When buying a new car, one specification that is always given with the car is its fuel mileage. Fuel mileage is how much fuel it takes to power a car or truck to drive a certain distance. Also called fuel economy, fuel mileage is very important because it dictates how much gas you will use up every time you drive a particular distance. This is significant for any car driver because the more miles you can go on a certain amount of fuel, the more money you save on refueling your car.



Fuel mileage and fuel economy should be differentiated from fuel efficiency. Fuel efficiency is how efficient an engine is when it comes to converting fuel to energy. Just about all cars nowadays have increased fuel efficiency due to developments in technology. This does not mean that a car will go any farther, because even if a car's engine is fuel efficient, it may still have bad fuel mileage because the car is big and heavy. The best example of this is in developed countries like the United States, where a large number of people drive large (and extra large) cars and trucks like Hummers and Escalades.

Because of the rapidly increasing costs of fuel, fuel mileage and fuel economy are terms that people are getting more and more familiar with. This is why people are shifting to the use of vehicles with diesel engines. These vehicles are generally more fuel efficient because they use diesel fuel. A tank of diesel fuel allows a vehicle to go farther than a tank of gasoline. In addition, diesel fuel is usually cheaper, although there are taxes and/or standards imposed on diesel fuels in certain areas that increase its price. Nevertheless, diesel continues to gain popularity because of its better fuel economy and efficiency.

Diesel fuel is becoming more and more popular because of its better fuel mileage. The next time you buy a car, choose a model with a diesel engine, especially if diesel costs less than gasoline in your area. Lower cost or not, using diesel fuel still guarantees you better results because you can cover more miles on the same amount of fuel.