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,
First Car Rental First Car Rental First Car Rental is the wholly owned car rental subsidiary of Combined Motor Holdings Limited (CMH), a JSE-listed investment holding company based in South Africa. First Car Rental operates out of 51 branches in South Africa and employs over 450 people. First Car Rental’s fleet consists of several vehicle manufacturers including Ford, Nissan, Opel, Chevrolet, Toyota, Renault, Mercedes, BMW, Fiat, Honda and Volkswagen. In 2014, First Car Rental was listed as one of the Top 500 Best Managed Companies in South Africa. As of October 2014, the company has over 6,000 rental vehicles in use in South