Date:         Sat, 8 Jan 2005 01:01:17 +1300
Reply-To:     Andrew Grebneff <andrew.grebneff@STONEBOW.OTAGO.AC.NZ>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Andrew Grebneff <andrew.grebneff@STONEBOW.OTAGO.AC.NZ>
Subject:      Re: Vw news
In-Reply-To:  <BE02F2E4.6DCC%camper@tactical-bus.info>
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>Volkswagen lost as much as 1.2
>billion euros ($1.6 billion) in the United States last year

The new Golf is a dud on the Eurpoean market too, which is odd
because it is the first Golf model to handle since the first in 1973.

>Diesels better than hybrids, VW chief says
>
>Gasoline-electric vehicles only provide fuel savings in stop-and-go driving,
>Pischetsrieder insists.

Crap... the Prius, for example, operates often enough on electricity
only on steady throttle. A diesel can't beat that... unless it's a
HYBRID diesel...

>LOS ANGELES -- Volkswagen AG Chief Executive Bernd Pischetsrieder

This guy must live on another planet... he'll destroy VW. What brand
is he going to buy next? Jaguar? Ford in toto?

>California and some other states are forcing automakers to develop vehicles
>that emit less pollution. Last year, California accounted for 42 percent of
>all hybrid sales.
>
>Because of strict pollution rules that limit harmful emissions, such as
>soot, the sale of diesel-powered vehicles are banned in California, the
>nation's largest auto market, and in New England.

Insane. Electric cars merely shift the source of pollution to the
powerplants which generate the power  needed to recharge the car's
batteries.

They need to get diesels off the current fuel type and find something
with a better calorific value and lower emissions (ie no black
snowflakes from the exhaust).

By the way, Germans pronounce the name "dye-zel". Or at least the one
I know does; he's from Stutt...stutt...st... that place.
--
Andrew Grebneff
Dunedin
New Zealand
Fossil preparator
<andrew.grebneff@stonebow.otago.ac.nz>
Seashell, Macintosh, VW/Toyota van nut