Come to think of it, in 1981, a 300 Turbodiesel would have been a good deal faster than a lot of those aforementioned Hondas and Toyotas, probably a good deal of domestic cars, too.

0-60 in 12 seconds and a top speed of 110 mph is on par with my old gasoline-powered Saab 900, with a 2.0 liter four, 110 hp, and a five-speed manual, which was a midrange luxury import.

I wonder if W123s had many "initial problems" back then? Of course, they were much simpler than most modern cars.

-Sam