Nobody sells the car I want

[lupin..the..3rd]

Is it such a bizarre request? I want a wagon, so I can haul stuff. I want rear wheel drive. I want a diesel engine. I want a manual transmission.

Those are my only four requirements. I don't give a crap about stereo systems or cup holders. Heck, I don't even need working A/C. Just a RWD diesel wagon w/ manual gearbox.

As far as I can tell, no manufacturer, foreign or domestic, has ever sold such a car here in the US. No, the odd gray-market Citroen doesn't count. I'm talking about cars that I can actually get parts for.

Is it really too much to ask??

[Kuan]

300TD?

[Chad300tdt]

The Mercedes diesel wagons didn't come with a manual trans. so you have to find one that someone already converted or convert one yourself. The other option is to look for a Volvo or a VW. You can find manual trans. diesel wagons in both makes.

[marinos90209]

Originally Posted by Chad300tdt

The Mercedes diesel wagons didn't come with a manual trans. so you have to find one that someone already converted or convert one yourself. The other option is to look for a Volvo or a VW. You can find manual trans. diesel wagons in both makes.

Mercedes manufactured a variety of w123 wagon with manual gerbox,none of them where never imported to the us oficially,you can find some gray import one`s very rare but they are around,any way the models with manual transmission were the following 200 t 230 te 240 td 250 t 280 te 300td non turbo,early car come with 4 speed manual tranny as well automatic, late model i believe from 1981 up had the optional 5 speed.

[Skid Row Joe]

Originally Posted by Kuan

300TD?

X 2 - These are great cars.

[pj67coll]

Originally Posted by lupin..the..3rd

Is it such a bizarre request?

Yes actually. I can sort of understand the desire for simplicity, but most people simply don't want that. For me such a vehicle would be unpleasant to live with. Why not get a small pickup and put a canopy on the back if you really want that kind of simplicity?

- Peter.

I don't think it's bizarre, but it would be too small a market for anyone to build a car for. It sounds like you really want a truck.

[The Clk Man]

Chad is correct, a Volvo 240 DL Wagon is a great car, I had one for 10 years and hauled anything and everything in it including a pallet of printing paper, a printing press and several Coca Cola machines. I drove that car for 10 years without engine of tranny problems.

[lupin..the..3rd]

Originally Posted by Craig

It sounds like you really want a truck.

No- I really do not want a truck. I've driven plenty of trucks, with their school bus like handling, horrible turning radius, too-high center of gravity, terrible braking, and poor fuel economy. I absolutely do not want a truck. Plus I live in the city, with lots of parallel parking, narrow roads, etc. I would rather walk than have to deal with a large unwieldy truck. A wagon gives me truck-like hauling room, with nimble car handling.

Originally Posted by aklim

Why must it be stick? Why must it be diesel?

This is the reason: Because thats what I want.

Originally Posted by Hatterasguy

Why not just a small pickup truck? Manuals are dead, no one makes manuals anymore and when they do its an afterthought.

Maybe in some segments. Porsche sells far more manuals than automatics, I'm sure other sports car makers do too. When I took my Carrera to the dealer for service last month, the loaner car I got was even a manual. VW and Audi both sell huge numbers of manuals as well.

Originally Posted by Army

If you are talking new cars - can't you guys get a BMW 5 series estate (wagon) with a diesel engine and a manual transmission over there?

They are all over the place over here - sometimes hard to find an auto! Same for Mercedes, Volvo, Subaru (I think), possibly even Jaguar...

This is why it's frustrating to me - the manufacturers DO make the car I want! And they sell LOADS of them (in Europe). Just not in the US.

Originally Posted by Hatterasguy

Check out the BMW 328i sports wagon. RWD, manual trans, and a 3L I6. Really these days modern diesels don't offer much over a gas engine, other than cost and complexity.

Tough to find, except brand new, plus it isn't a diesel. Every used 328 wagon I've seen is an iX with AWD. I don't want AWD. I have no problem dropping $50k or more on a brand new car - but it damn well better be exactly what I want.

Today more than ever, diesels offer advantages over the gasoline models. ~50% more torque with ~30% better fuel economy. Let us look at the brand new 2011 E350 vs. the 2011 E350 Bluetec:

2011 E350 diesel: 400 ft/lbs and 33 mpg highway
2011 E350 gasoline: 258 ft/lbs and 26 mpg highway

With this much of an advantage, I see no reason to buy a gasoline engine car these days.

Originally Posted by aklim

You can choose what you want to buy. The manufacturer can choose what he wants to sell. If you two meet in some happy spot, the sale is done. If not, oh well.

For me at least, it seems there is no happy spot. Oh well, thanks everyone for all the replies and suggestions.

[compu_85]

The 760GLE TurboDiesel wagon was available with a 4+OD manual transmission. Finding one will be tough though, moreso one whose engine isn't worn out due to lack of maintenance.

The 240 was only sold with the NA motor. I don't know how slow it would be but I'd much rather have the turbo.

-J

[aklim]

Can you get the vehicle in auto? Why must it be stick? Why must it be diesel?

Can you get the vehicle body and cobble together transmission and engine into it?

Kinda like destroked.com does. Take a Ford body and shove a Cummins engine in it because people like to go fast with less money spent.

[Hatterasguy]

Why not just a small pickup truck? Manuals are dead, no one makes manuals anymore and when they do its an afterthought.

[Stretch]

If you are talking new cars - can't you guys get a BMW 5 series estate (wagon) with a diesel engine and a manual transmission over there?

They are all over the place over here - sometimes hard to find an auto!

Same for Mercedes, Volvo, Subaru (I think), possibly even Jaguar...

To the best of my knowledge all French cars are front wheel drive these days - I can't see why anyone would buy one...

[Antony]

I've not checked, but, doesn't the VW tdi wagon offer a manual geargbox?

[Angel]

Originally Posted by Army

If you are talking new cars - can't you guys get a BMW 5 series estate (wagon) with a diesel engine and a manual transmission over there?

They are all over the place over here - sometimes hard to find an auto!

Same for Mercedes, Volvo, Subaru (I think), possibly even Jaguar...

To the best of my knowledge all French cars are front wheel drive these days - I can't see why anyone would buy one...

no offense Army, but.....


American history lesson: When Jaguar, BMW and MB started selling cars in the US, they marketed themselves as cars for the rich- which in the 70's and 80's meant that we only got Automagic transmissions and all the options (no cloth-seated W123's here !) Not sure why MB sold diesels here, but BMW only tried to sell a 528TD here in the mid 1980's. We got a 240D in the W123 style but never the 200D that sold elsewhere.
More than that, the utility of a wagon never caught on - if you needed that much room, you'd just get a pickup truck - We sell them in 3 sizes (F150, Dodge Dakota and Ford Ranger) and again, sticks are for poor people (lol) so the automatic transmissions (only $400 option) were very common. You can find trucks with manuals, but they are not the norm.

Notable exceptions include the late 90's 5-series (M5's ?) available with a 6-speed stick and the 1986 300E available with a 5-speed and various volkswagens (which never competed with MB/BMW or volvo for sales)

The closest we have to what the OP wants is a Passat Wagon TDI from the laet 80's - 4cyl VW diesel economy but also their front-wheel drive platform. I would argue that you lose some economy when you go to a rear-drive platform, so the Passat TDI wagon is your closest bet.

-John