http://blogs.carpoint.ca/2009/01/volkswagens-showstopper-three-years-away.html
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http://blogs.carpoint.ca/2009/01/volkswagens-showstopper-three-years-away.html
Looks like a Porsche Boxter and a bit of Pontiac Solstice....a good looking machine.
DAMN!!!! My car buying schedule has me replacing the Acura in two years, not three. C'mon, VW, speed it up.
Yes, we have a schedule. We replace our cars on staggered six-year cycles, and finance them for three years. That way we never have more than one car payment, and replace the cars (hopefully) just before they hit 100k miles.
Yes, we have a schedule. We replace our cars on staggered six-year cycles, and finance them for three years. That way we never have more than one car payment, and replace the cars (hopefully) just before they hit 100k miles.
Always been an oil-burner fan.
angela
angela
From the side view it is very much RX8 meets MR2 Spyder with a touch of Audi TT in the tail...
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/detroit-motor-show/4227652/Detroit-auto-show-2009-Volkswagen-Bluesport-Concept-at-the-Detroit-Motor-Show.html
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/detroit-motor-show/4227652/Detroit-auto-show-2009-Volkswagen-Bluesport-Concept-at-the-Detroit-Motor-Show.html
I reeeeeeeally like the idea of a well done sports car that gets over 50mpg.
Kind of Volkswagen's version of the old Fiero, off-the-shelf parts in a sexy "youth friendly" body. Looks like too many other cars to get excited about.
Me thinks . . .
Me thinks . . .
I currently own two VW TDIs, a 2002 Jetta and 2000 New Beetle, both of which are 5 speed manuals. The Jetta makes a good road car, as evidenced by the 158,000 miles on the odometer. At 70-75 mph, I usually get 50-52 mpg. I only fill the tank every 500 miles, but stop more often to offload baldders. My wife looks good in her Gomera Green Beetle.
The TDIs of that vintage are 90 HP, with about 150 lbs. of torque, and will keep pulling up to about 100 MPH. I can only imagine what a 180 HP, mid-engined, turbo-charged diesel would be like. Without a doubt, it would be neck snapping acceleration from idle. All of that with 65 MPG. VW rocks!
Once people get accustomed to 50 mpg and the incredible torque from idle, they never go back to a gas burner. Also, the engine is good for at least 450,000 miles. Makes auto expense real inexpensive compared to the usual vehicles.
Now, if I did not already have a Speedster in the garage, I would plan on getting one of these new common rail diesels! Then again, I love the looks of my Speedster and I'm a mechanical tinkerer. Then again, ........ dang! Too many car toys out there and not enough life left!!
Chuck
The TDIs of that vintage are 90 HP, with about 150 lbs. of torque, and will keep pulling up to about 100 MPH. I can only imagine what a 180 HP, mid-engined, turbo-charged diesel would be like. Without a doubt, it would be neck snapping acceleration from idle. All of that with 65 MPG. VW rocks!
Once people get accustomed to 50 mpg and the incredible torque from idle, they never go back to a gas burner. Also, the engine is good for at least 450,000 miles. Makes auto expense real inexpensive compared to the usual vehicles.
Now, if I did not already have a Speedster in the garage, I would plan on getting one of these new common rail diesels! Then again, I love the looks of my Speedster and I'm a mechanical tinkerer. Then again, ........ dang! Too many car toys out there and not enough life left!!
Chuck
Sorry to rain on this inaug, but
Notice that this is a CANADIEN review.
Theres already many hi-mpg diesels. In EUROPE.
NOT allowed in USA, thanks to the enviro-wackoffs.
Notice that this is a CANADIEN review.
Theres already many hi-mpg diesels. In EUROPE.
NOT allowed in USA, thanks to the enviro-wackoffs.
Yeah....that's also why Diesel prices are so high here in America - lots of the low-emission diesel fuel is diverted to Europe, not here....
Yeah the "no-diesel" b.s. in this country just kills me. I would absolutely love to have some of the 500-600 ft. lb. torque sedans that are available in Europe (e.g. BMW).
Horsepower gives you top speed, but it is torque that launches your car out of corners and snaps your neck backward.
mmm....whiplash...nice....
angela
Horsepower gives you top speed, but it is torque that launches your car out of corners and snaps your neck backward.
mmm....whiplash...nice....
angela
Hey Angela....snap your head back for this...
As I understand it, Europe has lots of Diesel because most of their refineries are designed to process crude oil using a different process than the U. S. refineries. as a result, Europe gets a much higher perentage of diesel, and less gasoline, from their process. U. S. gets a much higher percentage of gasoline, and less diesel, from their process. These basic decisions on how to process crude oil were made many years ago, prior to mid-century. It is very expensive to convert the refining equipment from one refining process to another, probably equivalent to building a whole new refinery. And, like nuclear plants, you may have noticed that nobody has been building new refineries lately. So Europe has relatively more diesel infrastructure, and U.S. has relatively more gasoline infrastructure. The automobile manufacturers have given us products to reflect our different infrastructures.
Vince - you better bring some rosin for your gloves. Wouldn't want you to loose your grip ;-P
angela
angela
torque is what makes the world go round. bill
May the TORQUE be with you!
Chuck
Chuck
It is true that Europe is way ahead of us in their diesel car offerings. At this time, at least 50% of all new cars sold are diesels, with the most efficient getting an average of 62 MPG. Our own EPA has bans on the importation of most diesel powered cars, letting in only a few. BMW has some very powerful diesel cars available in Europe. Ford sells a diesel in Europe, but will not ship it to the U.S. I have read that the various carmakers will not challenge the EPA over its antiquated views about diesels because they do not think that Americans would purchase enough of the diesels to justify the cost of redesign to meet U.S. safety standards. When fuel prices go back up and stay up, hopefully the demand for efficient diesels should be enough to change this situation.
I worked for a large, independent refiner/marketer of petroleum products throughout the 1980s. It had 5 refineries, two of which it closed. The reason for the closures was EPA mandated changes that were so expensive that the company could not continue to operate the two smaller refineries at a profit. The strategy of the refiners in the U.S. has been to close all small refineries and expand the large ones. We have lost 50% of our refineries while maintaining our refining capacity. Thank the EPA for these closures and lost jobs.
There has not been a single new refinery built in the U.S. since 1979. The reasons are EPA red tape and having to face an avalanche of lawsuits filed against a refiner by every environmental group out there. When necessary, it is easier to import refined product than to produce it ourselves=little red tape and no lawsuits. The Sierra Club and other groups are determined to prevent the construction of any refinery in the U.S. and to boost the fuel prices to limit demand.
A couple of years ago, I found a site that described a lot of the high performance diesel cars available in Europe. It blew my mind and I will see if I can find the site and post it here.
Chuck
I worked for a large, independent refiner/marketer of petroleum products throughout the 1980s. It had 5 refineries, two of which it closed. The reason for the closures was EPA mandated changes that were so expensive that the company could not continue to operate the two smaller refineries at a profit. The strategy of the refiners in the U.S. has been to close all small refineries and expand the large ones. We have lost 50% of our refineries while maintaining our refining capacity. Thank the EPA for these closures and lost jobs.
There has not been a single new refinery built in the U.S. since 1979. The reasons are EPA red tape and having to face an avalanche of lawsuits filed against a refiner by every environmental group out there. When necessary, it is easier to import refined product than to produce it ourselves=little red tape and no lawsuits. The Sierra Club and other groups are determined to prevent the construction of any refinery in the U.S. and to boost the fuel prices to limit demand.
A couple of years ago, I found a site that described a lot of the high performance diesel cars available in Europe. It blew my mind and I will see if I can find the site and post it here.
Chuck
Couple of items Re: diesel. One is a personal experience w/ a diesel Puegot (404??) four door I rented some years ago in France. Drove it for a few days before I even knew it was a diesel, if you can believe that. Car had wonderful driveability, was fast, and when I finally did figure it out, was impressed with the mileage efficiency. Weather was hot then, and so I had the A/C on and windows up. Very well sound-proofed chassis. Rolled the window down once inside a parking garage, and thought: gee, that engine sounds like a diesel. duh!!! [ And yes, I would have figured it out on the first stop for fuel.]
Second item: consider a barrel of oil about to be refined. Under optimum conditions, it will yield a certain percentage of gasoline and a certain percentage of diesel fuel, and a short list of other cool stuff. You can't refine the raw material into just gas or just diesel. The chemistry does not work that way. And so, all things being equal, it would make sense if all the cars and trucks in the world were made up of the same rough percentage of gas powered vs. diesel powered. That way, all of the refined material would have a place to go. I have been told that way back when the auto industry was getting started, it developed (by choice or by chance, I don't know) that Europe would have the diesels and the US would have the gas powered cars, rather than each region having to support the same ratio of both. The oil companies just did it this way. Excess refined gasoline and/or diesel fuel was, and may still be, shipped back and forth across the pond to maintain the prescribed ratio of gas cars here and diesel cars there. Boils down to basic chemistry, so I was told.
Second item: consider a barrel of oil about to be refined. Under optimum conditions, it will yield a certain percentage of gasoline and a certain percentage of diesel fuel, and a short list of other cool stuff. You can't refine the raw material into just gas or just diesel. The chemistry does not work that way. And so, all things being equal, it would make sense if all the cars and trucks in the world were made up of the same rough percentage of gas powered vs. diesel powered. That way, all of the refined material would have a place to go. I have been told that way back when the auto industry was getting started, it developed (by choice or by chance, I don't know) that Europe would have the diesels and the US would have the gas powered cars, rather than each region having to support the same ratio of both. The oil companies just did it this way. Excess refined gasoline and/or diesel fuel was, and may still be, shipped back and forth across the pond to maintain the prescribed ratio of gas cars here and diesel cars there. Boils down to basic chemistry, so I was told.
Here is the link in regard to diesel powered vehicles in Europe. Check out the Opel Eco-Speedster. What a sweet car! 155 MPH top end with 94 MPG, presumably at a much lower speed. Some of the other models of diesel cars are noteworthy.
http://www.journeytoforever.org/biodiesel_future.html
Enjoy the reading and dream on! Why do the Europeans get most of the really neat cars? By comparison, they eat at a buffet and we get a menu of about 6 entres year after year.
Chuck
http://www.journeytoforever.org/biodiesel_future.html
Enjoy the reading and dream on! Why do the Europeans get most of the really neat cars? By comparison, they eat at a buffet and we get a menu of about 6 entres year after year.
Chuck
Check out this video on the Opel Eco-Speedster.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mvKYUM5NkWk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mvKYUM5NkWk