Slashdot Mirror

www.nytimes.com/2001/05/27/business/27DIES.html
www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle / rchive/2001/05/23/MN110637.DTL
journeytoforever.org/biodiesel_make.html
www.greasecar.com
www.lupo80days.com/route_en.html
www.a-car.com/index.html
www.biodiesel.org/
lowtech.bigstep.com/
www.veggievan.com
www.americanbiodiesel.com/
www.icta.org/projects/trans/rlprexsm.htm
news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/sci/tech/newsid_1309000/ 1309201.stm
www.wired.com/news/technology/1,1282,31920,00.html

"... a smaller VW car exists, that can run more than 30 km on a single litre of diesel ..."

"There are fine details of difference, both inside and outside between the normal Lupo and the three-litre Lupo. It is 150kg lighter because, in order to reduce fuel consumption, it had "to loose a bit of weight". The vehicle body is made of completely galvanized sheet steel. Aluminium was used both for the bonnet and for the doors. In addition, the tail gate consists of aluminium on the outside and magnesium on the inside. Even the heat absorbing glass is lighter. Rolling resistance is lessened by particularly light, narrow tyres which have been mounted on aluminium-forged light wheels."

"... a smaller VW car exists, that can run more than 30 km on a single litre of diesel ..."

"There are fine details of difference, both inside and outside between the normal Lupo and the three-litre Lupo. It is 150kg lighter because, in order to reduce fuel consumption, it had "to loose a bit of weight". The vehicle body is made of completely galvanized sheet steel. Aluminium was used both for the bonnet and for the doors. In addition, the tail gate consists of aluminium on the outside and magnesium on the inside. Even the heat absorbing glass is lighter. Rolling resistance is lessened by particularly light, narrow tyres which have been mounted on aluminium-forged light wheels."

From VW's Lupo80Days site:

"Around the world in 80 days on 1,000 liters of fuel. Volkswagen sets up an incredible record with its Lupo 3L TDI, the world's first-ever 3 liters car: In 80 days this car traveled 33,333 kilometers across 5 continents using only 792,57 liters of fuel. 2,38 litters per 100 kilometers at an good average speed of 85,6 kilometers per hour has never been done before"

The Insight, gets only 70mpg, and has less power.

These reasons, in addition to some of the ArsTechnica (What's with this whole 'Ars' thing, anyway?) comments like The car doesn't exactly inspire confidence when taken hard around a bend in the road and The manual transmission is a bit notchy and the clutch is a bit lightweight (feels like a toy actually), are why I'd much rather drive the Lupo. Small VWs kick ass. (Though I now own a big VW.)

This, and you'll find it much easier to find a mechanic with the skills and equipment to diagnose and fix a pure deisel engine (even one as advanced as VW's TDi engines) than one who knows the internals of Honda's hybrid, which means maintenance costs will be lower.

Too bad you can't pick up the Lupo in the States, but you can get its cousin, the Golf, which is an awesome car for its price..

I hate to sound like a VW commercial here, but Honda may have a solution for something that's already been solved, at least in Europe..

Consider this:

The Insight, and the soon-to-be-released Toyota, are pretty much experimental cars. No one knows how reliable hybrid technology will be, or how much it will cost to maintain.

The Insight, and the Toyota are sold, and serviced at an economic loss to their respective manufacturers. One seriously has to consider if these cars are serious looks at the future, or just marketing vehicles.

So, do you want to pay $23k to be a beta tester for the automotive industry?

If you don't, and you want to buy a efficient, clean vehicle that you'll be able to drive and get parts for for a couple hundred thousand miles, hop on over to Fred's TDI Page and figure out if you are the kind of person who could drive a diesel. And yes, those of you over 6' or with families are welcome.

If you are lucky enough to live in Europe, and want a car to put any Insight to shame, check out the VW Lupo, a TDI subcompact that gets nearly 100mpg without the aid of windmills, sails, flux capacitors, or overthrustors.

p.s. I drive a 99 Jetta TDI, average 60+ miles per day, and 43MPG. I can fit my wife, and 2-year-old and luggage, and a trunk full of work-related stuff in it with no problem. I'll race any Insight owner: First one to a junkyard loses.

'nother CIDI link that I forgot:

Volkswagen AG is driving their Lupo CIDI subcompact around the world on a publicity tour. This is the first production "3-liter" car (uses less than 3 liters of diesel for every 100km -- about 78mpg).

It also sports a new transmission that's supposedly more efficient than a stick-shift.

Lupo 80 Days

BTW, VW is actually getting better-than-expected mileage. =-) This is more or less the same technology that you can get in a VW TDI (New Beetle, Jetta, Golf) right now in the U.S.

-cheers, fattyfox