Date: Sat, 1 Mar 2008 08:05:41 -0500
Reply-To: Ken Wilford <kenwilfy@COMCAST.NET>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Ken Wilford <kenwilfy@COMCAST.NET>
Subject: Re: Golf diesel hybrid 69 mpg coming soon.....
In-Reply-To: <501dc8150802291547vcc22157y117b675ee3383aac@mail.gmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed
I think if you buy a newer anything you are going to have expensive
repairs if you go to the dealer. The way that most new cars are set up
it is getting harder and harder for a non-dealer shop to be able to do
the work. I know it is an extreme example but a friend of mine works at
a Mercedez Benz Dealership. He says that there are so many systems on
the new MBs (over 100!) that at any given moment something is almost
guaranteed to be having a problem. Too many gadgets! Then there is the
computer side of things. Did you know that many new Engine Computers
(ECUs, ECMs, the Brain, whatever you like to call it) are coded to that
particular car and engine. So if you remove it and try to use it in
another car it either will not work at all, or will require recoding
that can only be done, take a guess, at the MB dealership. Vehicles are
becoming a rolling collection of computers and high tech hardware.
Mechanics will have to continually learn new things and techniques to
keep up. However investing in proprietary computer terminals to be able
to do even the more simple of engine repairs may either be too expensive
or not even available to your local independent shop. This is great
news for the dealers and their inflated prices for everything (as I said
this is not limited to VW but covers all dealers that I have ever heard
of) but it is bad news for those of us who like to keep our older
vehicles on the road for many years to come. Older is relative. The
brand new Eurovan of a couple of years ago is now five years old. I
hate to say it but they are moving into the "old car" territory. The
new car of today will quickly become the "old car" of tomorrow and then
who is going to work on it? If you have to use the dealership for any
brand of vehicle to keep your vehicle going for more than the first
couple of years while it is under warranty I think you will find your
cost of ownership going above your monthly payment of a new vehicle.
The supposedly "reliable" brands like Toyota and Honda seem to be super
reliable on the small scale, not nickle and diming their owners, until
they go out of the warranty period and suddenly need a transmission or
transmission computer. I have known Honda and Toyota owners who bought
their vehicles brand new in the last couple of years to experience these
catastrophic events right outside the warranty. Their cup holders and
seat warmers work great though :-)
Sorry just rambling,
Hope you are having a great Saturday morning,
Ken Wilford
John 3:16
www.vanagain.com
Donna Skarloken wrote:
> My husband has also banned me from further VWs. The repair bills,
> especially for the new ones I have, drive him nuts.
>
> Donna, 87 Syncro, 98 & 99 TDIs
>
> On Fri, Feb 29, 2008 at 9:24 AM, azsun99 <azsun99@earthlink.net> wrote:
>
>
>> Nice to see that information, but if you are watching the euro/dollar
>> exchange rate go
>> ever higher, when and if they sell them over here, you will need a Vanagon
>> filled with
>> greenbacks to buy one.
>> Jerry
>>
>> ----- Original Message -----
>> From: "Bill Shawley" <easywind1975@HOTMAIL.COM>
>> To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
>> Sent: Friday, February 29, 2008 5:19 AM
>> Subject: Golf diesel hybrid 69 mpg coming soon.....
>>
>>
>> This might be old news to some, it is the first I've heard of it. Gives
>> me some
>> incentive to save my dough and hold on to the Jetta IV until we see this
>> baby.
>>
>> link http://blog.wired.com/cars/2008/02/vw-unveiling-an.html
>>
>> Article text:
>> It's official - Volkswagen is unveiling a hybrid to challenge the mighty
>> Toyota Prius.
>> And not just any hybrid, but a diesel-electric hybrid it says will deliver
>> 69.9 mpg.
>> VW's been experimenting with hybrids of the gasoline-electric variety
>> since the early
>> 1990s, but the Golf hybrid it will unveil next month at the Geneva Motor
>> Show is the
>> first production model the German company's rolled out. Volkswagen isn't
>> offering much
>> in the way of details, but the car is expected to have a parallel hybrid
>> drivetrain
>> with a 2.0 liter engine. Look for it to have an all-electric mode at low
>> speed,
>> start-stop capability, regenerative braking and a 7-speed DSG
>> double-clutch
>> transmission, according to Auto Express and AutoBlog Green.
>> What's all the techno-jargon mean? The Golf Hybrid will get almost 70 mph
>> while
>> meeting Europe's stringent Euro V and America's Tier 2 Bin 5 emissions
>> standards,
>> making it green enough even for California. The car is said to emit just
>> 89 g/km of
>> CO2. (For comparison, the Prius emits 104 g/km and Honda Civic Hybrid
>> emits 116.)
>> The hybrid Golf may be just the start.
>>
>> According to Britain's Channel 4, VW is considering the hybrid drivetrain
>> in a Jetta
>> and Audi A3. DailyTech says it also could appear in the VW Tiguan and Audi
>> Q5
>> crossover utility vehicles.
>> Auto Express says the Golf hybrid will be offered for sale in Europe by
>> the end of
>> next year. No word yet on when we might see it on this side of the pond.
>> VW hasn't
>> released a picture of the hybrid, so we're offering a shot of its diesel
>> Golf
>> Bluemotion.
>>
>>
>
>
>
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