I wanna do Moon walk of Micheal Jackson and sing ” So Beat it, Just Beat it”  for I have found a way to beat the fuel price hike.

Note: this is entry for contest on indiblogger  for the contest =”http://www.indiblogger.in/topic.php?topic=39″ target=”_blank” rel=”nofollow”>Freedom from fuel hikes!