TIME Magazine article on crude oil prices

[TooSlick]

Interesting article on pages 40-41 of the current Time magazine...time to detail that V-8 SUV and go diesel before the 2007 emissions regulations kick in: Ref Car and Driver; article on page # 27 by Patrick Bedard.

I was amused to see that TIME actually interviewed one of my old Georgia Tech ME Professors from 26 years ago - Dr. Sam Shelton - for this story. So I guess I can call that one degree of separation to his fifteen minutes of fame. LOL!

TS

 

[buster]

Brock Yates on page 31 of the C&D magazine is obviously not a fan of Hybrids. I don't have the TIME magazine. I would drive a diesel if it had enough power. I'll have to read the Patrick Bedard article.

3 dominant headlines lately seem to be "China the next superpower, Oil prices and The Runnaway Bride".........W's getting off the hook right now. His wife was actually funny the other night.

 

[TooSlick]

I agree 100% about the Hybrids - the battery pack costs several thousand dollars to replace and the cars are VERY mechanically complex.

The 2.0L, VW TDI engine puts out 247 ft-lbs of torque @ 2000 rpms - that's more torque than the 3.2L V-6 in the Acura TL and at a more usable rpm range. Horsepower is only 134, so a TDI will never accelerate like a gas engine. However once you are up to speed you will never need to downshift the diesel, even in the mountains of Upstate NY...

.Ratings with the 5 speed "tiptronic' auto trans are 27 city/38 hwy - not bad for a 3400 lb car with a 106" wheelbase and 188" length. The Passat Wagon is particularly attractive w/ over 60 ft3 of space with the rear seats folded down. Build quality on the German sourced Passat is comparable to the Audi A4 and A6 sedans, but with fewer bells and whistles. I would still avoid the Mexican built Golfs and Jettas, however. They still haven't gotten that plant sorted out....

It's a steal @ about $25K fully loaded....

 

[buster]

I'd love to see more diesel cars hit the US. Your right about the Hybrids.

 

[pitzel]

quote:

---

Originally posted by TooSlick:

I was amused to see that TIME actually interviewed one of my old Georgia Tech ME Professors from 26 years ago - Dr. Sam Shelton - for this story. So I guess I can call that one degree of separation to his fifteen minutes of fame. LOL!

---

Hehe, one of my former ME professors, Dr. P. B. Hertz, is recognized as one of the leading authorities in North America on the effects of biodiesel and esters in general on wear reduction in diesel engines.

Needless to say, he promotes the stuff!

 

[ruking77]

quote:

---

Originally posted by TooSlick:
I agree 100% about the Hybrids - the battery pack costs several thousand dollars to replace and the cars are VERY mechanically complex.

The 2.0L, VW TDI engine puts out 247 ft-lbs of torque @ 2000 rpms - that's more torque than the 3.2L V-6 in the Acura TL and at a more usable rpm range. Horsepower is only 134, so a TDI will never accelerate like a gas engine. However once you are up to speed you will never need to downshift the diesel, even in the mountains of Upstate NY...

.Ratings with the 5 speed "tiptronic' auto trans are 27 city/38 hwy - not bad for a 3400 lb car with a 106" wheelbase and 188" length. The Passat Wagon is particularly attractive w/ over 60 ft3 of space with the rear seats folded down. Build quality on the German sourced Passat is comparable to the Audi A4 and A6 sedans, but with fewer bells and whistles. I would still avoid the Mexican built Golfs and Jettas, however. They still haven't gotten that plant sorted out....

It's a steal @ about $25K fully loaded....

---

Seems to me also the OEM's would have to invest FAR less capital producing the diesel engine options vs the hybrids. At the time I bought my Jetta TDI, the Toyota Prius sold for app 11k more. I think B/E would probably be a VERY LONG WAY OFF. Or more to the point 11,000 dollars would buy a lot of #2 diesel. At the (then) price of 1.75 per gal with 48 mpg overall that would buy 6286 gal of fuel x 48=301,714 miles.

The Jetta TDI (2003) has 90 hp/155#ft of torque. While I have lived and traveled in upstate NY, how does a 606 mile trip (a lot of the trip at HIGHER ALTITUDE and CERTAINLY higher than the hills of upstate NY) from Durango CO, heading north toward Moab Utah to I70 S, to connect with I 15 S to Las Vegas NV with 6.5 hrs of travel time sound? 12.1 gal of fuel was taken at the 584 mile mark for 48 mph!! The range for the Jetta has been 44-62 mpg, lead to light foot.

I also think that in a few years V8 diesels will be a strong market. 500-800 # ft of torque is marketable once folks get over the novelty of diesel. Of course if it gave 25-30 mpg, that would probably not be hard to take either.

[ May 03, 2005, 09:15 PM: Message edited by: ruking77 ]

 

[Pablo]

If they made the Passat TDI Wagon with a stick I would be REALLY interested.

The "Mexican" Jetta Wagon does come with a manual - where are the engine and trans assembled?

On the surface (just like most glossy mags) - hybrids look good....but....

What I would like to see are production natural gas cars - because now there are rigs for compressing and fueling safely at home. Imagine that!~? Won't necessarily save the planet - but it sure would **** of the Arabs (and other exporters) plus most oil companies - We got and can get NG for awhile!!

 

[robbobster]

Clean, low-suphur diesel comes online in 2006. That's when you'll see a lot more high-tech diesels on the US market.

Most of todays high-tech diesels have a turbo or two. Unlike the TDI VW noted, most of these offer performance at least equal to their gas counterparts, and often better performance.

The Toureg TDI is a great axample. V10, big power, bigger torque, and 0 - 60mph in less than 7 seconds.