Date: Thu, 09 May 1996 00:47:37 -0700
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From: jwakefield@4dmg.net (john wakefield)
Subject: Re: VW Customer Relations on Westfalias in US
It seems Asghar Bhatti's note about VW's Customer Relations Department
communication has sounded a GO signal to list members who might like to
express their frustrations over VW's ELECTIVE limitations as to what US
customers may select from their manufactured product line. While I'm not
typically a "joiner," allow me to contribute to this parade.
First, let me say that I love efficiency, and since diesels convert a
higher percentage of their heat into usable shaft horsepower, I'm
attracted to diesels. The ratio for diesels is typically around 31%
compared to 26% for spark ignition motors, and that's before you even
start to consider the fact that at nearly 7.2 pounds per gallon for
diesel compared to 6.2 for gasoline, there's just more available
potential heat per gallon in there.
I look at corporate VW/Audi as one firm as surely as Buick and Chevy
are parts of one GM. The VW/Audi motors have had the same engineering
background for years. Look at an old Chiltons Imported Autos Manual and
see the identical Audi/VW bore and stroke etc. Makes no difference to me
that ome may have five or four of these identical cylinders ganged to
form a motor, they're the same to me. As a matter of fact, if you look
at the old SAE Journal articles submitted by the VW engineeering dept.
back when the water cooled gas/diesel versions of their then new motor
was just in production, you'll read that they are also two versions of
the same motor. So the whole water cooled series originates back with
this single fine little design. And modify they have. Wow. Many
displacements, and both gas and diesel took their own paths. To get some
more power from the diesel types, several neat tricks have been applied
at the production level. What fun it would be to know what engineering
actually tried along the way. First they played displacement games, and
the original 1.5 liter gave way to the 1.6. Then they added a turbo,
jumping the 1.6 48 horses to 68 that Shawn's Westie has and was popular
in europe but never inported into the US market. This failure to
import decision may have been an early indication of partial brain death
in VW's US marketing staff. US buyers were more power hungary and had
lower fuel prices than europeans, just as now. But let's fast forward to
1992, the first year that I know the Audi division offered for sale in
England the current 2.5 liter DIRECT INJECTION TDI motor, then rated as
115 horsepower @ 4000 rpm, which has now been increased to 140 at the
same speed. This FABULOUS diesel can accelerate a 3300 pound Audi A6
manual trans car from 0 to 60 in about 10 seconds flat, average around 45
mpg., and maintain a a top continuous duty speed over 125 mph! Hell of a
machine. It IS NOT a 2.5 INDIRECT INJECTION 78 horsepower motor that's
also less fuel efficient! Diesel Car Magazine says this A6 towing a
trailer (so the combined gross weight and wind drag is much more than a
"transporter") still goes very well indeed. Torque peaks down at a truck
like 1900 rpm @ 214 lbs-ft, so if they could dump the heat it makes, it
would be, to my mind, the IDEAL Westie type vehicle power plant.
Now I understand VW is test marketing a 78 horse diesel version
Transporter (as they call it) in California. I say where's the 140 horse
Direct Injection computer controled and ultra clean smokeless 2.5 TDI?
It appears to be the same brain functioning that kept the 68 horse 1.6
turbo from being made available in the US 13 years ago in my opinion.
Hello VW, IS ANYBODY HOME? You guys want to capture a greatly increased
chunk of the US Van market? Just bolt a few together and let all the US
auto magazines test it and poll their readers as to whether or not they'd
be interested. This frugal VanaRocket would sell very well indeed. Look
how the big diesel US pickup competitive war is raging due to great
demand in turn caused by their great real world performance. What is
wrong with this picture VW? If you can't dump the heat with the stock
water pump and inadequately sized coolant lines, fix it. If you need
to, go with an electric external secondary pump for periods when your
previous Vans experienced a plague of heating problems because they
couldn't even handle the much lower heat-making motors you fitted
earlier.
So that's my complaint against VW. For a "dyed in the wool" diesel
fan, they appear to be refusing to push the obviously right buttons, and
if I held a big block of their stock, that complaint would be voiced at
stock holders' meetings. They are not serving themselves nor their
customers well by this refusal.
Finally, let me predict that in the year 2000, VW will offer a Fabulous
New Millennium motor to US bus buyers, and that's their then 8 year old
1992 2.5 liter direct injection TDI motor. Just my opinions.
John Wakefield
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