I personally am noticing a lot of people with OM642 cars. Give it another year or two you'll see more, the OM648 DIYs are all over the place, starting to see some for the 642s. Don't pretend like you're a stranger to automotive progress.

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68 280SL - 70 280SL - 70 300SEL 3.5 - 72 350SL - 72 280SEL 4.5 - 72 220 - 72 220D - 73 450SL - 84 230GE - 87 200TD - 90 190E 2.0 - 03 G500

Nissan GTR - Nissan Skyline GTS25T - Toyota GTFour - Rover Mini - Toyota Land Cruiser HJ60 - Cadillac Eldorado - BMW E30 - BMW 135i

'87 for me. I love me some SOHC straight 6 diesels

The Don...

You are in luck! The next generation MB diesels are all I4, I6 configurations. The new OM654 is the 4 cylinder version of the new 6.

I do like the straight sixes (and 5s as well) also.

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1995 E300 (W124)
1999 ML430 (w163)
2011 GL350 (x164)
2016 Sprinter 144" 4X4 lowtop (906)
2004 E500 (W211) 4matic Wagon (Gold)
2004 E500 (W211) 4matic Wagon Avantgarde (silver)

Like KK said, ... not all of us are within driving range of an outlet, want to rape the earth for battery elements, feel that the need to own an extra car just for long drives or hauling is worth the additional carbon footprint of producing extra cars, etc., etc. I've been around electric cars since the citycar in 1975, love them but still haven't been able to make one practical. Judge and recommend vehicles for people in your own demographics, profile, etc. please.

Diesel produces 30% less greenhouse gasses than gasoline, and that's just at the tailpipe. Gasoline also has a larger carbon footprint to produce, and its tendency to constantly evaporate creates other pollution, which only a couple of states collect at the pump, and NONE collect the gasses that are pumped out of storage tanks when they are filled with fuel, ... we love to control the obvious sources no matter how small (and thus the success of putting a HYBRID badge on an Escalade).

Regarding all of the Chicken Little BS regarding new cars and keeping them on the road, that's as much a factor in a new EV or gasoline car as diesel. Look at your safety equipment, your communication, infotainment, no electric windows are direct-control from a switch anymore, etc., etc. If you think that ANY car is going to be simple and cheap to keep running you're fooling yourself. However, I remember my Father telling me that my complicated new Audi Quattro with all of its power gizmos and AWD would be problems (in 1985), I sold it with only new brakes, timing belt, tires, exhaust, fluids and filters after 200,000miles (driven hard and fast). About the same time 123 people were looking down at the W124, then again as every generation comes around.

Sure my new cars will need some maintenance, so did the '87 300TD that stranded me in 1988 with a blown heater hose, ... my '91 300TE 4matic that lost an alternator in a blizzard in '93, ... so far (knocking on wood) I've had no problems with my '15 bluetec so it's beating some of the W124s.

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Gone to the dark side

- Jeff

So true, nailed it!

Being I used to drive to Southern California and back, when driving the 300TD-T, if kept the speed reasonable and no traffic, could do the whole trip on one full tank, though risky. Point being, only need to stop no more than 15 minutes in Dateland. If had an E.V., that mean my five hour trip become at least seven, if not eight, by getting stuck in both morning and evening traffic because have to take at least an hour to charge up.

Now if they actually get the solar recharged E.V.s, that would help on a clear sunny day driving five hours through the desert. But, think it take years to get the charging rate to at least match the discharging rate.

Further, with diesel, there are some great non-petroleum products available and coming available. Out here, the Solar Lab of A.S.U. is producing algae fuel. Apparently right now only using it in limited quantities (tried to find out how to purchase a tank full before the accident).

Do you have a source for less pollution via burning diesel over gasoline? Does make sense as the 280TE that working on puts out way more smell out the tailpipe.

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Current fleet:

1985 Mercedes-Benz 280TE - Waiting for heart surgery.

1985 Mercedes-Benz 300TDT - Rear ended 23 September 2016 and now looking for a new home.

1979 Mercedes-Benz 300TD - Parted out.

1964 Volkswgen Beetle - Vater's since September 1968 and undergoing a restoration.

1971 Volkswagen Sunroof Squareback with F.I. - in need of full restoration.

1971 Volkswagen Squareback automatic with F.I. - Vacationing with her caretaker until he is in better health.

TaylorH360 nailed it. I will never own another Benz with Adblue. Even the dealership was having problem fixing it. A money pit. Went backwards to get a CDI and very happy.

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06 MB E320 CDI 123k miles
14 Sienna (wife's DD) 36k miles
11 GL350 Bluetec 136k (Sold)
96 E300; 292k+ miles (Donated)
11 Sprinter 22K+ miles (Sold)

Well reading items in our local web pages .Read that aspirated engines are to be outlawed by 2030..That means diesel and petrol .Loks like 6 HP horses to come back.

Hopefully not all is lost...

Mercedes-Benz

I will say that my OM642 (leaking oil notwithstanding) is so much cleaner than the earlier models. Even when I romp on it there is absolutely no smoke. And this is the model year before DEF.

I for one will be hoping for a GLC/GLE with the OM654.

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The OM 642/722.9 powered family
Still going strong
2014 ML350 Bluetec (wife's DD)
2013 E350 Bluetec (my DD)

both my kids cars went to junkyard in 2023
2008 ML320 CDI (Older son’s DD) fatal transmission failure, water soaked/fried rear SAM, numerous other issues, just too far gone to save (165k miles)
2008 E320 Bluetec (Younger son's DD) injector failed open and diluted oil with diesel, spun main bearings (240k miles)

1998 E300DT sold to TimFreeh
1987 300TD sold to vstech

I'm feeling the need to pop in here and clear up some misconceptions about EVs, specifically Tesla, on both sides of the aisle.

Babymog said something about not being within driving range of an outlet. That is extremely difficult to believe, since even a household 120v outlet can charge a Tesla. Not quickly, but possible. Most people install a 50A 240V outlet that will provide about 28 miles of range per hour of charge.

Something about needing drop-in batteries on a road trip. I took a 257 mile trip today with one stop at a Tesla supercharger. It gave me 125 miles of range in 28 minutes. At that point I only needed 80 to get home, but the car was ready before I finished eating. So no, battery swaps are not really necessary.

A Model X is suitable for towing an Airstream. Well, not really.
https://teslamotorsclub.com/tmc/threads/initial-trailer-pulling-report-90d-and-airstream-22ft-bambi-sport.74540/
tl;dr -- they get 100-150 miles on a charge. And superchargers are not exactly convenient when pulling a trailer. Don't do it unless you are really really dedicated.

Further, a Model X is rated for a maximum of 5000 lbs and an Airstream Classic 30 has a GVWR of 10,000.

I'm as much of an EV lover as anyone, having a Model S for 2.5 years and 59K miles. But the Diesels have their place. In the late 90s or early 2000s MB showed a prototype diesel-electric hybrid that I thought was absolutely perfect. Too bad it never made it to production.

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Rick Miley
2014 Tesla Model S
2018 Tesla Model 3
2017 Nissan LEAF
Former MB: 99 E300, 86 190E 2.3, 87 300E, 80 240D, 82 204D Euro
Chain Elongation References

Nothing wrong with the old technology. My 1991 300D Turbo recently had an intermittent boost control problem. Checked the hoses, replaced a few old ones as a maintenance task but I was pretty sure that wasn't it. Being intermittent it had to be something electrical.
Eventually traced it to a dirty & worn micro switch for the overboost relay. Replaced the leaking fuel stop lever's o-ring (That had made the switch get dirty over time) and said micro switch and it's been good as gold again ever since.

I prefer simplicity on cars for when things go amis. Other people can handle the headaches with electronics, etc. that are bound to occur with newer Ben if they prefer. I'll be sticking to pre mid 90's Benz, personally.

I'm glad you like your S Rick, friends of mine who own them like theirs also. However, up here in the north, your battery will give you a reduced range warning when you hop in on a cold day, superchargers are 200miles apart which means you had better start with a full charge (and those only if you're traveling the I-80/90 tollway between Chicago and Detroit), ... especially considering your drive will require lights, wipers, high-speed defrost all-around, ... and a fair amount of AWD switching on some days. Many times I'll spend my night at a hotel, and I've not yet found one with a supercharger in the lot, I'd rather relax after a long day than go charger hunting. Even if they hotel will let me plug into a 110v outlet, and I have the dual charger option, ... it'll be a very slow charge and I need to be up and out too early in the morning.

My travels tomorrow take me up through Michigan's middle and southwest, nowhere near a charger. At the end of tomorrow's 375mile run, my diesel SUV will still have over 1/2 tank, will return 33mpg, and will emit 30% less greenhouse gasses than a 33mpg gasoline engine. It simply works and as you stated: diesels have their place.

A diesel series hybrid would be great, ... if there were any, as it would be cleaner than the current crop of badge-engineering hybrids. However, when I need to drive between 400miles and 800miles in a day's business, it is nice to leave home with a full tank, and still be over my reserve light when I return. I really don't want to plan my trips around supercharge stations as my friends seem to enjoy as some type of challenge, ... and we don't have the constant sun nor government incentives here to install solar charging so the price for the 50a charger plus electricity is all on me, which means that I would be spending a lot of extra money for a car that is highly impractical for my uses.

The recent election, whether you like the outcome or not, has shown (according to some analyses) that the voter has changed. People like me, who don't live in SoCal, or NYC, or DC, have lives that are not being addressed by the legislation and mindset that we are all easily governed by laws fitting high-density southern climate living. There are many of us who will continue to use our own vehicles, will need to travel longer distances, will not have cheap electricity available, will spend much more money heating than cooling our homes, have lots of fresh air and water available, our houses do not cost $1mm plus for a 3BR ranch, and EVERYTHING shifts in this demographic. I have lived in large cities and small towns, rust belt and sun, have traveled internationally as well as much domestically, and have seen how the Japanese make their cities and farms work as well as suburbanites in Detroit or L.A., and small towns in GA or MI.

Trump too needs to get out more, I have doubts that he will understand what the other 80% of the nation's needs are any more than Obama or Clinton, ... but we can hope.

Again, I'd love to be able to own a nice Model S, but for my needs I would be trying to adapt my business and home vehicle use to make it work, it doesn't yet fit my needs.

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Gone to the dark side

- Jeff