Rest In Peace, old friend, your work is finished.......
If you want on or off the DIESEL "KnOcK" LIST just FReepmail me........
This is a fairly HIGH VOLUME ping list on some days......
Posted on 01/31/2007 9:21:09 AM PST by Red Badger
Germany’s Automobilewoche reports that with the change in Volkswagen’s top management is coming a change in strategy for hybrids.
Martin Winterkorn, who formerly headed the company’s Audi AG unit, became CEO after Bernd Pischetsrieder resigned at the end of 2006. Pischetsrieder had brought in Wolfgang Bernhard from DaimlerChrysler to run the Volkswagen unit. Berhard has now left (as of today), and Winterkorn will personally oversee the VW brand for the time being.
Now, rather than target a mild hybrid Jetta for sale into the California market in 2008 as described by Pischetsrieder, Volkswagen will focus first on a full hybrid Touareg SUV. VW has announced a 50-state compliant (Tier 2 Bin 5) diesel Jetta will go on sale in the US in 2008.
The additional cost of the compact hybrid or of a hybrid drivetrain applied in a Touran van didn’t make sense for management, given price-sensitivity of the consumers, and a negligible gain in fuel efficiency compared to a diesel powertrain. VW was exploring the use of the Continental mild hybrid system in those applications.
Now, Volkswagen will concentrate on developing a hybrid application of the Touareg (along with Porsche with its Cayenne) for the end of 2008, with Bosch providing the full hybrid system, according to the report.
Rest In Peace, old friend, your work is finished.......
If you want on or off the DIESEL "KnOcK" LIST just FReepmail me........
This is a fairly HIGH VOLUME ping list on some days......
KnOcK!......
Some guy in Holland did that on a Sunday in October of '73. nevertheless, sail powered or not, he was cited for breaking the Sunday driving ban. He had put a sail and a mast in his Beetle convertible..
lolz
I gave the old diesel Jetta a pretty good look and was impressed.
However, after doing research it looked like the high mileage would be washed out with expensive service costs.
Do you think the new one will be cheaper to maintain?
All things being equal, it would probably be on par with a gasoline engine, now, better filtering and cleaner fuels, better seals and rings.......
Tacking into the wind down the interstate could be interesting/
I hope so. The MPG on those things is amazing with much more power vs a hybrid.
I may give the new one a look in a few years if they can control maintenance costs.
It seems that a small diesel, operating in the optimum powerband at all times, would be ideal for a hybrid application. Let the batteries handle the low-end grunt, and let the small motor operate at a constant RPM with constant load at all times
You could even hop in the car and drive away on the batteries, and the diesel could start later, when it was good and ready.
The 2007 VW Jetta
Looks very Daimler-Chrysler-ish..........
I actually HAD a diesel Jetta and ran it for 300K miles with only replacing the glow-plugs once. All other repairs were normal for any car.
Got something around 55mpg.
The problem is, on-road diesels typically don't spend enough time off their design point to justify the expense and weight of a hybrid. They get better gas mileage (for most of us) without the weight.
That's one of my bookmarks!.....
Am I the only one that remembers when we went through the Diesel Car "Revolution" before??
When you put diesels in the hands of average consumers, in COLD PLACES, they become an absolute nightmare....
First -3 degree morning when it doesn't start on the first pull, these things will be heading back to the dealerships in DROVES...
Today's diesels are not your father's diesels..............50% of the cars sold in Europe are diesels, and I remember it got quite cold when I was there........
Euros also tend to keep cars FOR LIFE, unlike Americans..
We HAVE seen all of this before.
Tell me that the Grandma that can't program the VCR is going to remember to plug it in, and put additive in it, when she visits the kids in Chicago from Florida??
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