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
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