The awesomeness that is the turbo diesel-powered Neander monster-cycle has now received the regulatory blessings of the proper authorities in the Bundesrepublik Deutschland and is finally heading for production this fall. If you'll notice in the photo above, the beast-in-question is completely surrounded by Polizei and yet none are reaching for handcuffs, tickets books or other constabulary paraphernalia. Ok, that one guy on the left looks like he's unsnapping his holster but we have it on good authority that he was merely reaching for a stick of gum.

According to the folks at Neander, zealous officials from the TÜV pored over every mechanical and structural detail, from the never-before-seen fork design to the physics-defying wheelbase before giving it their seal of approval and bowing down in awe. Despite all this, company chairman of the board, Lutz W. Lester, put his own backside on the line and drove the machine with counter-rotating crankshafts for as many kilometers as was necessary to ensure the handling and comfort was at the top-notch level it needed to be at. It was.

[Source: Neander]

Click on the image for high-res shots of this diesel 1967 Mercury Cougar

Much of the vegetable oil and biodiesel movement centers around the classic Mercedes-Benz inline six cylinder engine, but fine examples of the genre are getting tougher to find. As is always the case with older machines, time and driving in general take their toll on the bodies and chassis of our favorite classics. But, these old Mercedes lumps can be rebuilt to fine running order. Wondering what to do with that good-running or rebuilt turbodiesel engine? How about dropping it into the engine bay of some classic Detroit iron? Many of these older American vehicles were built with engine-bays capable of accepting everything from a straight-six to a huge big block V8 engine. If that sounds like too much trouble, perhaps you should take a look at an example that's already been converted. Right now on Craigslist in L.A. is a cherry 1967 Mercury Cougar with a Mercedes OM617 cast iron turbodiesel engine from a Mercedes-Benz 300SD. Mated to a four-speed manual tranny, we'd imagine that many trouble-free miles of burbling diesel goodness are in store for this particular gem. Thanks for the tip, Geeky1!


[Source: Craigslist]

Here is a story from Wheels in Canada where two people, a father and his 14-year-old daughter drove from one end of Canada to the other, specifically from Halifax to Vancouver. No big deal, right? Wrong... they did it using only 89 gallons of diesel fuel. The vehicle used to generate this low fuel consumption was a last-generation Smart. You may be aware that we will be getting the newest version of the vehicle soon in the U.S. Unfortunately, we won't be getting the diesel version which was used in this trip. If you want it here, make sure to mention that when you pick up your new Smart. Anyway, click for more on this story, and pay special attention to all of the questions that the driver got from other drivers. As you can imagine, some concerns were present when it came to crossing the Rockies in a vehicle with all of 40 horsepower at its disposal, but it did just fine. Remember, despite lower horsepower figures, a diesel engine makes very good torque, the twisting power of the engine.

My favorite quote: "Too bad I was still getting looks from other drivers as if my fly was undone. And like the reaction from our construction friend Jason, we weren't quite sure if our Smart was generating responses of envy, ridicule or ignorance."

[Source: Wheels via Treehugger]