TD TURBODIESEL. The engines in the W123 were mounted with small shock absorbers in addition to industry standard motor mounts to reduce felt vibration and a provide a smoother ride. These designs were carried over from previous chassis models like the W114/W115. Road Race One notable achievement was in the 1977 London–Sydney Marathon road race, where the 280E won first and second, ahead of the third and fourth place Citroën CX. North American sales For the North American market, C123 (coupé) was available with both petrol (280 CE) and naturally aspirated diesel (300 CD) until 1981. For 1982 model year, 280 CE was dropped, and 300 CD TURBODIESEL was introduced as a sole engine offering for coupé model. The estate/station wagon was available with a 3-litre five-cylinder inline OM617 diesel engine only. The naturally aspirated 300 TD was sold for two years (1979-1980) until the turbocharged 300 TD TURBODIESEL replaced it from autumn 1980 because consumers found the 300 TD to be too heavy and too slow with the less powerful engine. 300 TD TURBODIESEL preceded 300 D TURBODIESEL and 300 CD TURBODIESEL by a few months. The petrol engines (230, 280 E, and 280 CE) were offered from 1976 to 1980 model years. From 1981 until 1985, W123 models were sold only with diesel engines to comply with the federal regulation on corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) without paying heavy penalties. The American consumers also preferred the diesel engines for lower fuel consumption after two oil crises and fuel shock of 1973 and 1979. Four-speed manual gearboxes were offered with four-cylinder inline engines (2.3-litre M115 petrol and 2.4-litre OM616 Diesel) only. The new 5-speed manual gearboxes were never offered by Mercedes-Benz itself on the North American market. The North American version of W123 differs from European version due to the US Department of Transportation automotive regulations along with Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) automotive emission control regulations. Autoweek writes "the visual changes were on the mild side" compared to U.S. Models of the Mercedes-Benz R107 and Mercedes-Benz W116, which have been described by journalists as if a "beautiful car was beaten with the malaise ugly stick." Notable exterior differences included Larger and stronger bumpers that resist collision damage up to 5 mph Round sealed beam headlamp capsules and fog lamps; the large glass covers partially the housing. The fog lamps had clear lens until 1980 model year when they were