Well you can get the TDI to run on Biodiesel ... change the fuel lines to non-corrosive line since biodiesel eats thru regular fuel line ... done...
This is Part 1 of 2 on Dirty Jobs..... Part 2 of Dirty Jobs... BioDiesel @ home.....
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2009 Jetta TDI
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Well you can get the TDI to run on Biodiesel ... change the fuel lines to non-corrosive line since biodiesel eats thru regular fuel line ... done...
This is Part 1 of 2 on Dirty Jobs..... Part 2 of Dirty Jobs... BioDiesel @ home.....
The achieve the higher torque and lower RPMs, so they do not need to rev that high to get the power. Unfortunately I don't know enough about engine to explain any more
I get it now, I never even thought about the diesels' torque
Then again I do not think I have even ridden in a diesel car/truck. To boot, the only cars I have driven as a manuel were a 1971 Pontiac Lemann's with a 455 V8, an Eclipse that was pretty heavily modded, and a Corvette...pretty much all red liners
True... I'd actually kind of consider a 1-series, also.
Actually, now, though, the EOS is also very interesting in the new VW lineup...
I dislike how every small, cool car of the 1990s has grown in size. Then the company has to replace the "compact" cars, such as the Jetta, with new compact models.
Visually, this new Jetta looks as long as a Honda Accord from the mid-1990s, and that Accord was considered a mid-sized car. Anyway, they need to put this TDI engine into a Rabbit, Golf, Polo, etc. One easy way to get better mileage is to drive a lighter car.
Visually, this new Jetta looks as long as a Honda Accord from the mid-1990s, and that Accord was considered a mid-sized car. Anyway, they need to put this TDI engine into a Rabbit, Golf, Polo, etc. One easy way to get better mileage is to drive a lighter car.
My 2002 TDI cost $18,600 new, and I've spent less than $5000 for fuel since then, averaging around 45 mpg (it's chipped and has upgraded injectors). Major service at 80,000mi cost $600. Its next major service is at 180,000 miles, or roughly in the year 2015.
Brakes every four, tires every two, filters and oil every 10,000 miles and insurance is dirt cheap. My total costs going forward, including registration, insurance, regular parts and maintenance and fuel at today's high prices are less than $2600/yr. If I'd bought the gasoline model my fuel prices would account for more than $2000/yr at today's prices. These things are so dirt cheap to run you have to have one to believe it.
I cannot forgive Ford for not bringing the MkII Focus TDCi stateside when they had the chance. They'd be destroying the competition right now.
Brakes every four, tires every two, filters and oil every 10,000 miles and insurance is dirt cheap. My total costs going forward, including registration, insurance, regular parts and maintenance and fuel at today's high prices are less than $2600/yr. If I'd bought the gasoline model my fuel prices would account for more than $2000/yr at today's prices. These things are so dirt cheap to run you have to have one to believe it.
I cannot forgive Ford for not bringing the MkII Focus TDCi stateside when they had the chance. They'd be destroying the competition right now.
True that... what I particularly hate is that, while I think the new small models are cute, they suck chassis-wise. Honda went from the old civics with double wishbone suspensions to the Fit... which doesn't even have an IRS, does it? And I want to believe in electric steering (EPAS is on most of those, right?), but I need my steering to be telepathic... and I've yet to use an EPAS system that felt that way.
The MINI, quality issues aside, is kind of my model of what I want in a small car -- relatively light, performance minded, lots of safety and gadget features. I'd rather pay $20-25k for that than for another 800 lbs of metal....
Well I want my small cars to:
1. Be small, at least in terms of length.
2. Not have a high ground clearance of 150 mm like in the Honda Fit or similar cars. I'd like something like the Nissan Versa, or possibly the Mini, which have a shorter clearance. Oh, and a good suspension. A compact car with a crap suspension, short wheelbase, and high centre of gravity does not equate to good handling.
3. Great fuel economy. That's why I don't like the Rabbit. It's more powerful, but I get enough speed from almost any car. I'm more worried about getting decent performance out of a small engine. If it takes me 13 seconds to go from 0-100 kph, I'm not going to enjoy it.
4. Be a hatchback. Anything else just looks like something Ned Flanders should drive (he drove a Geo).
I saw one on the road on Monday, looked just as nice as the regular one, but sounded pretty quiet. I didn't realize people where starting to actually receive them!
I saw one on the road on Monday, looked just as nice as the regular one, but sounded pretty quiet. I didn't realize people where starting to actually receive them!
I'd be really curious to hear anyone's test drive impressions...
I have heard a LOT more about Honda bringing a diesel here than I have heard about Subaru. Everything I have read about Subarus diesel is that it is being created for Europe, where there is an incredibly high demand for diesel vehicles. Honda will have a diesel Ridgeline, Pilot, CR-V, and the Acura TSX will get a diesel soon.
Back to VW, I would never recommend a VW to anyone. I have heard way too many bad things about them and my first hand experience is not good as well.
NightFlight checkout mkrishnan's pdf about quality. I got 50/50 info from people I know that own it, they either LOVE it, or they are not sure. Only people that complained, were complaining to me on behalf of someone else.
NightFlight checkout mkrishnan's pdf about quality. I got 50/50 info from people I know that own it, they either LOVE it, or they are not sure. Only people that complained, were complaining to me on behalf of someone else.
I saw the PDF.
I have posted this in so many VW vs. whatever threads I am just going to create an automated response...
FOUR VW products have been lemoned where I work, all on my floor. That is a pretty good indicator of VWs quality and reliability. My family has had VW products and they all have been pretty lousy, with only a MK3 Golf being somewhat reliable.
The Fit is the best choice for a compact car, hands down. Who cares about ground clearance? It is one of the best handling cars in its class/price range...
I went for a test drive of the Versa a couple of months after it came out with my best friend and his girlfriend (she drove). The hood came OPENon the highway, destroying the windshield, hood, and damaging the roof. It almost caused a serious accident on RT-66. It was properly latched and we waited on the side of the highway for someone from the dealership to come pick us up. A few days later she went and bought a white Honda Fit. The Nissan has a junk interior and its fit and finish was poor, I am not even factoring in the the hood "incident".
I think you are missing my point about the PDF, the new CEO of VW came in with the target of improving the quality, and if you look at the numbers, it is finally paying off.
I have heard of people with the same crazy stories as you though, and that is scary.
I have heard of people with the same crazy stories as you though, and that is scary.
I think you are missing my point about the PDF, the new CEO of VW came in with the target of improving the quality, and if you look at the numbers, it is finally paying off.
I have heard of people with the same crazy stories as you though, and that is scary.
I don't think it is paying off yet, I'll believe it when multiple people tell me to buy a VW instead of a Honda because it is more reliable.
Almost every single male (some women too) in my family is in the automotive industry, and I don't mean dealership work, I mean at different manufacturers R&D centers and corporate headquarters. I get more insider information than a regular person... haha
I used to be in the automotive industry myself.
I agree, more or less. I think it is paying off, but they have a ways to go yet. They've just very recently started improving a very lousy track record. Benefiting them is the fact that they have a relatively new fleet right now, meaning lots more of their parts and assemblies were designed with an eye for quality. But this takes time, and I don't think VW is there yet.And yeah, absolutely -- you find a double edged viewpoint on VW in the industry. Everyone loves their cars in concept. Those who are willing to deal with the fact that things will almost certainly go wrong are very happy with their VWs. But if you said, "Hey, I live alone, I just barely have time to get routine maintenance done, and I depend on my car to the point that if it ever is unavailable to me, my week is going to be ruined," I don't think there are very many industry insiders who would tell you to buy a VW....
The driving pleasure (mostly) mitigates the quality problems in VWs. I was interested in the new, clean diesel but it is a bit pricey when you consider the cost of the fuel. It sounded as if you couldn't stop just anywhere to get the cleaner fuel, either.
Funny that they're about even with Mazda as that's where I was planning to go next.
Yeah, to be honest, my Mazda experiences have been reasonably good but not perfect. And Mazdas are fun to drive. Really fun.
I personally probably am on the slightly "would rather have fun than perfect reliability or lowest TCO" end.RE: The clean diesel, now this is one thing I hadn't kept up on. I thought that as of last year, all gas stations that service passenger cars were required to be selling low sulfur / clean diesel and only clean diesel? I went to EPA's website right now and I honestly couldn't find a straight answer, though.
All diesel sold in the US now is clean diesel by law. So you can fill up your TDI at any regular station that carries diesel.
Funny is that Mazda is second on my list after VW, they both drive great and I love the interior. I guess I have a soft spot for them
Funny is that Mazda is second on my list after VW, they both drive great and I love the interior. I guess I have a soft spot for them
For sometime now with modern TDI's (though some, not all... check with manufacturer), you've been able to use biodiesel without any modifications whatsoever.
So... it's been most of a year, the TDI Jetta came back on the US market and received generally positive reviews, and now teh Mohan is in want of a new car... Having found out that being carless in the place where he will be for the next two years is not very feasible.
Anyone who already got a 2009 TDI care to comment on their experience so far?
I spec'd one out on the WV site, and I think I'd basically like the TDI with the 6M transmission, one of the less expensive 17" wheel sets, rear side airbags, and maybe one or two other minor niceties.
Although, I've read recently that VW still seems to not have a very good iPod integration system. Any comments on this? I would like to get another used 30-60GB clickwheel iPod, put my whole library on it, and leave it in my car. I'd want a system where I could access a large library from the head unit.
Also a couple of questions regarding VW buying in the US, in general, if this isn't a threadjack... does VW still have end-of-model-year sales? When are they? It might be best for me to pick up a 2009 TDI if I can find one, at a discount, rather than waiting for 2010.
Anyone who already got a 2009 TDI care to comment on their experience so far?
I spec'd one out on the WV site, and I think I'd basically like the TDI with the 6M transmission, one of the less expensive 17" wheel sets, rear side airbags, and maybe one or two other minor niceties.
Although, I've read recently that VW still seems to not have a very good iPod integration system. Any comments on this? I would like to get another used 30-60GB clickwheel iPod, put my whole library on it, and leave it in my car. I'd want a system where I could access a large library from the head unit.
Also a couple of questions regarding VW buying in the US, in general, if this isn't a threadjack... does VW still have end-of-model-year sales? When are they? It might be best for me to pick up a 2009 TDI if I can find one, at a discount, rather than waiting for 2010.
I haven't heard much about the iPod integration. I have seen the car around and to be it sounds quieter than the older TDI.
I have withheld test driving it until I was really ready to get a new car, and waiting for a 2010 model for any bug fixes they may have.
I have withheld test driving it until I was really ready to get a new car, and waiting for a 2010 model for any bug fixes they may have.
That's what others have said about the new TDI engine, too. It sounds like a very nice clean diesel effort.
Apparently the issue with the iPod integration is that the system VW uses is incredibly limited, as described here. I'm curious to know if this is slated to change.
It does look like DICE and some other companies perhaps offer third-party kits. The DICE one looks nice although it looks like it knocks out satellite radio in order to work.
The other car I'm most actively considering instead of a diesel Jetta is probably a Mini, although since it's been out now for a number of years, its appeal started to drain on me. Also the price is close to a wash once I get a handful of things the I also want on the VW....
The current iPod integration is garbage, I had it in my GTI (RIP ). There's a new touchscreen navigation unit out there, called the RNS-510 that is supposedly available with something called an MDI - Multimedia Device Interface I think is what it stands for, which has a USB port for your iPod, flash drive or any USB MP3 player that actually works. It gives you direct access to your iPod, complete with displaying ID3 tags, letting you browse artists, playlists, etc. I don't know if it's available on US market VWs yet (the nav unit is, I don't know about the MDI) but I know people in the US have ordered the MDI from Germany and installed it on their cars. I think it's pretty much plug and play once you take apart the dash and get to the back of the nav unit, but don't quote me on that.
Oh yeah, in case you need any more convincing to buy a VW, I walked away from this mess without a single scratch on me earlier in the week:
The Jettas are built on the same A5 platform as my GTI and are just as safe. If you needed one more reason to take the plunge and buy one, that should be it. It's the reason why I'm getting another GTI to replace it.
). There's a new touchscreen navigation unit out there, called the RNS-510 that is supposedly available with something called an MDI - Multimedia Device Interface I think is what it stands for, which has a USB port for your iPod, flash drive or any USB MP3 player that actually works. It gives you direct access to your iPod, complete with displaying ID3 tags, letting you browse artists, playlists, etc. I don't know if it's available on US market VWs yet (the nav unit is, I don't know about the MDI) but I know people in the US have ordered the MDI from Germany and installed it on their cars. I think it's pretty much plug and play once you take apart the dash and get to the back of the nav unit, but don't quote me on that.Oh yeah, in case you need any more convincing to buy a VW, I walked away from this mess without a single scratch on me earlier in the week:
The Jettas are built on the same A5 platform as my GTI and are just as safe. If you needed one more reason to take the plunge and buy one, that should be it. It's the reason why I'm getting another GTI to replace it.