Cars that could yield boat engines

[BeauV]

So.... I was reading about this car, see link, and it occurred to me that VW may have built the perfect boat engine as a by-product of this project. This car is projected to get over 260 MPG!!



http://jalopnik.com/this-is-volkswagens-crazy-awesome-261-mpg-car-328215660

BV

[cap10ed]

Beau I just got myself into a used 2010 Golf TDI wagon in November 2012. The car is nuts on mileage. My average coming from St Catherines,ON to Atlanta,GA was 58 MPG. I like the diesel because I understand them. The Hybrid world is over my head in technology and I wouldn’t know were to start to trouble shoot that animal. I also need a car that can tow #1000 behind me. The VW you posted here is off the charts on mileage. With the swamp water diesel fuel coming on stream in the near future the prospects look bright for this engine. Then of course there’s Woody Allen’s car
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Algae_fuel

[BeauV]

Captain Ed,

Do you remember the ORGASMATRON from that movie - I have always WANTED one of those! And the VW Bug that starts right up after sitting in a cave for 1000 years. That was such a fun movie.

BV

[cap10ed]

Orgasmatron I remember it well. I thought Popular Mechanics should have sold plans to one. Every pimple faced 14 yr old boy would be ordering the plans. I am still up watching a storm come over our head here in Atlanta. Woke me up and now can’t sleep. Maybe it’s time to watch SLEEPER. Best line was when he thought everything was going his way when he found a parking spot 2 blocks from the hospital.

[kdh]

Ann and I love our new Golf TDI. Great mileage, very comfortable and practical car.

[Orestes Munn]

Wife has a Jetta TDI and sometimes lets me drive it.

Ed, you must drive even slower than I and that's saying something.

[BeauV]

SO.... I did a little more digging and that VW show car won't show up in that form on a real road.

Tires are only 3" wide and rock hard to get the mileage, real tires which can stop in rain and snow will knock a lot off the milage and increase comfort a great deal.

Engine is a 3cyl - 1/2 of a TDI 1600 cc turbo. The balance shaft seems to really work and the thing doesn't jump all over the place. VW has done an amazing job of making a smooth diesel in the past, who know.

I do like the idea of running the diesel all the time and using the battery to accelerate and brake.

BTW a friend who has the RAV/4 all electric says it almost never wears out brake pads because the electric re-charge from slowing the car with the electric motor is significant. They are up around 40-50 k miles and no measurable break wear. Interesting. He also says it'll do 0-60mph in 6.4 sec and burn rubber on dry pavement.

[cap10ed]

Wife has a Jetta TDI and sometimes lets me drive it.

Ed, you must drive even slower than I and that's saying something.

I think I must drive really slow, 100 km highway for me on cruise. Orstes I investigated the high mileage numbers and found out that the TDI speedo's have an error reading under the speed posted on the speedo. Picked that tibet off the TDI forum. The mileage hovered around 4.8 L/100km because it is mostly down hill to Atlanta from the mountains.I was transfixed by the trip computer showing 1L/100KM when coming down the mountain passes. I think I will get pounded going home.At home combined city/highway is around 40 mpg and with diesel at $1.30 a litre this is a frugal car. I am happy with anything over 23/mpg.

[kimbottles]

Wife has a Jetta TDI and sometimes lets me drive it.

Ed, you must drive even slower than I and that's saying something.

I think I must drive really slow, 100 km highway for me on cruise. Orstes I investigated the high mileage numbers and found out that the TDI speedo's have an error reading under the speed posted on the speedo. Picked that tibet off the TDI forum. The mileage hovered around 4.8 L/100km because it is mostly down hill to Atlanta from the mountains.I was transfixed by the trip computer showing 1L/100KM when coming down the mountain passes. I think I will get pounded going home.At home combined city/highway is around 40 mpg and with diesel at $1.30 a litre this is a frugal car. I am happy with anything over 23/mpg.

I have the same car Ed but in white. I love it. But I would really like VW to bring the Passat 4Motion wagon in to the states with the TDI motor. I would buy the first one if they did.

[Orestes Munn]

Ohhh, you drive metric. That's more efficient, too.

On a nice hot morning with no traffic, we''ll get 47 mpg on a trip to the boat. I checked my wife's speedo against a GPS and it seemed accurate within a mph or two.

[cap10ed]

Wife has a Jetta TDI and sometimes lets me drive it.

Ed, you must drive even slower than I and that's saying something.

I think I must drive really slow, 100 km highway for me on cruise. Orstes I investigated the high mileage numbers and found out that the TDI speedo's have an error reading under the speed posted on the speedo. Picked that tibet off the TDI forum. The mileage hovered around 4.8 L/100km because it is mostly down hill to Atlanta from the mountains.I was transfixed by the trip computer showing 1L/100KM when coming down the mountain passes. I think I will get pounded going home.At home combined city/highway is around 40 mpg and with diesel at $1.30 a litre this is a frugal car. I am happy with anything over 23/mpg.

[cap10ed]

Wife has a Jetta TDI and sometimes lets me drive it.

Ed, you must drive even slower than I and that's saying something.

I think I must drive really slow, 100 km highway for me on cruise. Orstes I investigated the high mileage numbers and found out that the TDI speedo's have an error reading under the speed posted on the speedo. Picked that tibet off the TDI forum. The mileage hovered around 4.8 L/100km because it is mostly down hill to Atlanta from the mountains.I was transfixed by the trip computer showing 1L/100KM when coming down the mountain passes. I think I will get pounded going home.At home combined city/highway is around 40 mpg and with diesel at $1.30 a litre this is a frugal car. I am happy with anything over 23/mpg.

I have the same car Ed but in white. I love it. But I would really like VW to bring the Passat 4Motion wagon in to the states with the TDI motor. I would buy the first one if they did.

That would be AWD and I would be right behind you for that feature. Our Honda Pilot is our winter ride because of the height and AWD. The Golf is sweet in the fluffy stuff and I have made it home in some nasty weather this winter. We run dedicated snow tires on both vehicles. I am going to borrow a GPS to see what error I have on my speedo. Who has the 6 speed and who as the automatic? I have a 6 speed because Pam likes them. She was taught on a 3 on the tree Chevy pick up and an assortment of my old sports cars. The Volvo 1800ES was her favorite with the electric OD. So full circle for us back into another sport wagon. Found this car on Youtube. Almost like the 1972 ES we had. Same color , same interior and only the rims are different. Car was an incubator with all that glass and no AC. Not like the full tint and frosty VW. If Momma is happy, Eddie is happy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f0QkIzn5oAM

[kimbottles]

Ed, my Jetta Sportswagon (same as your golf wagon) has 6 speed DSG transmission. I would rather have the manual 6 speed and if that Passat AWD TDI wagon shows up I will try for the manual 6 speed in it if the stupid American VW people will bring a manual transmission in to the USA. (I wonder if I can buy in Canada and register it in USA, most likely not even with NAFTA.)

[cap10ed]

Ed, my Jetta Sportswagon (same as your golf wagon) has 6 speed DSG transmission. I would rather have the manual 6 speed and if that Passat AWD TDI wagon shows up I will try for the manual 6 speed in it if the stupid American VW people will bring a manual transmission in to the USA. (I wonder if I can buy in Canada and register it in USA, most likely not even with NAFTA.)

Kim I believe your right on NAFTA. My car has a speedo in KM and day time running lights both mandatory here. I am sure the rules are different for USA imports if not originating from Canada.

[Tim OConnell]

Speaking of day time running lights, the "safety" feature has spawned a load of unconscious drivers that seem to think they don't need to turn on full night running lights, simply because they see their headlamps.

Some of the newer cars also use higher intensity lights for their front daytime lights, so when these idiots keep them on at night, they blind everyone else.

What were the car manufacturers thinking? Saving electrons by turning off the rear lights?

[JoeP]

Yeah Tim, I see more and more people forgetting to turn on their night running lights, and running on their DRLs only. They must not look at their dashboards because on my cars the dash lights do not light when the DRLs are on only when full head and tail lights are on. I think, depending on what country you are in or where your car comes from the required intensity of the DRLs varies. Some cars use the high beams on a low intensity setting, some use the low beams, some use separate lights and some now use LED strings.

[Cherie320]

This one is really a good rant subject. Wife's car had the capability for DRL, but not as a US configuration. We had the dealer turn them on, but I believe the setting was the Canadian protocol. Ok, got that feature going. The car has auto lighting so all the lights come on when the ambient light goes away, so all good, day and night, right? No Cailfornia passed a law that you have to have the lights on when it's raining. DRL is front lights only and no tail lights. It actually makes sense for visibility. You need to see the car in front of you. But now all that auto stuff is useless and the driver has to turn on the lights by turning the switch to manual. Well any dummy can do that if they think. But the wipers are auto too. When rain hits the windshield in enough quantity, they start up on their own with no input from the driver. You'll buying this, right? I didn't think so. Rant over. I'll turn the switch. Solved the issue with my Mustang. Nothing auto, all manual. Start the engine and turn on the lights, day and night. Four alternators later and we're still going. Pat

[Orestes Munn]

I'm all for DRLs with taillights. People around here simply cannot be trusted to turn on lights in low vis, or even darkness.

[JoeP]

Might as well get rid of the DRLs and keep the lights on permanently.

Frankly I think DRLs are ok in some situations and not in others. When a car is coming at you and is in the shadows or in the sun they work quite well. I have noticed however that in rainy weather or dusk/dawn when headlights are on most of the cars I have a hard time distinguishing individual cars in my rear view mirror or ahead in the distance coming at me. The military tried a camouflage for tanks and other vehicles which was a series of bright lights places around the vehicles so that when on a ridge or massed together the individual units could not be distinguished or blended into the skyline. That's probably what is happening with the massed headlights on the highway. That or I have more serious vision problems than I thought.

[Tim OConnell]

Most European cars also have rear fog lamps, many since the 80's. I always turn mine on in wet highway conditions when there's a lot of spray.

The feature i would really like is a display in the rear window that can display predefined messages via voice activation: turn on lights!!
I'm sure you all have occasions where you'd like to relay other informative messages !!!

[Ish]

I have always been tempted to have one of those scrolling LED billboards in the back window, but I'd want to make sure I had the fastest car on the road first.

[Orestes Munn]

I have often fantasized about a big strobe for tailgaters, but the LED sign is a great idea.

[Ish]

Back when I was shooting professionally, I had a guy tailgate me a bit too aggressively. I fired off a Metz 45 commercial strobe through the back window and he damn near drove off the road.

[Orestes Munn]

Back when I was shooting professionally, I had a guy tailgate me a bit too aggressively. I fired off a Metz 45 commercial strobe through the back window and he damn near drove off the road.

About 3 s at 14 Hz would cure the most aggressive fool of the habit, not that I would ever do such a thing.

[floating dutchman]

LD 28, straight 6 by Nissan.

Last for ever and run on the smell of an oily rag, they were used in London back cab's and were (are?) a preferred engine by drivers. And they would also often last a million miles (actual).

In the last company I worked for my bosses wife had a Holden Commodore, with a LD 28 engine, We all gave her shit about having a car that sounded like a tractor. Until I drove it one day, Hit the 100 Kph area, up to revs (by ear) in fourth then into fifth, look at the speedo, Opps, 140 Kph. Best I slow down a little!

LD 28 gets my vote.

jeroen

[cap10ed]

Ohhh, you drive metric. That's more efficient, too.

On a nice hot morning with no traffic, we''ll get 47 mpg on a trip to the boat. I checked my wife's speedo against a GPS and it seemed accurate within a mph or two.

I am out 7 mph at 60 mph and it gets worse the faster I go. Used a Garmin to test it. To many police around here to light it up and see what the error is at 80 mph. If some one posts bail I might give it a try to 100 mph.

[cavelamb]

Back when I was shooting professionally, I had a guy tailgate me a bit too aggressively. I fired off a Metz 45 commercial strobe through the back window and he damn near drove off the road.

About 3 s at 14 Hz would cure the most aggressive fool of the habit, not that I would ever do such a thing.

Back when I was riding motorcycles a friend gave me a leather bag of marbles
to be deployed when cars got two close. Only used it twice.

But these days, driving the speed limit in Dallas traffic feels a lot like a buck
on opening day of deer season.
People just drive stupid!

We've quit calling them "accidents" in favor of "driving lessons".

[Orestes Munn]

Hell hath no fury like an elderly neurology professor on a bicycle...except the same little gink 30 years ago. Lets not go there.

[Soñadora]

I put about 600 miles on my jeep in the past 2 weeks. I won't share what the fuel costs were.

But I still love my jeep

[Joli]

Our first diesel car (30 years ago) was a Ford Escort, it was a great little car that we put 200k on. The engine was a 4 from Mazda with 5 mains holding a forged crank mated to a manual 5 speed. We mad a trip from Toledo to Fort Lauderdale, total fuel consumption was $20 each way. We stopped in Atlanta for fuel out of boredom. That engine won't meet emissions today but it almost always averaged high 40's when on the road.



Todays ride is a TDi Touareg,, much more sophisticated then the old Escort but they both share the commonality of great fuel mileage, the TDi is a 5,000 AWD truck averaging 33 hgwy capable of pulling a 8,000 lb tool trailer.



I wonder why the big 3 haven't imported the diesels they build in Europe. It would seem new CAFE standards would drive it?