A Diesel for the Long Haul ... 50+ MPG!

FIFTY miles per gallon may not be a big deal for a tiny hybrid. But it seems like a minor miracle in a big, road-tripping sedan.

Yet that’s the real-world highway mileage I observed in the Volkswagen Passat TDI diesel. And considering the Passat’s mission — a family car whose roomy practicality would impress Ward and June Cleaver — the fuel-saving diesel only heightens that appeal.

After sampling all three flavors of Passat — 5-cylinder and V-6 gasoline versions, and this 2-liter, 140-horsepower turbodiesel — I’m certain I would choose the diesel, if only to see how many weeks I could drive without filling the tank.

VW says the Passat, which has a fuel capacity of 18.5 gallons, can cover 795 highway miles on a single tank, based on its 31/43 m.p.g rating. That’s with a 6-speed manual transmission; mileage falls slightly, to 30/40 m.p.g., with the 6-speed dual-clutch automatic.

But as with many modern diesels, the Passat TDI can handily beat its window-sticker mileage rating. I achieved a no-fooling 50 m.p.g. — in the less-efficient automatic version — simply by keeping the speedometer pegged to 60 m.p.h. Diesel highway mileage remained impressive even when I was flooring it: passing traffic at will, and cruising at speeds from 65 to 80 m.p.h., the Passat returned a healthy 45 m.p.g.

What the Passat cannot do is match hybrids in city driving and stop-and-go traffic. A rush-hour highway slog dropped it well below 20 m.p.g., conditions where leading hybrids can deliver 40 m.p.g.

With half of the horsepower of the Passat with a V-6, the TDI is far from quick, clicking off 8.6 seconds from a standstill to 60 m.p.h. Yet this quiet-running workhorse produces 236 pound-feet of torque, just 22 less than the V-6. What that means is surprising passing power where you want it, despite the car’s considerable weight of 3,459 pounds

Read here:

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/04/automobiles/a-diesel-for-the-long-haul.html?_r=0&pagewanted=print

Volkswagen Golf turns 40 ! HBD

This year marks the 40th anniversary of Volkswagen's Golf – the car that succeeded the original air-cooled, rear-wheel drive Beetle.

Now in its seventh generation, the Golf remains true to its original remit – motoring that's affordable rather than cheap.

Since its inception in 1974, the Golf has sold over 30 million units worldwide, placing it well ahead of the 21.5 million sales record of the Beetle. It was the larger Passat that broke the long-standing VW tradition of boxer engines driving through swing axles to the rear wheels, but it is the Golf that retains a place in the hearts and minds of owners from every social stratum. 

In its first incarnation, the Golf was styled jointly by Giorgio Giugiaro and Volkswagen. By October 1976 sales of the Golf had already passed the one-million mark. Before long the Golf was offered with diesel power and the sporty GTI variant, which became the benchmark for hot hatches in its time. 

"The step from Beetle to Golf was truly revolutionary," says Klaus Bischoff, head of design at Volkswagen. 

"The change from air-cooled rear engine to water-cooled front engine, and from rear to front wheel drive respectively, was a completely new vehicle layout at the time. Creatively, the Volkswagen designers changed from a round to an angular use of forms in those days, thanks to the legendary design by Giorgio Giugiaro. The main design elements of the Golf I, such as the silhouette of the upright, massive C-pillar, the prominent wheel arches and the typical horizontal front with slim grill and downwardly protruding headlights exist in every Golf to the present day."

An open top 'Cabriolet' version arrived in 1979. The first generation Golf became a victim of currency exchange rates in Australia, forcing Volkswagen's hand. With the Deutschmark beating the Aussie dollar into submission, Volkswagen ceased exporting passenger cars here. 

In 1983 the first generation Golf gave way to its successor. Golf II wasn't sold in Australia until the launch of the GTI here in 1990, as part of the relaunch of the marque's passenger cars. Packaging was improved in the follow-up to the first Golf, placing extra distance between driver and front passenger for greater comfort. There was more room in the rear as well, thanks to a wheelbase stretch, and clever stying reduced the new car's drag coefficient from 0.42 to 0.34Cd.

For Aussie buyers, the wait for Golf III wasn't as excruciatingly long as it had been for its predecessor – but it was still a while. Released in other markets in 1991, the Golf III arrived here three years later, but at least there were volume-selling variants in showrooms alongside the GTI by then. And there was also a VR6 (V6-engined) high-performance variant. 

For the first time the Cabriolet (assembled in Germany by Karmann) was no longer based on the original Golf, migrating to the Series III platform instead. Golf III ushered in significant crash safety gains from front airbags and stronger body construction, and saw the introduction of a wagon body style, which didn't come to Australia in that generation. The Golf hatch was larger once again, and more aerodynamic, now boasting a drag coefficient of 0.30Cd. 

New from the ground up, the Golf IV followed in 1998. Volkswagen introduced the (V6-powered) R32 variant, which launched the DSG (dual-clutch) transmission. Syncro (all-wheel drive) versions of the Golf now featured a Haldex clutch and came to be known as Golf 4MOTION. Direct-injection engines and side curtain airbags were introduced in 2002. The Cabriolet version soldiered on in a third-generation body, albeit with frontal styling in the same vein as the Golf IV's. Within three years of going on sale in Australia, the Golf IV had more than doubled annual sales of its predecessor. In 2003, its last full year on sale here, the Golf IV sold 6457 units – versus 2472 in 1997 for the Golf III.

Increased safety was the primary focus of designers working on Golf V, which arrived here in 2005, with more airbag coverage (six) and a laser-welded body that offered a 35 per cent hike in torsional rigidity, the manufacturer claimed. Golf GTI was now powered by a turbocharged and direct-injected engine. And forced induction took another step forward with the Twincharge engine in 2006, although that combination of supercharging and turbocharging has been discredited since, following reports of reliability issues in service. According to VFACTS, Golf V sold 10,982 units in Australia for the calendar year 2007.

For the 2008 launch of the Golf VI, Volkswagen substantially reworked the previous model, reducing the design complexity so the production line could build the new car in a fraction of the time it took to build Golf V. There were more safety improvements introduced – among them a kneebag for the driver. Volkswagen expanded its direct-injection drivetrain offerings and made the shift to a common-rail induction system for the diesel engines in Golf VI. By the end of 2012, the Golf VI had posted 17,289 sales in Australia over its last full year. 

The current Golf VII was unveiled near the end of 2012 and arrived in Australia last year. Lighter and more economical, the seventh generation Golf is also available – in foreign markets – in both plug-in hybrid and battery-electric vehicle form. 

Sales in Australia show little sign of slowing, despite a high-profile media frenzy last year erupting around Volkswagen and its products – including the Golf. Volkswagen Australia has issued a recall notice to check and rectify an electronic fault in cars fitted with DSG transmissions. Yet the recall appears to have had little long-term effect on sales of the Golf. For the first two months of 2014 Golf VII sold 3337 units, a figure 53.7 per cent up on the sales tally of 2002 for the same period last year. Sales year on year from 2012 to 2013 grew by just 53 units, but VW blames that in part on the staggered launch of the latest GTI. 

Now a Wheels Car of the Year winner, the Golf looks likely to rebound from its high-profile PR problems of last year – and with its reputation largely intact. 

Source: http://www.motoring.com.au/news/small-passenger/volkswagen/golf/volkswagen-golf-turns-40-42620
#webautosales

2005.5 MKV VW Jetta TDI on the DYNO

185K+ Miles as of the recording of this video

1.9 L TDI Engine (Diesel) 

DSG Transmission (Auto/Manual) 

300mpg Diesel-Electric Hybrid Unveiled by Volkswagen

The star of this week’s Qatar motor show will undoubtedly be Volkswagen’s “one-liter car,” the diesel hybrid XL1, which is able to achieve more than 300 mpg.

The $60,000 XL1 is powered by an 800cc, two-cylinder turbodiesel powerplant (half a BlueMotion engine), producing 47bhp, supported by a 27bhp electric motor hat fuelled by lithium-ion batteries. The batteries can be charged from a domestic plug, allowing the car to travel 22 miles solely on electric power

Over the past decade governments worldwide have been pressing the automotive industry for better gas mileage, better fuel economy in vehicles, and other sources of energy. The XL1 fulfills all these requirements.

The XL1 also emits just 24g/km of CO2 and has a 0-60 time of 11.9 seconds. Its 10-liter diesel tank gives the XL1 a range of around 340 miles. Adding to the XL1’s remarkable fuel efficiency is the fact that the car has been designed to be as light as possible, with an unpainted carbon fiber skin over a magnesium-alloy subframe.

Efforts to pare weight extend to the engine, transmission, suspension, carbon fiber wheels, aluminum brakes, titanium hubs and ceramic bearings, producing a vehicle weighing only 1,752 pounds.

The XL1 is the brainchild of Volkswagen group former head Ferdinand Piëch, who initiated the project in 1998. Volkswagen’s designers and engineers responded to Piëch’s challenge, immediately setting about producing a carbon-fiber bodied car with tandem seating and a single-piston engine. In 2002, in his last public appearance as chairman, Piëch drove to a VW shareholders meeting in Hamburg in the prototype, and even then managed to beat the fuel-consumption target that he had set his engineers. Following Piëch’s leaving Volkswagen, the project was essentially shelved until Piëch’s replacement, Martin Winterkorn, along with Volkswagen’s research and development head Ulrich Hackenberg, revisited the concept and developed the twin-cylinder hybrid L1, which appeared at the Frankfurt Motor Show in 2009.

Source: http://goo.gl/8EWL8D

CERTIFIED 2012 Volkswagen Passat Manual TDI DIESEL = 50 + MPG!!

Mileage: 38,132

6 Speed Manual Transmission

50+ MPG

2.0L DOHC 16-valve turbocharged TDI I4 engine -inc: 118 mph speed limiter

LOADED!

Heated V-Tex leatherette seats

Asking….. $22,991

Located in North Attleboro

Email Sean.VWDiesel@gmail.com for questions and to set up an appointment

*********************************************************************************

FIFTY miles per gallon may not be a big deal for a tiny hybrid. But it seems like a minor miracle in a big, road-tripping sedan.

Yet that’s the real-world highway mileage I observed in the Volkswagen Passat TDI diesel. And considering the Passat’s mission — a family car whose roomy practicality would impress Ward and June Cleaver — the fuel-saving diesel only heightens that appeal.

After sampling all three flavors of Passat — 5-cylinder and V-6 gasoline versions, and this 2-liter, 140-horsepower turbodiesel — I’m certain I would choose the diesel, if only to see how many weeks I could drive without filling the tank.

VW says the Passat, which has a fuel capacity of 18.5 gallons, can cover 795 highway miles on a single tank, based on its 31/43 m.p.g rating. That’s with a 6-speed manual transmission; mileage falls slightly, to 30/40 m.p.g., with the 6-speed dual-clutch automatic.

But as with many modern diesels, the Passat TDI can handily beat its window-sticker mileage rating. I achieved a no-fooling 50 m.p.g. — in the less-efficient automatic version — simply by keeping the speedometer pegged to 60 m.p.h. Diesel highway mileage remained impressive even when I was flooring it: passing traffic at will, and cruising at speeds from 65 to 80 m.p.h., the Passat returned a healthy 45 m.p.g.

What the Passat cannot do is match hybrids in city driving and stop-and-go traffic. A rush-hour highway slog dropped it well below 20 m.p.g., conditions where leading hybrids can deliver 40 m.p.g.

With half of the horsepower of the Passat with a V-6, the TDI is far from quick, clicking off 8.6 seconds from a standstill to 60 m.p.h. Yet this quiet-running workhorse produces 236 pound-feet of torque, just 22 less than the V-6. What that means is surprising passing power where you want it, despite the car’s considerable weight of 3,459 pounds.

Read full article: http://tinyurl.com/lz2anh7

Source: nytimes.com

1996-1997 Passat TDI

If you are looking for inexpensive way in to TDI-ownership... Pre-2005 has the 'original' TDI engine in it. They made literally millions of this 1.9L engine and it gets BETTER MPG than the newer ones. That engine is good for about 500,000 miles if the proper oil has been changed regularly.

If you don't mind the older MK3 versions, the 1996-1997 Passat TDI's are the granddaddy of them all, they were still made in Wolfsburg, Germany and not in Mexico...read more here: http://www.fritzgerman.com/NiceCars/79-tdi-articles

96 passat TDI 275K on mine.  40 city and 45 HWY manual transmission.

2012 Volkswagen Jetta Sportwagen: 19,842 miles

Pretty much in a class of its own, the 2012 Volkswagen Jetta Sportwagen is a great alternative to a variety of vehicles, thanks to its versatility and diesel engine.

 19,842 miles

40+mpg

Manual transmission

Diesel Fuel

Vehicle is in Quincy, MA

Asking: $20,000 obo

Email sean.VWDiesel@gmail.com

“Wonderful car! This wonderful car has it all: great braking, comfortable seats in front, great handling, adequate power, smooth shifting, great fuel economy. This car is fun to drive, it accommodates my leadfoot with great fuel economy (usually 41 with mixed city hwy with air conditioning, wife: 44.) I don't feel bad about cruising the speed I want to drive because I'm not putting that much fuel in it. We have 3 dogs, and with luggage is fairly comfortable for long trips (210 miles to my folks.) The exterior design has grown on me. The back folds down into a smooth platform which the dogs love, and I carry supplies to my country home with ease. I love it!! 10,000 miles on it so far.”

Source: Edmunds.com

#WEBAUTOSALES #VW #TDI #DIESEL