I will soon be commuting from pastoral RI to the RT 128 armpit in MA. The total distance via Mapqwest isn't bad, 51 miles one way, but I know the route and it is an infamous traffic jam both ways. How well does the OM617 take to lots and lots of idle time? How well do the trannys hold up to frequent stop-n-go. What can I do to help prepare my 196,000 sedan to hold up under these conditions? My A/C doesn't work now, but I will have to have it fixed for the summer. Does the A/C work for squat at idle? I am going to try to stick with R12. Although the car will undergo extensive traffic jams, there will be enough hi-speed driving that I think I'll avoid carbon build-up related issues. Is it true a diesel uses very very little fuel at idle compared to a gasser.
What I really need is a new job, hard as hell for us 50+ year old geezers :-)