Electric vehicles seem to attract headlines, whether their batteries are running low, being automatically swapped out, or catching on fire. But diesel-powered vehicles deserve some consideration, too, as I have pointed out earlier.
Now Audi has launched an advertising campaign in publications including Slate to boost diesel's prospects—at least in competition with gasoline. The ads note that a gallon of diesel fuel contains 147,000 BTUs, compared with 125,000 BTUs for gasoline. They note that you could drive a diesel A6 from Chicago to New York on one tank of fuel—an 800-mile trip that would require a couple of recharge cycles or battery swaps in an electric vehicle.
Audi has resisted a fully electric car pending development of better batteries, but the company is developing a plug-in hybrid A3 that is expected to roll out in 2013. With an expected range of 585 miles, the hybrid e-tron A3 would need one stop on the Chicago to New York trip.