A friend had an Olds Toronado with the 5.7 diesel. It was indestructible, never broke and never failed to start in Michigan winters. He ran it up to about 125K miles IIRC. I don't recall it getting anywhere near 30MPG, it was consistent in the low 20s, maybe 25 on a long highway drive.

A family friend was the GM of the Cadillac dealer on East Jefferson in Detroit. He had a room full of broken diesel engines in the back of the dealership.

Getting 240HP and 430lb-ft out of a 3.0 liter diesel is amazing. Some years ago I bought a hot Ford sedan with a Yamaha built 3.0 liter petrol V6. It had all the hot technologies - DOHC, 4 valves/cyl, shim-and-bucket tappets, 7,000RPM redline, etc. It made 220HP. Times have certainly moved on.

I can't see the rotary shifter being easy to use while wearing work gloves...

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1987 560SL
85,000 miles

The 5.7 diesels were really pretty good overall except for the quality thingie.

"Other than that, Mrs. Lincoln, how did you enjoy the play?"

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'83 300D, 126K miles.

Don't buy the 4 MPG difference. Very few, if any, gas powered RAM's will get 25 MPG. That figure is reserved for the 2WD model, and probably a short bed regular cab at that. Diesels typically exceed their EPA rating. It's not an Italian power train, it's an Italian engine. Based on what my 2003 HD gets for mileage, this should be able to deliver 30 MPG HWY all day long.

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'83 300D, 126K miles.

Joe --- I know it's not a regular cab nor an 8' bed; however, I think I have you covered on the diesel part and no fancy gizmos under the hood. Of course, I can't find the video.

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daw_two
Germantown, TN

Links:
Sold last car --- 05/2012 1984 300D Light Ivory, Red interior
Cluster Needles Paint
New Old Stock (NOS) parts

Past:
3/2008 1986 300SDL "Coda"
04/2010 1965 190D(c) "Ben"
& many more

loaded crew cab 4WD with all the gizmos, please.

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-Justin

91 560 SEC AMG - other dogs dd
01 Honda S2000 - dogs dd
07 MB ML320 CDI - dd
16 Lexus IS250 - wifes dd

it's automatic.

Come on GM! Bring out that 4.5 liter Duramax!

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-Justin

91 560 SEC AMG - other dogs dd
01 Honda S2000 - dogs dd
07 MB ML320 CDI - dd
16 Lexus IS250 - wifes dd

it's automatic.

I just don't believe that 25 mpg number either. I've never seen anywhere near the EPA estimates on any of my gasser fleet trucks, from all 3 US badges, and several of them have seen very light duty.

Maybe with one passenger, 1/4 tank of gas, downhill with a tailwind.

And please offer it in the Suburban!

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1980 300TD-China Blue/Blue MBTex-2nd Owner, 107K (Alt Blau) OBK #15
'06 Chevy Tahoe Z71 (for the wife & 4 kids, current mule) '03 Honda Odyssey (son #1's ride, reluctantly) '99 GMC Suburban (255K+ miles, semi-retired mule) 21' SeaRay Seville (summer escape pod)

Generally with a half ton you get 15 to maybe 19 on the highway, if you pick 4wd take 2-3 MPG off that.

If you go 3/4 ton and up with 4.10's your in the 10-14 range.

Truck window stickers tend to lie.

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1999 SL500
1969 280SE
2023 Ram 1500
2007 Tiara 3200

My Duramax with 3.73s, a box tune, 38"s (with calibration) and I am getting ~20-21 freeway and ~16 city.

__________________
-Justin

91 560 SEC AMG - other dogs dd
01 Honda S2000 - dogs dd
07 MB ML320 CDI - dd
16 Lexus IS250 - wifes dd

it's automatic.

Not with a new one though unless you take off all the emissions crap.

My buddy has the same truck as yours except gas with a 4.10 rear end and with stock wheels, he gets 10-14, along I80 we saw almost 15mpg once.

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1999 SL500
1969 280SE
2023 Ram 1500
2007 Tiara 3200

lol, it gets poopoo gas mileage because its gas!

that's what is stopping me from buying a newer truck - i hate all the emissions stuff they are putting on the new ones... my truck is the last of the "old breed"...

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-Justin

91 560 SEC AMG - other dogs dd
01 Honda S2000 - dogs dd
07 MB ML320 CDI - dd
16 Lexus IS250 - wifes dd

it's automatic.

......
The Ford Taurus SHO/FWD w/stick-shift?

Howd'ya like it, what kind of MPGs, and how many miles did you put on it?
In Dallas or Detroit (snow/ice?)

You nailed it. Ford Taurus SHO bought in 1989. I put 100K miles on it over 9 years. It was actually a pretty decent car, albeit with some room for improvement. It was entertaining to drive, fairly quick, and still reasonably useful as transportation. I recall 25-26MPG highway and 20ish city. Biggest downside was general build quality. It had terribly uneven panel gaps and the black paint oxidized like crazy. That said, it was quite reliable. The biggest problem I recall was a small leak in the steering rack. It remains one of my favorite cars.

Type it into google images

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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