History of the diesel car Production diesel car history started in 1933 with Citroën's Rosalie, which featured a diesel engine option (the 1,766 cc 11UD engine) in the Familiale (estate or station wagon) model. The Mercedes-Benz 260D and the Hanomag Rekord were introduced in 1936. Immediately after World War II, and throughout the 1950s and 1960s, diesel-powered cars began to gain limited popularity, particularly for commercial applications, such as ambulances, taxis, and station wagons used for delivery work. Most were conventional in design. Mercedes-Benz offered a continuous stream of diesel-powered taxis, beginning in 1949 with their 170D powered by the OM-636 engine. Later, in 1959
Diesel Electric railmotor (VR) Diesel Electric railmotor (VR) The Diesel Electric Rail Motor (DERM) was a railmotor operated by the Victorian Railways of Australia. Originally built as a Petrol Electric Rail Motor (PERM), they were the longest-lived railmotor on the Victorian Railways, with the first entering service in 1928 and the last being withdrawn in 1991. The first was built by the Newport Workshops to a design of the St. Louis Car Company. They were powered by Winton Motor Carriage Company petrol engines, until those were replaced in the 1950s by twin Diesel Electric engines providing a power output of . A DERM, with