1983 Oldsmobile Cutlass Ciera Diesel Test Drive
The public’s enthusiasm for diesel powered cars had dwindled by the early 80s. Perhaps ‘disappeared’ was a more accurate word. Everyone knew all along about a diesel’s comparatively lower power and higher noise. But the brainchild of Dr. Rudolph Diesel still manages to grow in popularity through the late 1970s thanks to is reduced operating costs; not only was a diesel engine more fuel efficient than an equally sized gasoline engine, but the fuel itself was cheaper. The operative word here is “was”. Since the heyday of the oil burning engine, the world had changed in ways that had a profound influence on the diesel car market. Diesel fuel’s price advantage evaporated, and with it much of the demand for diesel automobiles.
But some people needed diesel cars, the folks running General Motors, for example. The corporation depended heavily on diesels to prop up its federally mandated Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) numbers, and therefore went to great lengths to make the diesel more acceptable to the mainstream buyer.
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I think oldsmobile diesels were sadly and woefully misunderstood,the maintainance was simple,fill the engine up completely,use water in fuel separators,and make sure the radiator is good,and the thermostat 5.7 v8 4.3 v6 1978-85