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What Would It Take for YOU to buy a diesel car?
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Another indicator that diesel fuel availability is no big deal is that most "new or UPGRADED" stations put diesel pumps together with RUG/PUG dispensers. I used to like my own pump (USLD) and area (peel me a grape here Nero). But, wait time (RUG/PUG) has not increased ULSD wait times much at all.
I have thought that Shell ULSD was the fuel to use. The ARCO station where BP ULSD was sold before the mandate in 2006, was my fuel of choice on both my MB Cruiser RV and Passat TDI. The station I used most gave you a disposable glove when dispensing diesel. I did not use truck stops as they mostly had the larger nozzle that did not fit my Passat. Generally regular gas stations kept their green diesel handle cleaner.
http://www.mbusa.com/mercedes/benz/design/designo
Most of the MB interior leather was not that nice looking to me. Even the $12,000 leather in the S on the floor had too much red in it for my taste.
I am so used to the vapor barrier nozzles in CA, I forgot just how disgusting RUG smells. I would rather get a little diesel on my hands than highly carcinogenic RUG fumes in my system. Time to ban that dangerous RUG/PUG before we all die of cancer.
There is also industrial waste product fuel generation at a plethora of levels, etc etc.
The Berkeley, CA dump on is way to producing/recycling and selling app 40,000 gals (per year) of biodiesel had to fight its own legislative and regulatory environmental [non-permissible content removed] to produce a naturally occurring more environmentally friendly product !!!!!!!!
So @ Gerdus' consumption level (78 mpg) that is 3.12 M miles. So I think a lot of enviro cons like to tell fairy tales rather than implement PRACTICAL grade school math.
The free disposable fueling gloves that came out a few years ago didn't last long. People probably grabbed them for home projects.
Bloomberg
I think I averaged around 32mpg, which included a lot of Autobahn driving.
Now I have had (off line) discussions with US VW (TDI ) salesman (from Europe and regularly go back and forth). They say the (US version) VW Touareg TDI is most like what a European TDI (Touareg) is like in Europe.
any modern car can do orders of magnitude more than that, 0 to 60 blasts or 0 to 100 blasts.
i wish i could afford the diesel entry price for a wagon or SUV or pickup. leasing would be my path to a VW 2-a-reg, which would defeat the purpose of awesome-mpg -> "unlimited-miles". a vw golf tdi stickshift is a possibility i suppose. next car has to be suv or wagon. suv preferred due to ground/snow clearance. AWD/4WD not required.
turns out that i find stickshift more important than diesel motor. and stickshift gassers are soooo much less $ than the diesels offered by manufacturers. even for VW.
Lately I'm liking the VW TIGUAN 6-SPEED MANUAL FWD gasser - what a bargain.
Unfortunately there are none to be found in USA, but maybe one could be ordered.
similarly if i decided to spend $50k , i would surely select Cayenne stickshift gasser over Cayenne automatic diesel. The stickshift Cayenne has got to be soooo much more fun to drive than automatic. Stickshift Tig is probably more fun to drive than the double-the-price 2-a-reg TDI, despite the 2-a-reg being a way better platform/etc. ! ?
I think they are very nice looking and worthwhile with a diesel engine. Smaller than I would like for long trips. The Tiguan MT is also EPA rated 3 MPG less in city driving?
Tiguan manual transmission
any modern car can do orders of magnitude more than that, 0 to 60 blasts or 0 to 100 blasts. "..
Like you I wish it truly IS/WAS bullet proof, or even better, they would pick up the tab should anything goes south after 100 (real) launches. So you think THAT will happen? Take your meds before you respond.
As for diesel, while I also think the US Tiquan (TDI) would be GREAT, I am also reading that VW is coming out with another CUV in that (US)market segment. If they do come with either a M/T and or TDI you can almost count on it being (WAY) more expensive than the Tiquan. Now whether it will be offered in a stick shift version or even a TDI, your guess's are as good as mine. In any case, VW does charge app 1,100 (over a 6 speed M/T )for a DSG.
You undoubtably know the Tiquan, on European and world markets does come in diesel and transmission options. My swag is the US MB GLK 250 Blue Tec (MSRP starts @ 38,500) upped the ante to VW. How they will respond in US markets (if at all) remains to be seen. I am also swagging that if they want to do battle with the MB GLK's 369# ft, the current DSG is marginal at best. They would probably have to upgrade the M/T should that be offered in a 369# ft configuration.
As you point out with an anecdotal example, not many cross over to the VW Touareg, let alone the TDI. I have read the 2012 Touareg sold 10553 units with 5,000 being TDI's for app 47.4%. The Porsche and Audi iterations, together with the VW's posted app 37,000 units.
Out of 672 Porsche TDI units in (current 2013 )inventory, only 4 are listed sub $60,350. So if you can get a new Porsche TDI @ 50k( or better below) , PLEASE let me be one of the first you email !! :shades:
I'm sure if I buy a diesel powered vehicle, the NSA will find out about it and raise diesel prices back up. :sick:
It should have lit a fire under BMW as well. That segment promises to be hot with retiring Boomers. The Q5 TDI is due out this year. I got a feeling it will be the 3.0L V6 TDI. They offer both in the EU. I don't see that as a winner. Popular with the stop light racers, but not those looking to get 40 MPG on the highway. Right now Mercedes has the only game in town for a real high mileage SUV.
I did get a call from a Salt Lake City VW dealer with a white with saddle brown leather Touareg TDI Lux. Waiting to hear the price.
that's a good chuckle about the federal monitoring and diesel prices, a3.
speaking of A3, the A3 tdi is nice but no stickshift no sale.
the stickshift in my cruze LS makes the car soooo much better and controllable than the slushbox model (i floor it quite often, as i've mentioned
visited the new & very-local VW dealership asking for stickshift tigs as well as TDIs. The saleswoman drives a wagon TDI stick, so we were on the same page. maybe she'll find me one of those stickshift tigs. the SUV formfactor seems so much more useful than hatchback/golf, and it's less $, so its easy to justify getting a gasser engine when its that much less $ than the instead of the vastly superior diesel engine alternative models! ! !
at first i laughed/disagreed at the great gagrice's comment that sedans are useless and SUVs are useful. but the dude is soooooo right when he's right , eh?
Not sure I understand how an SUV is different than a wagon/hatch.
Comparing the Cruze slush-box to the A3 TDI dual clutch auto-manual is an insult to VW and Audi.
When you are young and nimble getting in and out of a sedan is no big deal. The older we get the more difficult extracting ourselves from low lying sedans.
Andre, the major difference is height of the seats. I like the SUVs that are not real high. My Sequoia is just a bit on the high side for short people. If you can sit in the seat with feet flat on the ground, then swing into the car it is much less strain on the back. The ML, GLK and Touareg are all positioned just right for me and my rather tall wife. I hate getting out of our LS400 Lexus.
That is why I see a big surge in the SUV/CUV market as the Boomers retire and look for that perfect vacation vehicle. Either to hit the road or tow behind their Prevost RV. Two 80+ ladies in our church drive new Honda CR-Vs. Both love them after dumping their sedans.
Pretty narrow spread between D2 $3.79, RUG $3.81, PUG $4.03. Resort town is cheapest of where I would most likely buy fuel ?
On the road, I will normally try to buy on price. In addition, the grocery store fuel stations per gal discounts are (defacto) Shell and Chevron stations. I know for a fact fuel goes to a nearby terminal from a (Chevron) refinery up the street (literally) . So by a whole bunch of circumstances around here, all roads seem to criss cross Shell and Chevron. Valero is another local player and the Union 76 brand (but not Union76) is trying to compete.
All that said, I can't say the swoopy seat molding at the sides of the seat base on the MB do much for me...If I like the seats, sitting in them, then I would forgive that aspect, but I have a feeling it might take quite some time before I got used to it not looking pretty odd to my eye each time I opened the door to get in.
Well, IMO.. there's at least three too many exclamation marks in this statement..
It would appear that you acknowledge the diesel powerplant has the ability to be the superior choice over a gas job...but what is elusive in your comment, is that many prospective diesel shoppers already know the type of driving experience they're looking for, and to a good number...(no..make that the vast majority) of those shoppers, the gas jobs don't cut it even IF and that is an enormous and very unrealistic if, they could even match the FE of the diesel. And if anyone were to suggest that potential in perhaps (but highly unlikely) a one-off anomaly that may be out there somewhere...it still could NEVER match the driving dynamics that the diesel accomplishes without even breaking a sweat..
i.e - some people would prefer to drive an oil burner regardless of all other options that are out there, whether they be perceived by some to be superior in selected traits here and there or not..
I always carry my own gloves no matter what vehicle I drive. I do so for tire changing etc. When I fuel a diesel, I'd say that where you step is of a far greater concern than grabbing a wet nozzle with some gloves. Some people are just inept at even the simplest of tasks...like fueling their car, they can't even get that right without making a mess
It takes all kinds...I have a low-life neighbour (who is moving thankgoodness!!!) that actually puts their dogs out to have a dump all in front of the only path to get to their door. Imagine what their house must smell like :sick:
Property prices here are about to go back to the proper place in the mkt as soon as this tripe have moved on to upset some other neighbourhood..
AMEN to that. I always watch where I step at the gas station. Even gas only places like Costco. Our World is filled with filthy PIGS, with no concept of what it is to be careful with the nozzle before and after filling. If I get a drop of gas outside the filler I get a paper towel and wipe it clean. I see cars with gas stains down the side of the car and wonder what their home is like? :sick:
Of course there's no real comparison between a $17k car (cruze) and a $30k car (A3 TDI).
But the A3 TDI would be a fantastic car with a manual transmission! !!!!!!! YES!!!!!!
(including extra exclamation points for g-s-t).
great point about watching where you step when refueling a diesel! sometimes accidents happen and fuel gets spilled, apparently.
as for ease of ingress & egress, that's not the reason I like small-SUV form-factor... yet... i'm still shopping for corvette and have a looooow second-car.
Really? Four (4) acronym's in a row? Seriously? Maybe we could have a contest, see who can string together the most consecutive acronyms. Winner gets a week in Dallas. Second place gets two weeks. (smile)
Property prices here are about to go back to the proper place in the mkt as soon as this tripe have moved on to upset some other neighbourhood..
Did you actually read that before you pressed the "Post" button? Come on folks, let's try and raise the level just a little, okay?
Thanks.
Yes I did, what am I missing? :confuse:
Perhaps it was something as elusive as your (incorrectly) accusing me of stringing 4 acronyms together in a row.
Wouldn't you know it, eh...right when you're trying to give someone hell, you put your foot in it.. :lemon:
FWIW, I too only knew two outta the four..
It is one of my pet peeves as well. So much so that 3 years ago I suggested to Edmunds to offer us an automotive related acronym forum, dedicated to unraveling them. And while they thought it was a great idea, we still don't have one
please consider to post something automotive not meta-discussion?
how about starting with identifying the M&M of your VDBTR?
(make & model of your van down by the river.) I doubt it is a diesel.
use acronyms or don't use them, identify them or don't identify them, use hieroglyphics, aramaic, whatever works for you, cowboy.
Really? Four (4) acronym's in a row?..."
It is just a matter of looking for information in other places and in different ways. On edmunds.com, all one has to do is plug it in the SEARCH (this discussion) function, (acronym, word, whatever -upper right) and it will spill where and what context it was used, definition usually at some point. One can also use any number of on line dictionary's. One can even put it in the link search and chances are they will show. Now I will admit VAG is a bit sketchy. :sick:
..."VAG-COM is a PC / Laptop based tool capable of reading fault codes, clearing fault codes, displaying live data, resetting learnt values, resetting service lights and displays, programming ECUs... In fact vagcom has virtually the same diagnostic capabilities as the dealers tool."...
NB is VW speak for NEW BEETLE. TDI is turbo diesel injection.
DSG is direct shift gearbox. It is also a chip off the (original) German translation ..." (German: Direkt-Schalt-Getriebe[1]), commonly abbreviated to DSG,[2][3] is an electronically controlled dual-clutch[2] multiple-shaft manual gearbox, in a transaxle design – without a conventional clutch pedal,[4] and with full automatic,[2] or semi-manual control."... Wiki DSG
But... you get the drill here? :shades:
And there were over 50 pages worth and nary a one said anything about New Beetle...just sayin'...
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x4, with ABS, #1ftrx18l23nb03662....
1997 Mazda MX-5 Miata: DIY NB2 Coil On Plug Option November 23, 2012... If you're installing an '01-'05 Miata engine (aka NB2) into an earlier chassis, one... of the things you'll have to deal with are the coils. The NB2's VVT hardware precludes...
in progress shown above) of our head. Keegan has found that for NB-era Miata BP heads like... from the factory than the early NB or NA heads in terms of casting quality and core... nerds will recall that this is the approach taken by the factory when the NB Miata...
the stroller and the aerobed at home. (NB: We could have fit both, if necessary. We ended...
NB) washer bottle and bracket that mounts near the brake master cylinder...
a later Miata (NB) configuration, which locates the bump stop higher, allowing...
full article and comment. 1997 Mazda MX-5 Miata: DIY NB2 Coil On Plug... (aka NB2) into an earlier chassis, one of the things you'll have to deal... with are the coils. The NB2's VVT hardware precludes mounting the earlier coils in the usual spot...
1997 Mazda MX-5 Miata: DIY NB2 Coil On Plug Option November 23, 2012... If you're installing an '01-'05 Miata engine (aka NB2) into an earlier chassis, one... of the things you'll have to deal with are the coils. The NB2's VVT hardware precludes...
And guess what the search brought up first? Right...all these posts but worse...Oh Henry's was at the top of the list...not only not indicating at all what NB was..initiating the actual frustration in the first place..
Again...ya wanna talk tedious...that is tedious..
And really...how many people really want to navigate away from a forum they are reading every other sentence in order to acquire some hint as to what the poster is actually posting? Most simply won't bother/read and so is a total waste of bandwidth...much like these posts right here debating the same old thing as we did years ago.. but I digress :sick:
(make & model of your van down by the river.)
I have been like this I have found since the very first car I ever went to dealer to show an interest in. Over the years though, the majority of these trips I have been on my own and if I can't concentrate (they talk too much or know less about the car than I do.....I really frig HATE that) then I ask for the keys and some quiet time with the car in the dealers lot. If I like it there, then I ask for a dealer plate to leave the lot. I have been able to save myself a mistaken purchase with this method more than once in the past. Sometimes it can be a 'simple' thing like realizing the lowest height position of the seatbelt shoulder strap is still too high and rubs my neck. Yet another of the reasons I am shopping right now even tho the CRV is nowhere near used up.
Thanks in advance..(if it's a pain to find, then not to worry about it).
PG2 illustration #1, Self Study Programme 350 3.0 L V6 TDI Engine, aka TMI? ..."The 8-speed automatic gearbox 0C8 is a further development of the 6-speed automatic gearbox 09D from the Japanese gearbox company AISIN AW CO LTD."...
Please let me know if either and/or both is/are what you had in mind.
Aisin 8 speed A/T, aka Gearbox OC8
Aisin TR 80 SD
see the balancer shaft pulley in middle? See the tensioner to the left? That's the one that concerns me the most when I think of longevity or issues down the road..there are others too as you can see..that long but less angled one down to the lower right leaving the balancer pulley and on its way to the oil pump pulley.
Pre market AND longer term AFTER to TMI, the engineers will (probably have already) have to conduct a statistical verification and failure analysis of those parts of most likely and actual parts THAT fail/ failure. Any more, one really wants to know the accuracy of the predictive value of the software used to virtually design products. In effect without getting more TMI than we already are: an oz of virtual prevention is worth #'s of real world cure.
I'm guessing by what I have perused, the parts are VERY ROBUST. I am a long way from 200,000 to 300,000 miles, so if you are still interested when those miles click by, I will let you know.
Now I can give you TMI on 3 TLC gassers with 250,000 miles ! :lemon: I will be quiet now.