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More Audi Arrogance: Audi President "Volt is car for idiots"

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Old 09-03-09, 09:39 PM
  #46  
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Old 09-03-09, 10:24 PM
  #47  
ren495
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LOL this guy is an idiot. I know he likes diesel and all, but c'mon!!!

The way things are going now, by 2020 his "advanced diesel" will be sitting in a museum next to a steam locomotive. I guess he's just angry and frustrated seeing the world change around him. All conservative people are right now. Change and new things bug the hell out of them.

Btw, what about the Nissan Leaf then? $25-30k and 100 miles electric range. And i'm pretty sure by the time Volt comes out, batteries will be considerably cheaper.
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Old 09-03-09, 11:14 PM
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Question. Do new diesels still smell? Many cities in Europe still reek of the smell of diesel.

Knocking electric vehicles for their price is not very smart either. Anybody remember when PC's first came out, how big, expensive, slow, etc they were? Furthermore, I'm not sure if saving the environment is the primary objective as much as it is to make America less dependent on foreign oil. I could also see us developing solar, wind, and water/wave power sources more as well. Imagine massive wave generators powered by underwater currents generating all of our electricity. If energy becomes the new oil, I could see quite a lot of research and developments in these areas.
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Old 09-03-09, 11:24 PM
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What do you expect from him? He has to support whatever Audi AG offers right? Of course the moment Audi comes up with an EV, he'll be praising it like an angel from heaven. I guess he's just frustrated that people aren't buying the diesels but being a president of a large automotive firm, I would watch your mouth. Calling people idiots doesn't reflect very well on your person.

G Man, maybe you should sit in one. The Prius is a midsize vs. the Yaris which is a subcompact. You can have all the legroom you want but if the seat bottom is short, that's not gonna do anything for you.
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Old 09-03-09, 11:30 PM
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Originally Posted by leedogg
Question. Do new diesels still smell? Many cities in Europe still reek of the smell of diesel.
No, they don't.
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Old 09-04-09, 05:48 AM
  #51  
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Originally Posted by Nextourer
What do you expect from him? He has to support whatever Audi AG offers right? Of course the moment Audi comes up with an EV, he'll be praising it like an angel from heaven. I guess he's just frustrated that people aren't buying the diesels but being a president of a large automotive firm, I would watch your mouth. Calling people idiots doesn't reflect very well on your person.

G Man, maybe you should sit in one. The Prius is a midsize vs. the Yaris which is a subcompact. You can have all the legroom you want but if the seat bottom is short, that's not gonna do anything for you.
You do know that Audi is introducing the Hybrid Q5 next year right?

Also, you do know that there is a waiting list for the diesel Q7 right now in the US right?

Finally, we have two Prius as our fleet car at work, Midsize, it is not. Sub compact, maybe compact at best. Oh wait, I see you are from BC, so maybe the Prius is consider a midsize there
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Old 09-04-09, 05:55 AM
  #52  
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Something to note. I've seen a few new Jetta TDIs prowling around town, still suffering from the black sooted bumper. What is clean about that?
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Old 09-04-09, 02:28 PM
  #53  
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Originally Posted by The G Man
Did you ever think for a moment that he is right about the volt. Think about it, its a $40000 plug in car with a small gas engine. What about the people who have to park on the street at night, do they run an extension cord 2 blocks down the street to their car
In essence, where this car would shine (the city), it would be totally, irrealistically difficult to own. I severely doubt that cities will be rectifying their infrastructures to include power outlets just because GM is selling a severely overpriced piece of junk. Now if more of these would be on the road, I think maybe the cities would consider... but even then is there really that broad of a market for this kind of car in the near future, for cities to even consider making its ownership practical at best? Still wouldn't stop someone walking down the street from unplugging my car.
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Old 09-04-09, 02:50 PM
  #54  
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Originally Posted by SLegacy99
Something to note. I've seen a few new Jetta TDIs prowling around town, still suffering from the black sooted bumper. What is clean about that?
Could be simply improper maintenance. Most new diesels need periodic urea refills.....sometimes at owner expense, if not part of free maintenance. I'm not sure if the Jetta's TDI requires urea or not, and at what intervals (most new diesels average around 10,000 miles...it's signaled by a sensor). The urea solution prevents exactly what you just described......soot emissions. Or, the owner could (?) be pinching pennies by fueling up at diesel truck stops with the old-style, cheaper diesel fuel instead of at low-sulfur diesel stations, where you might may a little more. That, legally, is a no-no, but I wouldn't be surprised if some people still do it, not realizing that they are harming both the engine and the environment. We saw the same thing in the mid-late 1970's, when people refused to use unleaded gas in their new catalytic-converter-equpped cars, even with the smaller narrow-restricted fuel-fillers that prevented the use of the larger leaded-fuel nozzles. Unscrupulous companies did an aftermarket buisness making and selling funnel-shaped converter pieces that allowed leaded fuel-nozzles to be used with unleaded cars. It was all a money game....leaded fuel was a few cents cheaper (until the EPA simply got rid of it), and some people didn't care what they were doing to their catalyists by using lead. Now, of course, in many areas, regular emissions tests don't allow people to buck the system as much.

Last edited by mmarshall; 09-04-09 at 03:01 PM.
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Old 09-04-09, 03:21 PM
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Originally Posted by mmarshall
Could be simply improper maintenance. Most new diesels need periodic urea refills.....sometimes at owner expense, if not part of free maintenance. I'm not sure if the Jetta's TDI requires urea or not, and at what intervals (most new diesels average around 10,000 miles...it's signaled by a sensor). The urea solution prevents exactly what you just described......soot emissions. Or, the owner could (?) be pinching pennies by fueling up at diesel truck stops with the old-style, cheaper diesel fuel instead of at low-sulfur diesel stations, where you might may a little more. That, legally, is a no-no, but I wouldn't be surprised if some people still do it, not realizing that they are harming both the engine and the environment. We saw the same thing in the mid-late 1970's, when people refused to use unleaded gas in their new catalytic-converter-equpped cars, even with the smaller narrow-restricted fuel-fillers that prevented the use of the larger leaded-fuel nozzles. Unscrupulous companies did an aftermarket buisness making and selling funnel-shaped converter pieces that allowed leaded fuel-nozzles to be used with unleaded cars. It was all a money game....leaded fuel was a few cents cheaper (until the EPA simply got rid of it), and some people didn't care what they were doing to their catalyists by using lead. Now, of course, in many areas, regular emissions tests don't allow people to buck the system as much.
I doubt if it's that complicated with the TDI's. The sooty TDI's that he's spotted in PA are not the "clean diesels" (that meet California smog regulations). I don't think the urea solution is for reduction of particulates either.

"Automotive grade of urea injected into the vehicles' exhaust stream to "scrub" nitrogen oxide (NOx) from the diesel exhaust."
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Old 09-04-09, 03:38 PM
  #56  
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Originally Posted by IS-SV
I doubt if it's that complicated with the TDI's. The sooty TDI's that he's spotted in PA are not the "clean diesels" (that meet California smog regulations). I don't think the urea solution is for reduction of particulates either.

"Automotive grade of urea injected into the vehicles' exhaust stream to "scrub" nitrogen oxide (NOx) from the diesel exhaust."
Interesting point. This release from the U.S. Patent Office, which traces the technology back to 2002, indicates that it is used for both NOx and solid particulates.

http://www.patentstorm.us/patents/64...scription.html
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Old 09-04-09, 03:44 PM
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Originally Posted by mmarshall
Interesting point. This release from the U.S. Patent Office, which traces the technology back to 2002, indicates that it is used for both NOx and solid particulates.

http://www.patentstorm.us/patents/64...scription.html
That was probably the intention, but soot levels are not low enough via urea solution alone.
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Old 09-04-09, 03:44 PM
  #58  
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Originally Posted by The G Man
You do know that Audi is introducing the Hybrid Q5 next year right?

Also, you do know that there is a waiting list for the diesel Q7 right now in the US right?

Finally, we have two Prius as our fleet car at work, Midsize, it is not. Sub compact, maybe compact at best. Oh wait, I see you are from BC, so maybe the Prius is consider a midsize there
That might explain it. It's subcompact because you guys can barely fit in it

Nope. I know there's a Q5


Must be why I haven't seen any Q7 TDIs lol
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Old 09-04-09, 04:13 PM
  #59  
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The new VW diesel engine does not use urea system. They use a different system for meeting emission limits.

Back in 1981 I purchased a new Datsun Maxima diesel. It didn't take me long to realize that by periodically changing the air filter I could minimize the amount of exhaust soot.

At that time we didn't know which gas station would have enough gas to sell. Truck stops had diesel almost all the time...those were the days!

Last edited by hughh; 09-04-09 at 04:19 PM.
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Old 09-08-09, 05:49 AM
  #60  
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Originally Posted by FisforFast
In essence, where this car would shine (the city), it would be totally, irrealistically difficult to own. I severely doubt that cities will be rectifying their infrastructures to include power outlets just because GM is selling a severely overpriced piece of junk. Now if more of these would be on the road, I think maybe the cities would consider... but even then is there really that broad of a market for this kind of car in the near future, for cities to even consider making its ownership practical at best? Still wouldn't stop someone walking down the street from unplugging my car.
That is exactly my point and the Audi CEO is right. The volt is limited to people to have garages to charge at night. That mean the volt will be mostly use for company fleet cars and owned by the few wealthy who want to project the image of being green.
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