response 20 of 40:

Apr 1 07:56 UTC 2003

Early GM diesels definitely had a "reputation".  I don't know how much
the later ones improved, but when gas became relatively cheaper again
and pollution control more important, they disappeared quite fast.

Timing belts are important to replace on many newer cars (and not just
Hondas).  In many newer engines, the piston & valves have "negative"
clearance -- the design relies on the piston never reaching the top of
its stroke while the valve is open.  If the timing belt breaks, one or
more valves is likely to remain open, impacting some piston, with
expensive results.  My volvo has the last year of B230F engines that
didn't have this feature.  Presumably I should also get slightly worse
gas mileage but I could push the timing belt change interval, if I
didn't mind risking being stranded.