Before 1981, performance was simple. Auto manufacturers just created bigger engines, more cylinders, and louder exhausts like the Pontiac 7.5L V8 engine, used in models like the GTO, Firebird Trans Am ...

About a decade after Rudolf Diesel came out with the namesake engine, someone had the great idea to stick a turbocharger onto the diesel engine, creating the turbo diesel. As it turned out, the ...