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,
Budd Rail Diesel Car Diesel engines and, just as importantly, the hydraulic torque converter. Budd, which by then had produced more than 2,500 streamlined cars for various railroads, took a standard coach design and added a pair of 6-cylinder Detroit Diesel Series 110 engines. Each drove an axle through a hydraulic torque converter derived from the M46 Patton tank, for a 1A-A1 wheel arrangement. The top speed for the design was . The control systems allowed the cars to operate singly, or in multiple. The result was the RDC-1, which made its public debut at Chicago's Union Station on September 19, 1949. Budd manufactured