Audi TDI : Pure innovation for 2008

BIAS!

— Bill (View Profile)

Posted on 12/13/2006 3:30:10 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: -4   

Fact!

— Neverfollow (View Profile)

Posted on 12/13/2006 3:47:04 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 0   

yay america gets the good diesel engine!

— Rupert (View Profile)

Posted on 12/13/2006 4:40:02 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 1   

Actually its a scientific fact that HONDA just produced the best diesel engine. So...HOLLER!

— blueice4589 (View Profile)

Posted on 12/13/2006 4:42:42 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: -10   

Bluetec didn't pass emmisions because the EPA is dragging its tail. The technology is available and ready, all it needs is the approval from the hypocrites at the EPA.

— chewy (View Profile)

Posted on 12/13/2006 10:51:45 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 1   

Nice spin, trying to act as though Audi followed Toyota with hybrid, when it's common knowledge that VW was testing hybrids fifteen years before the first Toyota hybrid came out.

VW/Audi will utilize both of these technologies, successfully. More experience than Toyota in hybrid engineering and development, and more experience and a desire to market diesel engines in the US.

— AUDIMAN4 (View Profile)

Posted on 12/14/2006 1:10:52 AM | reply to this comment | Votes: 1   

Audi diesels until recently have been terrible about as refined as a putting your head in a metal bath and smacking it with a golf club.

Honda do do a very good diesel engine its almost like a petrol but its not the most economical despite what the claims say.

No if you want a good diesel you need to get a BMW far far better and with second generation common rail tech they really are head and shoulders above the rest for power, economy and certainly refinement.

Oh I'm from the UK and have driven them all before anyone gets clever. ;-)

— CarMad (View Profile)

Posted on 12/13/2006 5:16:39 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: -12   

Price of admission is easy. All you need is an extra 10,000 for the Audi, then 20-30% more for the diesel fuel.

I'm shocked Audi's website has nothing but good news about their diesels.

— huu76 (View Profile)

Posted on 12/13/2006 7:05:13 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: -10   

I can't wait!

The A6 3.0TDI, Q7 3.0TDI, (HOPEFULLY) the A8 4.2TDI, the E320 CDI, the GL320 CDI, and the ML320 CDI will revolutionize the American luxury industry! Go Audi, go Mercedes!

— S4cabriofoxone (View Profile)

Posted on 12/13/2006 8:14:00 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 4   

Can't wait.

— chewy (View Profile)

Posted on 12/13/2006 9:24:01 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 1   

technology and VW?. as i have said before.. oxymoron. for morons!

— AmazingBimmer (View Profile)

Posted on 12/14/2006 12:13:30 AM | reply to this comment | Votes: -6   

Atleast Audi can successfully pull this off, something Toyota can only dream of. If Americans could only see past the marketing, they'd see Toyota's are nothing more than a bunch of marketing hype and an impressionable, gullable customer base.

Since when are Toyota hybrids actually anything to brag about? Performance increases, and minimally better fuel economy? What a joke.

Audi's technology is more far-reaching and practical, and also looks to address long term fuel concerns, rather than Toyota's, "market to the ignorant (American) masses" approach.

— AUDIMAN4 (View Profile)

Posted on 12/14/2006 1:15:21 AM | reply to this comment | Votes: 3   

Go deesel!

— audiot (View Profile)

Posted on 12/14/2006 1:50:52 AM | reply to this comment | Votes: 3   

No jealousy involved, but here are just the facts.

A 5,700 pounds SUV (gasoline version around 5,500) that has 500 hp and 738 lb-ft of torque. So you get AMAZING performance. And AMAZING fuel economy of 20 MPG COMBINED. So like 18 city and 22 highway. [numbers for the current EPA test]

Can anyone argue with those numbers? Didn't think so.

— chewy (View Profile)

Posted on 12/14/2006 2:02:07 AM | reply to this comment | Votes: 2   

I think it will also be nice if Audi updates the V6 TDI for the Q7 when it gets here to 250 hp and better fuel economy courtesty of the 2,000 bar injection pressure from the V12 TDI.

— chewy (View Profile)

Posted on 12/14/2006 2:22:47 AM | reply to this comment | Votes: 2   

When VW released its V-10 TDI for the Touareg and Phaeton (an engine that was displayed at the Detroit show in the AAC car in 2000 ... that vehicle has since been copied by Honda, although scaled down in size, as the Ridgeline with "giant, magic, flying robot" styling) it was not only the most powerful engine available in an SUV, but it beat the engines in the full-size pickups too.
Link: http://www.seriouswheels.com/cars/top-2000-Volkswagen-Advanced-Activity-Concept.htm

The Dodge Durango gets 15 MPG on a good day.
The VW gets almost 30.

The VW weighs 5500 pounds.
The Durango with HEMI power weighs 1200 pounds LESS, yet takes 1.2 seconds LONGER to go 0-60 than the bigger, stronger, more luxurious VW (numbers from Road & Track).
The advantages of Diesel power are so obvious!

The reasons that the luxury car buyers in Europe pick diesel power are:
* Europeans know a lot more about cars than Americans (they don't buy into the marketing BS as much ... and don't get me started on the recent ads with moving highways and all that crap)
* they want the improved performance of diesel (cruise all day at 150 MPH ... not just a quick blast till the engine over-heats)
* they like the range (the next big city is driving distance away, not 1000 miles like in the US ... but there are also roadside theives/pirates/hi-jackers too, so its better if you don't ever have to stop along the way)
* of course, the fact that the engines last twice as long, so resele is much higher doesn't hurt.
What most americans don't understand is that its the SMALL and cheap cars that have the gas engines in Europe.
For some reason, many people assume that the small cars have diesels and the big, luxury cars are gas-powered. Its the opposite! Diesel is the preferred engine. Gas engines are for poor slobs who can't afford a diesel.

— DieselRules (View Profile)

Posted on 12/14/2006 3:13:38 AM | reply to this comment | Votes: 4   

Audi/VW diesels are officially the best in the world. Without doubt. Mercedes is getting there. Toyota, keep making your wind-up hybrid cars. Lexus, "what the hell is a diesel?"

— 1uberaudi (View Profile)

Posted on 12/14/2006 2:04:28 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 1   

Yuck, I cant believe all these "so called" German driving fans pining for a Diesel. With the driving dynamics of a tractor and the revving characteristics of a bicycle in a vat of molasses, they might burn less oil if you are drving 100 miles or more a day .. but frankly just take the damn Bus to work ..

— izfuney (View Profile)

Posted on 12/14/2006 6:32:19 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: -2   

No body has even attempted to challange the Q7 V12 TDI with a hybrid comparison. Impressive.

— chewy (View Profile)

Posted on 12/14/2006 6:56:37 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 1   

i guess everyone thinks the future hybrids will be very simialar to the current ones. dont u think toyo or honda are gonna improve the milage and technology on them for the next gen.

— sewingmachine (View Profile)

Posted on 12/14/2006 9:36:34 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 2   

that bogus report about a VW gas-hybrid is not worth bringing up again and again as an argument.

Meanwhile, my TDI is 50-state legal.
Of course it won't match the current standards, but neither will the gas engines from 1998. But when I bought it, it was the lowest polluting car for sale in North America. And I believe that the V-10 Touaregs were 50-state legal when they came out.

The main challenge in hitting emissions laws in a diesel, is that the laws are designed to be (barely) attainable with gas-engine technology ... they don't take diesels into consideration at all. So its truly amazing that Benz can get 50-state certification for emission levels designed to be almost impossible for any vehicle to meet, but tweaked to make it easier for gas engines!

— DieselRules (View Profile)

Posted on 12/14/2006 11:29:04 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 0   

RESALE VALUE
Since that was brought up, I did some research on autotrader.com, autotrader.ca and found that my '98 TDI is worth 60% of the purchase price. The same car with a gas engine is about 40% of purchase price.
a 40% residual after 8 years is really good.
But 60% value is INSANE!
The value retention on VW diesels is so high, that the prices practically flat-line after 5 years. They don't get any cheaper as they get older. The price for a '98, '99, 2000, and '01 TDI VW is basically the same.

— DieselRules (View Profile)

Posted on 12/14/2006 11:34:35 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 1   

BTW huu76 check this out:

http://www.autospies.com/news/Diesel-Drivers-Report-Higher-Fuel-Economy-Than-EPA-Rating-Hybrid-Lower-10791

— chewy (View Profile)

Posted on 12/15/2006 12:00:11 AM | reply to this comment | Votes: 0   

Diesels were once noisy and slow, but were always and will always be, 30% more fuel efficient than spark-ignition.

Today, diesels are quiet, fast, and refined, and are the preferred powertrain in Europe for luxury sedans and SUVs.

Late 1980s. Most European countries raised taxes on gasoline to curtail personal transportation and highway expansion--a conservation policy. They kept taxes low on diesel fuel so as not to hurt commercial traffic costs.

Consumers then wanted diesels to save money on fuel, but wanted them more refined.

As a result of this demand, diesels have been transformed, and most Americans have no clue. Today's diesels are preferred in Europe for their refinement over gas power. Diesel power represents 50.3% of 2006 new registrations in Europe. Even countries like the U.K., where fuel taxes are levyied equally, diesels prosper with a 40% market share of new car purchases.

Most manufacturers approve biodiesel, in any blend, for the European market. All diesel cars--not just special designs--can use biodiesel. When America gets control on fuel quality, biodiesel will be fully approved here as well. Biodiesel has more than 1 1/2 times the energy content of ethanol and about the same as gasoline. This means that with biodiesel and a diesel vehicle, you don't lose fuel economy or performance, and you don't have to convert, modify, or buy a special make. Pump it in; pay; and drive. You use 30% less fuel, and 20% less petroleum-based fuel, burning B20. It's a win, win, and its only available with diesel automobiles.

In the future, more alternative fuels will be offered for diesels that come from coal, natural gas, and bio-oil developed from waste. In all cases, alternatives for diesels will have more energy content and will go straight in your existing diesel vehicle with no modification or loss in fuel economy. Spark-ignition can make no such claims.

Hybrids! Hybrids are a great, fuel-saving technology. I'll take my hybrid with a diesel! That way, I'll get an additional, 30% fuel economy advantage over the typical, gas-electric hybrid; and then, I'll use biodiesel blends to further may reduction of petroleum without hurting fuel economy or performance. I don't buy in to choosing hybrid or diesel. I'm choosing a compression-ignition engine, first and foremost, and then, all other fuel-saving technologies that can be applied to this superior method of internal combustion.

— gregsfc (View Profile)

Posted on 12/15/2006 5:06:18 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 4   

Touareg TDI not fifty-state legal.

Are you kidding? Where did you get that?

It's fifty-state legal right now, and has been for months.

It goes to forty-five state status in January, but has been fifty-state compliant since August, when it was introduced back to the American market.

The Touareg TDI was the first clean diesel in America that utilized a DPF with a ULSD fuel and low-ash oil requirement. They sold it before the new fuel became available, stating that it could temporarily run on LSD, and that it may emit a harmless, white puff of smoke, intermittently, until the new fuel arrived. ULSD now makes up 85% of all on-road diesel fuels.

— gregsfc (View Profile)

Posted on 12/15/2006 5:13:45 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 4   

Someone wanted proof that Audi was the diesel king.

...Let me see...

How about a sweep of the Le Mans series race in its introductory year, competing against spark-ignition entries who have had over fifty years to get it right.

Oh yeah. The Audi R10 TDI used less fuel than all others in its class and burned cleaner as well.

Oh yeah. And when the gas lovers cried--"unfair"--and the race officials forced Audi to use a smaller fuel tank and add weight to the chassis compared to all the other vehicles; they still never lost a race between the two TDIs.

Yeah--I would say Audi is the king, but MB still holds their own in reliability and dependability. There is more to being the best, than performance. Over half of all the MB diesels ever sold in America, are still on the road. VW--Audi's parent--can't claim that with TDIs in America.

— gregsfc (View Profile)

Posted on 12/15/2006 5:25:46 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 4