The Diesel Diaries (Day 1)

The mission is simple: Fill the tank with diesel, drive until it's drained and see where I've ended up.

The vehicle: An '11 Audi Q7 TDI. Fully loaded. With people (5) and stuff (too much), not options.

Starting position: The banks of the Detroit River, in the shadow of GM headquarters. Direction: East.

Changed the menu language to metric. Just because four-digit range (1,040 km) is so much more impressive than three (645 mi.) And because if you drive any direction except north or west from Detroit, you're in Canada.

With the cruise-control at 118 km/h (maximum allowed without getting a ticket on 100 km/h highway), the torquey 225-hp 3.0L TDI hums smoothly along at 1,900 rpm. Fuel-economy: a steady 29 mpg. (Yes, I know. MPG is not metric. But nobody should use "litres per 100 km." It's meaningless.)

First observation: Diesel engines don't run on diesel fuel. They're powered by voodoo.

Just over 130 km into the drive, I've gained 10 km of range.

Second observation: My youngest daughter will NOT listen to Crosby, Stills and Nash.

Stay tuned.