Hi again,
Thanks for the nice compliment, Larry! Yes, I think you are correct about the frontal area making a huge difference - I do notice that with our Astrovan there is a need to "keep your foot in it" at speed, and it has a lot of fan noise also. With the 300D/4.3 I hardly have to touch the pedal at speed, it just seems to float along. I think the 123 chassis is a very good design, aerodynamically speaking, and it's also a very comfortable design for up to 4 occupants. Our Astrovan also doesn't do nearly as well on mileage, but if driven carefully will give up to 24 mpg on longer drives with not too many hills and not over 70 mph. It has an entirely different feel than the Merc, though!

Regards,
Richard Wooldridge