This is another interesting diesel article, but I feel insulted when the author said that the diesels we owned are "slow, quirky and not worth the fuss as as gasoline was cheap." I assume he does not own a diesel!
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/27/automobiles/27cars.html

But the writer mostly missed the mark right off the bat, beginning with his premise, that Mercedes Benz is going to build a car that is affordable to the masses of people, which Mercedes Benz is not going to do, nor do most new car Mercedes Benz drivers want to happen in the first place, in my opinion. The article is weak in another area that reporters and writers frequently run into with out them even realizing it and that is: you can't really write about what you don't know about even though the writer can write the article PERFECTLY in terms of pure writing, but the substance of the article is like driving in a car with a sight impaired individual (blind person), even though he can buy a car and know where the steering wheel and the brakes are located, but as of today, that person will never be a good driver, because he can't make the connection of being able to see the road as being premise #1, with everything else associated with driving being a secondary issue. Same with being able to keep a SECRET; the writer can't write about what he doesn't know about. And for certain there are lots of secrets that reporters can't write about, but we need them to be writing about them, so we, the public, can really know what is going on, like with high gas prices.

Also, holding light diesels to the same standards of emissions that gas cars are adherred to is counter-productive, at best, in my opinion, when big trucks continue to blow black smoke almost continuously, since big trucks are always moving, were as, a light diesel is going to be used to get to work and take a vacation once or twice a year for most owners of diesels. But the biggest problems with diesels in the U.S. is that not enough people UNDERSTAND diesels and know how they work, in my opinion. And the argument about "light" diesels "CAN CAUSE CANCER" or are "LINKED" to cancer is weak too, when GLOBAL GREENHOUSE WARMING from gas powered engines exhaust is causing the ice caps at the NORTH and SOUTH poles to melt, which is causing more potent hurricanes and is going to flood the land until we will have to go to Mars or some other planet to live for lack of "dry" land here on Earth as a result of all of the gasoline exhaust emissions warming up the Earth. But the article was nicely written, however.

BenzDiesel

Hey, it's always a good thing when diesel engines get good press in the U.S.

As far as the cancer is concerned, I thought gassers were thought to be just as carcinogenic. Diesels may produce more carcinogenic chemicals, but my understanding is the particles are too large to lodge themselves in your lungs. Not true for gasoline emission particulate, which is much smaller...

The only bad thing about more diesel vehicles here that I can think of is that if a new wave of diesel vehicles hits the U.S., our old MB's may be worth less.

On the other hand, if diesels become more popular, maybe the old MB's will be seen by more people as classics and their value will increase....but if I could predict these sorts of things I would be much wealthier than I am.

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Ralph

1985 300D Turbo, CA model
248,650 miles and counting...

Thats a good thing for us though, I'm not going sell anytime soon, and that means more for us at a lower price. Though I'm not saying I wouldn't mind my sd being a "classic".

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"spreading a trail of obnoxious where ever we go"
1981 300sd w/ 341,500 miles

http://www.wecrash.com/pics/ddda_banner.gif

Well, I think it's just starting. Diesel W123s and W126s are now starting to see their values go up.

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'81 MB 300SD, '82 MB 300D Turbo (sold/RIP), '04 Lincoln Town Car Ultimate

Sooner or later every car falls apart, ours does it later!
-German Narrator in a MB Promotion Film about the then brand new W123.

Look at these~~!

Attached Thumbnails

   

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1987 300SDL (324000)

1986 Porsche 951 (944 Turbo) (166000)

1978 Porsche 924 (99000)

1996 Nissan Pathfinder R50 (201000)

Well, here's something good about that. The insurance companies won't be so quick to total old MBs in fender benders like they used to with these rising values. But it'll be a little harder to find bargains out there on good ones when you start looking for another diesel MB.

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'81 MB 300SD, '82 MB 300D Turbo (sold/RIP), '04 Lincoln Town Car Ultimate

Sooner or later every car falls apart, ours does it later!
-German Narrator in a MB Promotion Film about the then brand new W123.

I expect to see a slight continual increase in price with the 123 diesel series. These cars bottomed out about two years or so ago in my opinion. Antique or classic the last word having virtually no meaning when applied to old cars except of course it's regulated meaning by the antique auto society. Good examples will become scarce but for the present at least you still can get one at an affordable price that does not require a total restoration. Possibly another twenty five years will have to pass before the immense cost of doing one might be justifieable. For now they are for anyone to enjoy at reasonable costs. As for an investment I can only quote my past. We purchased mint 39 fords, 34 fords, 50 mercurys, 48 ford coupes etc for about a hundred dollars apiece when I was a teenager. My father told me to hang on to them as cost so little even then. Almost nobody wanted an older car with very few exceptions. I was one. Of course living in a large city made the bulk storage of them impractable. That is over fifty years ago now. History just might repeat itself. Another senario is for a young fellow to set up and invest in a part time parts supply with limited sales profits now purchasing inventory for sale way down the road. At some point these cars will no longer appear at wrecking yards in my opinion. Will pay off someday. Suspect sooner than holding the cars long term. More than one way to skin a cat so to speak. Starting young is the key in most of these things. Plus developing an accurate long term vision of course. Another perspective is if you do not make calculated decisions about the future now and act on them. When the future comes and for you young fellows and it usually does you will not reap the benefits.

as a car that is 20 years old or so and is still better than most of the new cars that you can buy. I liken it to this question: Why don't everybody just buy a new house every four or five years, just because the house is old and the thing to do is buy a new one? Also, each mile driven on the highway has an associated cost. My Mercedes helps me to keep that cost to a minimum, ever since I have been able to get over the initial start up costs and learn the limitations and engineering liabilities associated with these cars since aluminum was introduced and incorporated in the building of the engines.

BenzDiesel

I think this statement answers my question about where the price of these cars will go in the future all by itself.

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Ralph

1985 300D Turbo, CA model
248,650 miles and counting...