For most people the word diesel simply makes them think of a type of fuel, or the engines that burn that fuel. Typically these engines are associated with big trucks, heavy equipment, giant ships, and less commonly, the performance sector of tractor pulling and drag racing. It is only recently that the more common cars, and luxury sedans and SUVs are being outfitted with diesel technology. Either way, all of this comes back to diesel being related purely to the engine and fuel that powers them.

That being said, the word diesel can mean something entirely different to another group of people. According to wikipedia, “Dieselpunk is a genre similar to that of its more well-known cousin “steampunk” that combines the aesthetics of the diesel-based technology of the interwar period through to the 1950s with retro-futuristic technology and postmodern sensibilities. Coined in 2001 by game designer Lewis Pollak to describe his role-playing game Children of the Sun, the term has since been applied to a variety of visual art, music, motion pictures, fiction, and engineering.”

While the dieselpunk style is commonly applied to costumes and props, we find the art deco diesel-powered vehicles to be very cool. For example you may recall a video post on a dieselpunk inspired motorcycle. Moreover, we have seen a slight emergence of some seriously cool looking diesel-powered rat rods and rat trucks. The copper, brass, and overwhelming display of mechanics seems to go hand in hand with the rawness of a no-frills diesel. We look forward to seeing more of these cars in the future, and maybe there will be more crossover between the dieselpunk and diesel technology cultures moving forward.