Trucks, Tech, Reviews, ADV Travel
Want to drive fast? Really fast?
My interest in Mickey Thompson Tires has always been related to off-road truck rubber. I’m not a racer or a car guy, I focus on four-wheel-drives and motos. However, I did speak briefly with Mr. Danny Thompson at the SEMA Show a couple years ago as he prepared for his attempt at the record, and just stumbled upon these two productions.
These excellent, short, professional videos tell an important story of triumph.
Recently we received VW’s TDI Customer Goodwill package in the mail.
-$500 Visa card
-$500 VW dealership card
-Roadside assistance for three years
To activate the cards the registered owner must take the package to a Volkswagen dealership, with proof of ownership, driver’s license, and the car. After the vehicle’s odometer is recorded and eligibility confirmed, the goodwill package is activated. Our loyalty cards are good through December 2016.
Because I perform the routine maintenance on our Jetta Sportwagen TDI, the $500 dealer monies will be used to purchase oil and filters, or maybe a set of tires. We will definitely spend it on wear items we can use beyond 2016.
Based on a few reports and commentaries I’ve read, some of the VW faithful are very angry about this diesel debacle. My wife and I are not pleased, but we’re also not worked-up about the situation. Resale value may have fallen—likely this will be temporary—but our car is the same, runs well and fits our needs, we still enjoy owning it, and have no plans for a replacement. Granted this is a long-range view, and if we were planning to sell or upgrade soon we’d be upset. Some think the $1,000 is far too little and should be thousands. Instead of three years of roadside assistance I’d rather have extra years of bumper-to-bumper warranty, which would cost Volkswagen more.
Is there a better, manual transmission economy car available in the USA that’s so fun to drive? Nope. A contrary view is that our car has become more valuable, and is essentially irreplaceable because these little diesel cars have not been sold for several months, and it will likely be many more before (if?) they are sold again. Barring any major reliability failures, we look forward to the next 10 years and 150,000 miles.
© 2016 J. Langan/RoadTraveler/PhotoWrite
Maybe it’s in our nature, or possibly our cultures, to survive by winning at all cost, including cheating? Though most learn that dishonesty is not the way, in theory if not in practice.
As my friend Mike commented, the ethics of the VW emissions cheating situation aside, didn’t the perpetrators think they would get caught someday? They should have…
http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/cars/2015/09/27/reports-volkswagen-emmissions/72923064/
This USA Today article indicates that the Bosch Corporation—you know, the important fuel-injection guys—warned VW not to use certain software during normal operation, in 2007. Then in 2011, a Volkswagen technician reportedly raised concerns about illegal practices and emissions levels.
Seems there was some (diesel) smoke early on, a warning about a smoldering fire.
©2015 James Langan/PhotoWrite/RoadTraveler
Maybe I’m wrong. Maybe VW’s despicable deceit will hurt the future market for diesel cars in the USA, like GM’s pathetic first attempt to make light-duty automotive diesels decades ago? The action was very different, but could a generally negative public perception of diesel power return? This article argues yes. http://autoweek.com/article/car-news/why-volkswagens-diesel-betrayal-different
The author makes valid points about alternative technologies getting better, heck, even gasoline-powered cars have become extremely efficient and economical (if we buy those models). My guess is that VW’s 2.0L TDI engines could have met the standards, still drive well, while obtaining slightly fewer miles-per-gallon. How much less is the question. Maybe two–three mpg on the highway? If that’s the number was it worth the trouble VW? Would people have avoided purchasing TDI cars because the EPA rating was lower and/or the cars obtained slightly less mpg?
Maybe we will find out if there is an ECM update recall that corrects the programming, making the cars meet standards. If so I’ll likely do a back-to-back freeway fuel-economy test to document the change. When the 2.0L TDI engines conform there might be consequences, like the particulate trap might fill sooner, and the car may not meet emissions system warranty standards set by the EPA.
As a former owner of the 1.9L TDI with its relatively modest 90 horsepower and 155 lb-ft of torque (2000 specs), and a current owner of a 2013, no-DEF injection, 2.0L TDI Jetta Sportwagen that makes an impressive 140 horsepower and 236 lb-ft, the slight reduction in real-world fuel economy from the newer car remains impressive. Both were equipped with manual transmissions, which helps economy, performance, and driving pleasure. The ’13 2.0L has a 6-speed tranny with an extra cog on top, and the taller final-drive ratio lets the engine turn fewer rpm, which surely helps.
If diesel car sales are severely and permanently damaged in the USA because of VW’s actions it will be unfortunate for enthusiasts, the engine design and technology has so much to offer, still. However, even if this does happen I’m confident it will not hurt the diesel truck market. The buyers are generally not the same folks, as the green diesel car market and the impressively powerful (and efficient) full-size light-truck diesels target different customers. Diesel-powered trucks and commercial equipment are going to continue doing work and moving freight for the foreseeable future. Decades.
©2015 James Langan/PhotoWrite/RoadTraveler
Prelude
As a longtime diesel aficionado, I have some thoughts about the recent revelation regarding Volkswagen’s intentional cheating on emissions tests, allowing vehicles to apparently meet standards when they actually did not while traveling on public roads.
Looking Back Before Looking Forward
We have already passed the crossroads for light-duty diesel acceptance in the USA. The overly belabored weaknesses of 1970s and 1980s G.M. diesel designs have finally faded in the press (which occurred long ago in the minds of most consumers).
Installing the naturally-aspirated International 6.9L V8 in 1983 Ford F-series pickups was a good, modest start. A positive diesel future was sealed when Chrysler and heavy-duty engine manufacturer Cummins installed the venerable 5.9L ISB turbodiesel in a mature Dodge pickup body. Light-duty diesel emission requirements were limited in those days, but have been updated several times since, becoming much more stringent. Yet manufacturers have developed technologies to meet the standards while simultaneously and dramatically improving performance. The massive toque and horsepower offered in newer diesel pickups from Ford, GM, and Ram were reserved for medium-duty and larger commercial trucks just a few years ago. Sometimes manufacturers even met future emissions requirements early, as Cummins did at one point with their 6.7L ISB.
More Diesel Cars Please
Smaller automotive diesel options (cars) have been few, with VW and Mercedes being the main players in the U.S. for decades, and BMW joining the fray more recently. VW has been the volume seller of diesel automobiles, which has much to do with the lower price of their vehicles and the miles-per-gallon they have been able to squeeze from a gallon of fuel.
The unfolding scandal interests me not only because of my enthusiasm for turbodiesel cars and light-trucks, but I also have a long standing connection to the VW brand. In my youth, my first two vehicles were 60s vintage VW Beetles. Before that, I literally learned to drive a manual transmission in my Papa’s 1978 VW Rabbit diesel 4-speed. Two decades later my wife and I owned a 2000 Golf TDI, putting 166,000 miles on the odometer before taking advantage of the excellent diesel resale value, and buying a new, 2013 Jetta Sportwagen “clean diesel”. Siblings and parents own VWs, and with my encouragement two cousins purchased late model VW TDIs.
Is this ridiculousness by VW going to hurt diesel sales from other manufacturers in the long run? I don’t think so. The emissions are extremely low (when met) and the economy and performance advantages many.
© 2015 James Langan/PhotoWrite
Not a typical RoadTraveler post, but it’s all about location, location, location. This is one exception to my distain for low-profile tires, and this is not a truck.
There is a nexus as there’s some off (above) road travel. I particularly like the sideways jump and turn. Turn up the speakers.
Ford Motor Company has a resounding success in their 3.5L EcoBoost V6 engine. In February 2011 the power plant was made available in the F150 pickup, and by April Ford sold 35% of their F150s with the little engine that could. By September Ford had sold 75,000 EcoBoost F150s and forecasted the take-rate would reach 45 percent. In December 2011 Ford was reporting they’d sold 100,000 EcoBoost F150s…fast-forward to July 2012 and Ford has now exceeded their sales predictions by 100,000 engines!
There were skeptics of this engine and technology, though I was not one of them, being a fan of both turbocharged forced-induction and Ford. The on-paper ratings of 420 lb-ft and 365 hp were, and still are impressive for a little V6; about the same torque one could wring from a similarly sized 4-cylinder diesel yet with more horsepower. The engine is capable of good V6 fuel-economy too. At inception I figured the only thing that could hurt this engine’s success would have been poor engineering or assembly, but it appears The Motor Company knows what they’re doing and I’ve yet to hear any bad press. Real-world high-mileage longevity is another question, and we will have this answer in a couple years after a few early-production trucks surpass the 200k mark with their original turbochargers intact; or not.
I’m not typically an early adopter of new technology or products, wanting things to prove themselves and have a thorough sorting before I spend my money, but I would have made an exception for the 3.5L EcoBoost. When I was shopping for a new half-ton pickup in April 2011, the field was quickly narrowed to the then new EcoBoost F150 and the 5.7L Toyota Tundra. I don’t regret my Tundra purchase (more on that later), but forced-induction would have been a daily pleasure at 5,000-ft.
Good on you Ford!
Now if you guys would just make an attractive mid-sized wagon, with a powerful EcoBoost and fuel-economy close to our VW TDI, maybe you can sell us a new car soon? Oh yeah, and I’d really like a manual transmission…remember those?
Copyright © 2012 James Langan