September 13, 1977
We're reasonably certain that if we try hard enough, we can remember the Seventies for many great things. But we're just as certain that no amount of trying can make Oldsmobile's harebrained diesel engine one of them. Introduced today, the LF9 5.7-liter V-8 (optional on the Delta 88, Custom Cruiser, and Ninety-Eight models) proved &mdash despite GM's effusive claims of gasoline engine-like refinement and efficiency &mdash noisy, smelly, and almost comically unreliable. GM euthanized this world-class spewer of soot after the 1985 model year &mdash though not before it found its way under the hoods of Chevrolet and Cadillac models. From Oldsmobile's 1978 full-line brochure:
"As you move out, you're aware of a smooth response and a quickness diesel cars traditionally weren't known for. Merging into expressway traffic, you can accelerate easily into an opening. And you cruise along in unexpected quietness, for a diesel."
Images courtesy of The Old Car Manual Project.
