Diesel engines have long been known to be efficient consumers of fuel, but they present some tradeoffs when used in place of gasoline. They are more expensive to build, produce more torque and less power, and produce an ever-present odor from their exhaust. Regardless, Oldsmobile engineers tried diesel as a way to unveil improved fuel efficiency into its line of large cars.
Wanting to copy the success of European brands selling diesel in the United States, Oldsmobile used its proven gasoline 350 V8 as a basis for the diesel. They created a reinforced block of a stronger alloy –- meaning that it was not simply a gasoline engine with diesel heads slapped on it -– and topped it off with new diesel heads. Unfortunately, the resulting engine fell short from the start.
The power output was only 120 horsepower with 220 lb-ft of torque. Worse still, it was obnoxiously loud and plagued with an abundance of black smoke. In addition, the heads were secured by the same 10-bolt pattern as the gasoline version, which proved insufficient as the bolts began to stretch from the high compression required for diesel combustion. This resulted in blown head gaskets left and right, contributing to critical engine failures at Oldsmobile service departments everywhere.
The diesel calamity led to a class action lawsuit followed by the creation of lemon laws. Diesel engines were only offered from 1978 to 1985, and the bad encounter destroyed the ability to sell diesel cars in the country for decades.
