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Comments
2001 Prelude Type SH, 2022 Highlander XLE AWD, 2025 Camry SE AWD
I am sure the transportation portion threads through EVERY category.
Low hanging fruit would be to press your 2001 Prelude into commute service. It is an almost no brainer swag you own this outright and for a while. NO monthly payments are way cool, diesel or no diesel ! The corollary is it is also true when you outright own a diesel !
What are mpg figures for your Prelude and wife's 11 Honda Pilot.
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '98 Alfa 156 2.0TS; '08 Maser QP; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '11 Mini Cooper S
If you have time and like the sportier ride and handling. I would watch for the GTD to be sold here. We drove the Beetle TDI while our Touareg was getting the 20 day once over and wash. And it was a fun little car to drive. Roomier than they look from outside. Quiet and comfy relatively speaking. I doubt it is nearly as quiet as our Touareg at 70 MPH. Only the top of the line Lexus Sedan is quieter.
Just reading a MT 7 car comparison. The Accord was by far the noisiest at 70 MPH and WOT. Camry was the quietest. Still 67 db is far noisier than I would tolerate on long highway trip.
2001 Prelude Type SH, 2022 Highlander XLE AWD, 2025 Camry SE AWD
2013 Volkswagen Passat TDI: A Look Underneath
I don't think your long term Passat has been through many mud puddles. Of course we have not had much rain in So CA this year.
It's also a quiet ride. I'm not thrilled with the sealing properties of the driver door's weather stripping, which lets in more wind than I'd like (though it's not nearly as bad as the seals on our long-term GTI), but there's minimal noise from the tires.
That was exactly my complaint with the USA built GMC Hybrid PU truck. Is that an indictment on US workers? Maybe the VW workers would feel better as UAW workers, where building a solid car is not high on the list of priorities. If I heard wind noise from around the door seals, I would be getting rid of the car.
Thankfully my Touareg was built in the Porsche factory in Slovakia. Where fit and finish are extremely important.
I would appreciate that too, but IMO, a superior design is one in which even less than enthusiastic assembly workers end up with a perfect-fit finished product every time. Idiot proof assemble-ability design if you will.
It does seem a bit worthless. For the record the worst WOT vehicles I have driven were 4 cylinder gas with CVT. And the Subaru I test drove was horribly noisy maintaining 55 MPH up a long grade. That was the only CVT vehicle I have driven and enough to turn me off on them.
I would appreciate that too, but IMO, a superior design is one in which even less than enthusiastic assembly workers end up with a perfect-fit finished product every time. Idiot proof assemble-ability design if you will.
That is very true. I just like to pull the UAW chain whenever the opportunity arises. I think poor design and cutting corners is a big factor. I have never heard any complaints on wind noise with the triple seal used by Buick. How much more would it cost to use better seals? The GMC seals kept falling off their tracks. I asked the service people if it would help to glue them in place. His response it will void the warranty. The odds on me EVER buying another GM product is Nil.
If that is too big for your commute purposes, next in line would be the Golf TDI.
If you are ok with the so called "de contented" version, the Jetta TDI.
Be aware that the Passat seems to average better mpg than either Golf or Jetta.
While I LIKE the Honda Civic, I have to say that 4/4 drivers (house hold) would choose the Jetta TDI (when given the choice). 3/4 drivers HATE the Civic (when compared).
The Civic has been on many road trips ( R/T San Jose to Portland, San Jose to Seattle, San Jose to Los Angeles, San Jose to San Diego). It in no way compares to any TDI, other than both get you from point A to point B and return. It does post good mpg numbers, albeit lower speeds than the TDI's.
Another factor which makes this SOS DD is the fact that the UAW have been bigger SHAREHOLDERS owners of GM, compliments of the US government giving them what, 17% ownership! So they have had shareholder and BOARD representation in addition to actually building the vehicles.
Carl Icahn the corporate shaker upper takes far smaller stakes and he is quite successful in shaking up the targeted corp company.
2011 BMW 328xi
1,596.6 miles tracked
5 fill ups
20.4 avg mpg
$.205 cost per mile
2011 Honda Pilot
2,119.5 miles tracked
7 fill ups
16.9 avg mpg
$.228 cost per mile
2001 Honda Prelude
280.4 miles tracked
1 fill up
23.1 mpg
$.178 cost per mile
2001 Prelude Type SH, 2022 Highlander XLE AWD, 2025 Camry SE AWD
2,119.5 miles tracked
7 fill ups
16.9 avg mpg"...
GEEZ 83% better mpg !!!! ????
Interesting when compared with the VW T TDI @ 31 mpg. Fuelly puts the VW T gasser in the same ball park as the HP.
So for example, we get 15 to 17 mpg on the SOS DD trip with the TLC's. (same ball park with the HP?) In truth it is not even a real comparison (even as I compare them) for in the last caravan trip, I was easily 20 mins ahead of both and we started FROM the same EXACT time and place. I hung back a lot to make sure the "herd" was doing ok.
More on point of what you asked, the 4 drivers get normally get a range of 38 to 44 mpg on the 09 Jetta TDI. The commute is a low of 40 to sometimes 44/45. So we can call it more like 41/42. (using your 23.1 as the comparison mpg) Further anomaly is the 6 speed DSG transmission. I would swag better mpg with a 6 speed MANUAL, but that is purely a swag@ 1 to 3 mpg better.
Or put another way...better still.. since I do assume that you have valid reasons for keeping BOTH TLCs going all this time, why haven't you (years ago) sourced a pair of 3.3 4 cyl diesel powertrains for them? The fuel savings alone surely would pay for that chore to find and swap? I say this not lightly and on the surface, the costs to purchase and re and re, actually would usually take a LONG time to make the numbers work, but I say this cuz you have indicated you plan to keep these two gas guzzlers going for 100's of thousands of miles still...and all the while, gas is just going to keep going up, which further supports biting that diesel engine swap.
Sounds like some other crappy car company out there whose name escapes me.
Oh yeah, Volkswagen. Why would anyone buy one of their cars? State of Saxony owns a bunch of it and the union sits on the board. Better run the other way.
But we digress. :shades:
Jetta TDI Premium - $25,955 + destination
Passat TDI SE w/ Sunroof - $28,295 + destination
Golf TDI w/ Sunroof & Naviagtion - $27,995
All cars equipped with 6 Speed DSG
2001 Prelude Type SH, 2022 Highlander XLE AWD, 2025 Camry SE AWD
I posted my first two fill ups on Fuelly 1076 miles tracked.
$4.05 Avg. Price/Gallon
$86.46 Avg. Price/Fuel-up
$0.161 Avg. Price/Mile
2001 Prelude Type SH, 2022 Highlander XLE AWD, 2025 Camry SE AWD
For my .02 cents a no brainer would be a Honda Pilot TDI.
That is the reason my Wife's grand daughter was so happy to get our Sequoia. They haul kids around a lot. They also visit family in Tahoe on a regular basis. They have a VW Sportswagen TDI that is too small for the family and they wanted the safety of 4X4 the Sequoia offered. So they will suffer with your wife at 15-17 MPG. I hope to get the Touareg up over 30 MPG with some trips we have planned. Just filled the Nissan Frontier and it cost 24.4 cents per mile. That was driving down and getting the cheap stuff at Costco at $3.77 a gallon. Last local fill up was 3.99 per gallon. That would kick the price up to 25.8 cents a mile. Right about $3 more to drive my PU to Costco than the Touareg.
As far as buying the Touareg. We decided leaving all the money to the kids was kind of foolish. Besides I needed a new toy. ;-)
2013 LX 570 2016 LS 460
i remember the 1979 da-glo VW rabbits, including diesels, those were among the earliest, with 1980 being the first usa-built year.
I will just make it easy. I would say that 60/40 is about the right percentage line between all the models available as GAS or TDI. The TDI line enjoys a good reputation in the DC area, especially with the educated, international population. The TDI badge is known in many, many countries.
Again though with VW, the base warranty is 3/36, and VW has not yet shaken it's reputation for expensive repairs. I hear you guys say "Diesels last forever, and "shes just getting broken in at 100k".
Well, unfortunately, the rest of the car at 100k is still wearing like any other car, and expensive to keep up out of the warranty and free service period.
Well, unfortunately, the rest of the car at 100k is still wearing like any other car, and expensive to keep up out of the warranty and free service period."...
I would agree that VW has not yet overcome its (US market) reputation for unreliability (truly a self inflicted GSW). However, I do have to say I have spent more on repairs for the 04Civic than I have the 03VW TDI Jetta for (LIKE MILES in my case 120,000 miles) This includes scheduled and unscheduled maintenance. This is true even as Honda (Civic) has the reputation as appliance like, and VW has the reputation as a DIY er or needs mechanical attention. Again this is WITH the assumption that ANY car (gasser or diesel, etc but you drew the gasser/diesel comparison) should be able to go 100,000 to 120,000 miles between major tune ups. Now I would prefer 200,000 to 240,000 miles but... I can dream......
http://blogs.cars.com/kickingtires/2013/04/2013-ram-1500-laramie-longhorn-editio- - n-gorgeous-or-gaudy.html
I'm sorry man, but if I really wanted a mount with that much leather and expense to own, I'd buy my daughter a horse.
-but..... then I would surely need a trailer and a RAM truck to tow it! It's a Paradox!!!! Noooooooo!
That rang a bell with me. As I found parts for my 1978 Honda Accord to be extremely expensive compared to my Ford Escort back in the 1980s. So I looked up a common part that fails after a few years on many cars. The drivers window regulator. I went to PartsTrain.com for a look. A VW driver's side window regulator W/O motor is $100.95, Honda driver's side window regulator is $108.95.
Just a quick look for rebuilt VW and Honda engines looks like the Honda gasser may be more to have rebuilt than the VW TDI. Too many variables to be certain.
This is a common repair on the driver side. Now, I pulled a motor and regulator at the junkyard for my niece, who was crying over that estimate and needed the window functional to pass inspection.
This was the second motor for that window. My original one failed at 87k.
Normal conversation at 3' 60-65dB
Which means if the outside noise coming into the vehicle is over 65 db you have to yell for the person next to you to hear. That is one of the tests that caught my eye on the diesel SUVs tested. The Touareg TDI 64 db at 70 MPH makes normal conversation pleasant. The new Lexus LS460 at 63 db imperceptibly better. However the Honda Accord at 69 db is noticeably worse. If all you listen to is Hip Hop and Rap Crap, no big deal I suppose.
Perceptions of Increases in Decibel Level
Imperceptible Change 1dB
Barely Perceptible Change 3dB
Clearly Noticeable Change 5dB
About Twice as Loud 10dB
Something to think about if your music tastes ever advance past Led Zeppelin and Metallica. ;-)
My ears ring so I don't like it too quiet. I got stuck on hold with a doc's office today playing some "Top 40" classical stuff and thought I was going to have to hang up and cancel my appointment by email. :-)
2001 Prelude Type SH, 2022 Highlander XLE AWD, 2025 Camry SE AWD
Amazingly the low diesel rumble at idle is just about below my level of tinnitus. Once it warms up nearly impossible to hear in or out of the vehicle. The screaming of a little 4 banger gasser trying to keep up with traffic is just plain annoying.
http://www.examiner.com/slideshow/2014-ram-1500-to-reach-for-30-mpg-with-new-eco- diesel-power-train#slide=4
If a gasser could do it, believe me, (just on diesel implementation $$'s dollar savings alone) they would have brought it to market. Of course the "Torque Flight" is the ZF licensed 8 speed A/T, a competitor to the Aisin 8 speed A/T.
Perhaps you and I are of the age group where (to me anyway) Torque Flight tm brings less than sterling memories.
Now if the Nissan/Cummins TDI 8 cylinder PU truck can get close to, at or even slightly above 30 mpg, you will have a real horse race here. It would also be a real game changer for an 8 cylinder to get 30 mpg, EPA H! Not to even mention 550 # ft of torque !? I did not get a sense of what A/T it is mated to. But anything less than a ROBUST 8 speed would be a strategic mistake.
But it would seem that Nissan wants to slug it out with FORD, GM, Chrysler in the bigger honker segment (aka "light truck" segment). To a lesser extent CUMMINS DIESEL has at least some say in the matter, as I am sure reputations and capital are also at stake.
Tranny/transaxle oil change at 100k....
Buy an engine with a chain, not a belt......save cash there.
I wonder if the new diesels need injectors at service intervals as the older ones did. I know I still have to do injectors at regular intervals on the CAT engines I run. Even the remans are not cheap.
The Civic's plugs were VERY expensive ($40?), but I was careful to get the oem recommended ones. It also required a TB/water pump change (120,000 miles). This took longer and cost more than the TDI's. Valve adjustments are required. Tune up done. Then required antifreeze and thermostat change. Transmission fluid change required. Add to that the front brake pads and rotors needed changing. Then the normal air/cabin filters and 20,000 miles OCI. Oh and the Honda's alignment tends to wander. So was I unhappy? Absolutely not. I knew this before I bought the thing. But yes it did cost considerably more than the TDI's. Now if I had taken it to the local Honda dealer, it would have been way more than considerably more on the TDI. But this area has access to an excellent Indy shop. T
Wonder not about the TDI injectors @ service time: NO.