Didn't know they made a 55mpg...
Didn't know they made a 55mpg diesel? They did, it was just back in 1982.
The idea was simple. Buy a cheap '80s diesel and drive it cross-country, where it would be used in Los Angeles as a commuter car and parts chaser. After all, with 13 million people living in the L.A. area, going fast isn't a concern. In fact, you're lucky to be moving at all. So while our '89 Dodge Ram got a decent 18 mpg, we felt a little diesel car could do twice as well. At the end of the year we'd save $1,000 in fuel, and we could put that extra money toward other projects. Got all that?
The car we ended up buying was an '82 Chevrolet Chevette diesel. Didn't know they made a diesel Chevette? Turns out a lot of people didn't. In fact, we had to go all the way to Kansas to find one. The good news was that the little econo-diesel was rated from the factory at 41 mpg city, 55 mpg highway, so it would be the perfect car for our traffic-filled drive to work. Or would it? With only 51 horsepower, air conditioning wasn't offered as an option, as the little engine couldn't maintain road speed and spin a compressor.
With 96-degree Midwestern weather and an ice chest full of drinks, we gritted our teeth and headed out toward California in our $2,500 Chevette. Our route was about 1,450 miles, and we made it a whopping 70 miles out of Wichita before we had to call it quits. That's about 5% of the way-not even far enough to make it out of Kansas.
At the 70-mile mark, the transmission gave a jolt, and then started humming. Even in neutral it was rattling. Uh-oh. We consulted a local shop about it and they told us we'd be lucky to make it back to Wichita. We thanked the mechanic for his opinion, to which he replied, "Ain't no opinion." Ah, Midwest honesty. It turns out that we were able to drive back to Wichita, though the transmission now felt like it had cement in it when we went through the gears. Right now it's sitting at a shop in Kansas, waiting for a spare transmission to be installed that the previous owner had in his garage. So we can't give you a fair report on '80s diesels just yet, as it will be a few weeks until the car is shipped (we're not driving this time) to Los Angeles.
 We took the Chevette out on...  We took the Chevette out on the town to celebrate after we bought it and it performed flawlessly. It gave us lots of hope for a trouble-free trip home (whoops). |  At the fuel station we were...  At the fuel station we were pleased to see that $20 netted us a half tank of fuel. The needle never moved on our 70-mile drive back to Wichita. |  A couple minutes after we...  A couple minutes after we stopped for fuel we heard a bang, then a rattle. Upon inspection it didn't look good. With no loose parts, the only other option was something internal. |