History of the diesel car featured an aluminium block, DOHC chain driven valvetrain, common rail direct injection and variable geometry turbocharger. In Spring 2005, Mercedes-Benz unveiled their first application of a mass-produced aluminum block diesel engine for passenger vehicles and commercial use. While aluminum is traditionally considered of inferior strength and temperature resistance to withstand diesel applications, Mercedes engineers made extensive use of CAD/CAM design to arrive at an aluminum block that would meet with Mercedes' testing and reliability standards. First use was in 2006 model-year vehicles in the E-Class sedan and ML-class and GL-class SUVs. Similar in weight () to the five-cylinder it replaced,
Thrall Car Manufacturing Company closed 2002). In 2000, Thrall Europa acquired the railway vehicle manufacturer ČKD Vagonka Studénka (Czech Republic), renamed "Thrall Vagonka Studénka, a.s.". (In 2006 Trinity Industries sold off its European operations to International Railway Systems) The closely held company was sold to Trinity Industries, based in Dallas, Texas, in 2001. The company was subsequently renamed Trinity Rail Group, LLC. Thrall was mainly a freight car fabrication and assembly operation. Additional car types manufactured included boxcars and gondolas. Most cars were designed for standard gauge interchange service on AAR-approved railroads within North America. Many tri-level autoracks built by Thrall exist today, identifiable