Sign In Join 



What Would It Take for YOU to buy a diesel car?

1492 messages,  Last post on Nov 04, 2009 at 7:37 PM

You are in the Automotive News & Views Forum. Your Hosts are steve_ & claires

What is this discussion about? Car Buying, Biodiesel, Diesel, Hybrid Cars, Coupe, Hatchback, SUV


Messages Page 83 of 150
1
...
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
...
150
Prev
Next
Last
Go To Msg #
Search This Discussion

#813 of 1492
Re: Craigslist [gagrice] by plekto
Jan 10, 2009 (10:54 am)
Reply

Replying to: gagrice (Jan 10, 2009 7:53 am)

What you want is a 4 cylinder diesel with injection and a manual gearbox. These get 35-40mpg on the highway. The others maybe 25-30 - no better than an early 90s Buick/Chevrolet with the 3800 in it.
 
*Note - these are expected highway figures*
300D - Maybe 25mpg, tops. 15-20 city. No, honest.
 
240D - About 30mpg. Costly to repair. Kind of a letdown when you consider cars like a modern Civic. People claim they get 40mpg... They don't.
 
220D - About 30-35mpg highway with a light foot. OK in town. About 25mpg average.
 
190Dc - 35mpg, easy. Smart people get the 1960s "Fintail" 190D instead of the older "Ponton" 190D.. 31mpg average. +2-3 mpg without air conditioning. (pattern based upon engine size should be clear - heh) 0-60 in 30 seconds. 75 mph top speed. 60-65mph practical top speed.
 
Note - the same era 200D does 0-60 in 25 seconds and has 80mph top speed. 28mpg. It's a lot better for not much less fuel economy. These are highly prized commuting gems, actually, as they keep up with traffic and drive like a more modern car. Same car, just larger engine designed for the U.S. market/highways. Bit taller gearing and bit more torque. Practical top speed is exactly 65mph as well.
 
180Dc (these are 1950s era - close to 45mpg highway) 40-48HP, though, and close to 40 second 0-60 times. But they DO get 6.3l/100km combined(average). That's 37mpg. I've seen these do nearly 45-50 mpg with careful driving. But they really ARE dangerously slow and not good for modern highways. 70 mph top speed(gearing maximum!). Practical is 55mph on level ground.
 
Just get a 190D or 200D instead.
 
You can pick these up for next to nothing, and there's precious little to actually break as well, since there's not a single piece of electronics anywhere. It really IS a tractor engine stuffed into a car.
 
http://blogs.trucktrend.com/6276377/suvs/mt-takes-old-tech-to-bluetec-mercedes-b- - - - enz-diesel-across-america-tour/index.html
A neat article. He got 40mpg combined out of it.
#814 of 1492
Re: Craigslist [fintail] by ruking1
Jan 10, 2009 (11:07 am)
Reply

Replying to: fintail (Jan 10, 2009 10:30 am)

How do you like your 2009 BMW 335 D?
#815 of 1492
Re: Craigslist [ruking1] by fintail
Jan 10, 2009 (12:10 pm)
Reply

Replying to: ruking1 (Jan 10, 2009 11:07 am)

Oh, I don't have one, I built one on the website, and was astonished at the price.
#816 of 1492
Re: Craigslist [plekto] by fintail
Jan 10, 2009 (12:12 pm)
Reply

Replying to: plekto (Jan 10, 2009 10:54 am)

Diesel fintail owners can be pretty fanatical. I know of a really pristine 190 that went for over 10K.
 
Good article, that was fun.
#817 of 1492
Re: Craigslist [plekto] by nippononly
Jan 10, 2009 (12:32 pm)
Reply

Replying to: plekto (Jan 10, 2009 10:54 am)

190Dc - 35mpg, easy. 0-60 in 30 seconds.
 
Note - the same era 200D does 0-60 in 25 seconds and has 80mph top speed. 28mpg.

 
Funny thig is, if they built a few diesels with this type of acceleration today, they would probably make 100 mpg easy. Too bad they won't do it.
#818 of 1492
Re: Craigslist [plekto] by bumpy
Jan 10, 2009 (3:39 pm)
Reply

Replying to: plekto (Jan 10, 2009 10:54 am)

Once you get back to those '60s 190 and 200Ds, you're probably better off with the '80s 190D manual. They're faster, not appreciably smaller, and get somewhat better mileage. Tricky part is finding one that's not all miled up, beat up, or both.
#819 of 1492
Re: Craigslist [bumpy] by plekto
Jan 10, 2009 (8:53 pm)
Reply

Replying to: bumpy (Jan 10, 2009 3:39 pm)

Ah - I forgot about them. The more modern 190Ds are also good. But hard to find as you noted.
 
http://www.kenrockwell.com/190d/index.htm
30-35mpg. Acceptable as an alternative to a typical compact car. Anything with a larger engine, though, is going to be not very thrifty.
 
Oh, and they have made a 30-40 second 0-60 time TDI already. The VW 1 liter car.
Okay, it gets 210MPG, not 100... heh.
#820 of 1492
Another SUV diesel announced by gagrice
Jan 10, 2009 (8:59 pm)
Reply
It looks like VW will bring a 3.0L TDI Touareg to the USA this Spring. VW is getting the jump on the Domestics and Japanese. Diesel is the only way to go for good mileage in a heavy SUV. The hybrid SUVs are not much good off road and cannot tow much. I say bring em on. Never too many choices.
 
http://www.vw.com/touaregtdi/en/us/
#821 of 1492
TDI in the Winter? by investor27
Jan 12, 2009 (9:15 am)
Reply
How are these TDI in the winter? I was up north in Wisconsin and didn't see a single Jetta TDI or BMW 335ix for that matter. Are diesels and turbos a bad idea for us people living in the northern states?
#822 of 1492
Re: TDI in the Winter? [investor27] by gagrice
Jan 12, 2009 (9:55 am)
Reply

Replying to: investor27 (Jan 12, 2009 9:15 am)

The Arctic is a much colder place than Wisconsin. You will not find a gas truck in the Arctic. ALL DIESEL, mostly Ford with a few GM and in 25 years up there I only saw One Dodge PU truck. Ford has 3 warranty places. Makes them the truck of choice.

Messages Page 83 of 150
1
...
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
...
150
Prev
Next
Last
Go To Msg #
Search This Discussion
To POST a message, please Sign In.

New? Join Now!

Forum Tools

Please sign in.
Email Address:

Password:

Forgot Password?

Search Forums

Enter Keyword(s)

Advanced Search

Browse by Vehicle



View All Vehicles
Advertisement
Ask the Community
See What People Are Asking

Browse by Board

Browse by Topic


View All Topics

Today's Chats

Advertisement