History of the diesel car Its 1.3 L XL4D engine produces at 5,000 rpm. Following the 1970s oil crisis (1973 and 1979), Volkswagen introduced their first diesel, the VW Golf, with a 1.5 L naturally aspirated indirect-injection engine which was a redesigned (dieselised) version of a gasoline engine. Mercedes-Benz tested turbodiesels in cars (e.g. by the Mercedes-Benz C111 experimental and record-setting vehicles) and the first production turbo diesel cars were, in 1978, the 3.0 5-cylinder 115 hp (86 kW) Mercedes 300 SD, available only in North America, and the Peugeot 604. The biggest single step forward for mass-market diesel cars came in 1982 when PSA
Preston Car Company plant (later as Kanmet Limited foundry) until 1991. A fire destroyed the foundry, and the site became a vacant brownfield. Part of the old industrial site was redeveloped as Legion Park, and the remainder will become a residential development known as Preston Meadows. Cars manufactured by the Preston Car Company are on display at the Halton County Radial Railway and Saskatchewan Railway Museum, and one is in service on the Nelson Electric Tramway. The Edmonton Radial Railway Society has four Prestons in its collection: one "Prairie" Preston (ex-Edmonton #31) and three "Big" Prestons (ex-Edmonton #53, 65 and 73). The ERRS