A look back at six diesel cars and trucks from the 80’s
After the energy crisis in 1973 and 1979, Manufactures responded by building and importing more fuel efficient cars. This included diesel powered cars to a large extent. With the 1980s oil glut, cheap fuel came back by the late 80’s. After that, most of the diesels sold in the U.S. disappeared. This article takes a brief look back at some of the diesel powered cars and trucks built to deal with the energy crisis.
BMW 524td
This is a really good looking BMW from the 80’s. The e28 body was used from 1982-88 with several different engines. The Diesel was only imported from 1985-86. It was a Inline six 2.4L Turbo Diesel that produced 114 horsepower. These seem to be pretty rare over here, I’ve only seen one in person.
1980 Audi 5000s Diesel
The Audi 5000 Diesel started with a 2.0L I-5 Diesel, that Produced 67 horsepower, and was able to get 27city/43highway. 133,512 of these were sold in the states from 1978-83 Diesel and Gas models combined. A Turbo model would end up being offered later that improved power.
Datsun/Nissan 720
Datsun’s small economical pick-up. SD22 Diesel engine produced around 70 horsepower. people still get around 35 mpg in these old trucks. They seem to be reliable too.
1983 Mercedes-Benz 240D
1983 was the last year of the 240D in the states. It had been sold since 1974(Introduced in 1973 in Europe.). The engine it used was a 4 cylinder 2.4L it produced 72 Horsepower. I drove a 88 horsepower 1980 300D and I thought it was slow. The 1983 Model, specifically the W123 Model, was a very reliable car. It has a very basic, low tech design that made it easy to maintain. I touched on some of the comparisons of the 1985 300D turbo diesel and the 2005 E320 CDi in this article.
1980 Cadillac Fleetwood Diesel
The First American manufacturer to come out with a diesel passenger car in 1979. The 5.7L produced 125 horsepower and 224lb-ft of torque, it was available for every Cadillac for 1979. This engine had bad reliability, for more about this, check out the 2009 Cadillac CTS diesel article. It’s kind of a comparison article for the old and new Cadillac diesel engines.
Volkswagen Caddy Diesel Pick-up
Volkswagen’s compact pick-up truck has a cult following in the U.S. Volkswagen tuners and enthusiast love to get their hands on these for restoration projects and engine swaps for custom projects. Back in 1980 when they were new they were a affordable entry level vehicle for anyone, that also got killer mpg. the 1.6L diesel produced around 60 horsepower.
If you have owned one of these, or another 1980’s diesel car or truck, be sure to tell us about your story in the comment section below.