[Pete04222]

Marni had a Nissan XTerra and it was a good car but didn't get great gas mileage. Here we are, we got 5 cars, 4 of them are 4WD and one is a Ferrari. We need a good daily driver for her, one that gets good gas mileage (she put 60k miles on her XTerra in 2 years). I was thinking a VW Jetta TDI and we drove one, nice car but it was a standard, she wants an automatic. We drove the Honda Civic Hybrid, again, nice car but in 8 years it needs $2,000 worth of batteries. So I said "What do you want?" She said "I Always wanted a Mercedes". So we went online to the local dealer and he had 3 diesel cars. We drove down and he had 1 left.
We ended up driving home in it. A '99 E-300 Turbo Diesel sedan. I guess you can still get diesel MB's in Europe but in the US the '99 is the last year they were available. Awesome car! Drives like a gas-powered V-8 but gets 36 mpg!

 

[Andrew]

Pete,
Awesome parking job with the Jeep. Absolutely wonderful.

 

['75 308 GT4 (Peter)]

Nice. I agree, that parking job with the jeep is hilarious. Make sure it doesn't roll into the brand new Benz though...

 

[Dane]

Pete,

It's almost looking Ferrari friendly there! Is that true?? Has break-up started? I hope so as I know it's been a long winter for you northern folks!

Forza,

Dane

 

[Dr. Bob]

Yeah, that Jeep is parked wonderfull, but my guess is that it took some time to get back in it... aspecially on the left side... :-?

 

[Dj Dirk]

:lol:
Pete
nice parking job man, did you do that on purpose for the pics??

and there are no diesel merc available in the US???
why did they stop importing them?

 

[Pete04222]

To All,
No I didn't park it there for the pic, it just happen to be there and got into the pic. I was out driving around on the lawn trying to winch out my car trailer and that's where I left it when I was done. When it comes to parking, you can always find a spot with the Jeep!

Bob - I am going to work tomorrow for 3 weeks, I am willing to bet that the Jeep will be level when I get back so it shouldn't be too hard to get into it.

Dane - Almost Ferrari weather! Last couple of days have been real spring-like. I was able to screw up the ambition to work on my car and got it running. The snow and ice is melting but it ain't quite Ferrari weather yet. The roads are a mess because of the run-off.

DJ - Yeah, '99 was the last year the diesel was available in an American-market Benz. Supply and Demand I guess. Gas is (was) cheap and people want the quiet, smoothness and power of a gas engine. As the fuel prices climb back up I am willing to bet MB will re-introduce the diesel to the American market.

 

[Dj Dirk]

man you are crazy
"and that's where I left it when I was done" :lol:

well over here diesel is cheaper, so people that drive a lot get a diesel, and besides the new diesel engines nowadays are a lot quiter and they have a lot of HP.
i've driven an Audi A8 and Merc S diesels and i can tell you that they are very quit and lot's of HP

 

[HRH_Nick]

I must also commend you on the way you parked that Jeep, Pete. And as long it doesn't roll into the Mercedes, that car should last you a long time. I've heard that a diesel Mercedes can survive as long as a million kilometers.

Looks like the US is similar to Australia when it comes to fuel choices. I can't understand why some people seem to resent diesel power. Still, as fuel prices went up in Australia, so did the variety of diesel powered cars available.