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8147 messages, Last post on Dec 04, 2009 at 8:22 PM
You are in the Diesels Forum. Your Host is kcram
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Replying to: avalon02wh (Jun 14, 2009 5:44 am) Scott
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Replying to: avalon02wh (Jun 14, 2009 5:44 am) ..."Diesels can get 25% to 40% better mileage than similar-size gas engines."... The above is quoted from THE article YOU posted........ If you feel diesel mpg is "cherry picked", then Prius serves as a "cherry picked" gasser hybrid comparison. Another is I also follow gasser Civic threads. I also understand (from a posted survey) that only 3-6% of folks get better mpg than the (38-42 mpg) Civic we have. So with Prius being  (the time) a roughly 12,000 premium getting a real world of 45 mpg, how long do you think it would take to break even on real world mpg? Again I have no doubt I could get 45 mpg on the Prius (maybe even better)...which again would probably be on the same order ("cherry picked") as the diesel, gasser, gasser hybrid Again if the diesel Civic were available, a diesel Civic would have been another slam dunk. Again please read my post for understanding. The "cooked" is in reference to those Prius drivers who were upset THEY did not get anywhere near to the 50/60 mpg. I say again.... I do NOT count myself among that population. If you STILL don't see the obvious reason, please let me know. Now even this $12,000 premium could have been social engineered out of the equation and/or neutralized. Simply put: IRS tax credit of 12-15k to offset the premium over Toyota Corolla (Prius' nears performance competitor)
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Replying to: scwmcan (Jun 14, 2009 5:54 am) My bookmark to http://www.fuelgaugereport.com/sbsavg.asp is no longer valid! They changed it to http://www.fuelgaugereport.com/sbsavg.html I hate when they do that!!!!!!!  Now why would they would keep the old link active???????? The email was already sent. Maybe Geoff will get it fixed.
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While GM, Ford, Chrysler can NOT close US plants fast enough... A few interesting tidbits..... ..."VW was No. 3 in the world in sales for the first quarter, selling 1.4 million units. Toyota Motor Corp. topped the list at 1.7 million vehicles, followed by General Motors. VW has more than 40 plants worldwide, but does not assemble cars in the United States."... ..."The Chattanooga plant will make the new sedan on which VW is hinging much of its goals. Mr. Jacoby said the automaker can become a major player in the U.S. only if it competes in the major vehicle segments such as midsize cars"... ..."Company officials already are thinking about a future expansion in Chattanooga and boosting production from 150,000 vehicles annually to 300,000. Officials for Audi, VW’s upscale brand, also are looking at possible American production."... ..."Late last year, the company filed documents with the city-county Air Pollution Control Bureau indicating that after production starts it could expand to include more paint and press lines. The expanded facility would have the potential to produce 595,000 vehicles a year, the documents show."... ..."“We see a higher demand (for diesel). It will take time in the U.S,” he said. But he predicted it could eventually hold a significant stake in the market."... link title (my op/ed) Evidently in the foreseeable future "cross over" suv's will be continue as a strong part of the line-up for VW and naturally GM.Ford,Chrysler, and etc, etc. So to me a (min) 35.5 mpg (2016 standards) TDI crossover will be a killer application and easily to 5/10/15/20 years into the future. Scuttlebutt has it short term the midsized (Passat) platform will be built in Chattanoga, TN. Additionally of total production, 40% diesel is the overall stated goal for VWOA for 2010. The 2009 target was 25% and I have read in passing they are currently 30%. So if 150,000 will be the overall (ww) production for the US market, 30% will be app 45,000 diesel cars.
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Replying to: ruking1 (Jun 14, 2009 6:24 am) Gagrice made the comment: "Let's hope the Q7 owners do better than that. They have some very tough competition in the class. " That comment was more relevant since it acknowledged the low mpg and went on to talk about GL320 CDI a close competitor to the Q7. In other words, the Q7 will need to keep pace with the other diesels in its class. I am still wondering why the Q7 did get the low MPG. Is this a one-off deal or will it be typical of other Q7s? Part of what I am seeing with diesels is that some manufacturers seem to do a better job of execution. This situation is all the more surprising given that VW does a good job and Audi maybe didn't in this case. Audi is part of the VW group. |
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Replying to: avalon02wh (Jun 15, 2009 7:15 pm) Just a note. The BMW is by a quite a bit the most responsive and has the highest torque rating. I would assume that is the inline 6 which is a better configuration than the V6. Not sure why MB abandoned their proven inline 6 for the V6 engine.
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Replying to: avalon02wh (Jun 15, 2009 7:15 pm) Since diesels are fairly uncommon, most testers being used to gassers, do not drive turbo diesels correctly. Indeed a lot of testers make it a point to compare a diesel with a gasser (gasser being the "standard"). They also usually mention these obligatory things: 1. doesn't stink like diesels of old (oh please) 2. they took the marbles in the can noise out 3.you can actually get diesel fuel 4. ZERO to sixty is slower in a diesel. 5. do you want fries with that? ( Gee this almost sounds like a David Letterman routine) You almost NEVER read about driving a diesel within its parameters. So for example, another reason why I did not get the Prius (as I was well introduced and schooled into the correct driving procedures to get "close to EPA"), I just didn't want to drive the Prius the way it had to be driven (day in day out) to achieve the desired results. So my issues were not with Toyota and/or Prius. Contrast that with the TDI with 118,000 miles. It still amazes me I can drive 90 mph and still get 49/50 mpg !! When I drive 75 mph with bursts to 80/85 it returns 56/59 mpg. Other than knowing and staying within the operating parameters of the turbo diesel, as you probably would agree, I do not use hypermiling techniques. The other interesting thing is if you drive a diesel like a Prius should be driven, it almost always results in much higher mpg for the diesel.
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Replying to: gagrice (Jun 15, 2009 7:34 pm) Of the Q7's locally, all are TDi's; not a single gasser to be seen...........so no surprise there, then. 
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