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Agreed, HOAs are shit.

If you're bored, there's a pretty entertaining story about an HOA who decided to put parking boots on cars that didn't display a rear-view mirror tag.

http://forums.vwvortex.com/sho...

If you've got some time to waste it's pretty funny. TL;DR is:

1. dude lives in complex with HOA
2. after a couple years of living there HOA decides to contract parking enforcement
3. company contracted are parking nazis and boot car
4. dude dolleys car with boot into garage, calls cops
5. company dumbfounded, calls state troopers, troopers side with car owner
6. hilarity of magnanimous proportions ensues...

http://www.vwvortex.com/news/volkswagen-news/volkswagen-xl1-gets-green-light/

A real car, produced from 2003,

http://www.vwvortex.com/artman/publish/printer_319.shtml

I like the car that gets 250 miles per gallon: http://www.motorauthority.com/vw-boss-confirms-1-liter-car-for-2010.html

Even 90 mpg is okay with me: http://www.vwvortex.com/artman/publish/printer_319.shtml

The Japanese and Americans need to start producing high-mileage cars. And I don't mean 50. That's pathetic. We need to start saving fuel, especially with gas prices hovering-around 3-4 dollars this summer, and most people drive by themselves so all they need is a basic car. They don't need a Ford Living Room SUV except for a few very-rare occasions.

And you keep piling the mistakes on!

FALSE. Germans don't use gallons. YOU are the one who is making elementary & obvious mistakes, because imperial gallons have no relevance to the 3-cylinder Lupo 3L that I am discussing.

It does have relevance when it's the British press that's the source for numbers like 90mpg. The Lupo 3L gets 78 US MPG on the NEDC. That is, 3.0L/100 kilometers, its official drivecycle rating, is 78.4048611 miles per US gallon. Have google do the conversion for you if you don't believe me.

It doesn't matter what you "can" get in particular driving styles. My old Saturn with failing seals and a creaking engine "can" get 45-50 mpg if I drive it like a glider. What matters is what you get in normal operation, which is what drivecycles are for. The NEDC is the standard European drivecycle, and it's more lax than what the EPA uses nowadays.

Here's an example on VWVortex

Not an unusual thing in the automotive industry, perhaps.

In my senior courses where we integrated ME and EEs we had to build a robot we had EEs that couldn't solder.

One of my first internships I ever had, my manager put me in the 'back' for 2 weeks with she old ladies that made our circuit boards. (60 years old and they could make the best circuit board I've ever seen, small operation so it was cheaper than offshoring). I wasn't too fond of it at the time, but it's probably one of the best learning experiences I've ever had. I even have a 'beer money business' on the side Converting LED colors in switches. I'm making maybe $30-$35 a switch... but how do we graduate EEs that can't even solder?

I am getting 33km/l (78 miles per gallon in twelve-finger units) in my Volkswagen Lupo 3L from 2001.
The Lupo can transport 4 persons and reach a top speed in excess of 165km/h (102mph in twelve-finger units). Read more here.
Volkswagen has now ceased building this gem - and well, I guess it would never sell in SUV-loving States of America anyway.

The 3-litre Lupo should be a different matter. Its based on the normal Lupo, though with a lot of the steel replaced with aluminium. It's kerb weight is 853 kg or 1,882 pounds, which for the competition, I'm sure could be improved. As far as aerodynamics, well it's a super mini, so massive gains could be taken there.

Now the 0 to 100 km/h is 14.5 seconds which would be probably the main problem, however remember this car was introduced in 2003, so some gains should have been made in the meantime.
All figures taken from the VWvortex review.

All in all I would be very happy to be in the position that VW are in, at the start of this competition.

http://forums.vwvortex.com/zerosearch

I can't seem to link to the actual search but if you search on "timing chain" you should get the idea.

It wasn't all bad though...what better time to throw an aluminum flywheel in and upgrade brakes, lines, etc...

Intersting bit of trivia...the timing chain was intially decided on because the engineers had originally planned on a diesel version of the Vr6.

Starting in 2008
3 major car manufacturers will release BlueTec (type 2)
It's a close loop regenerating filter technology that reduces Smog emmisions by 90%
http://www.vwvortex.com/artman/publish/volkswagen_ news/article_1906.shtml

There's already a similar tech for filtering out Smoke and Dust thats been around for years.
Which cuts that by 90%
Featured on everyone elses favorite dancing car, the Citroen C4
http://www.psa-peugeot-citroen.com/en/psa_espace/p ress_releases_details_d1.php?id=268

And starting last October, 80% of all US Diesel will be sold as "Ultra Low Sulfur Diesel"
Containing 97% less acid rain forming sulfur.

Not to mention, Diesel cars get 20% to 40% better mileage than gasoline.
And about 20% less Global warming emmisions.
And thats just talking about products coming from Petroluem Oil

Combine the those three technologies, and Petro-Diesel is Cleaner than Gasoline.
And things only get cleaner and greener when you start looking at "BioDiesel"

Wrong URL (Those filters!)

The real URL is http://www.vwvortex.com/artman/publish/volkswagen_ news/article_1697.shtml

Sorry for that.

Peace!

Try this other car:

VolksWagen Blue Motion Polo.

Performance: 59 kW / 80 hp
Average consumption: 3.9 liter (60 mpg) diesel.
The CO2 emissions: reduced by 16 g/km.
Maximum speed: 76 km/h (109 mph)
0-100-km/h (0-62 mph)-sprint: 12.8 seconds

"As basic equipment the two-door Volkswagen also has front and side airbags, ABS, power windows, multi function display and an electro hydraulic power steering"

Not bad for 60mpg car that can run on BioDiesel

Peace!

3 l per 100km = 78.4048614 miles per gallon

"Toyota's executive engineer for environmental technology, drives an '04 Prius and said he typically gets between 53 mpg and 55 mpg combined. But he says he knows exactly how to "pulse drive" the car - that is, to accelerate briskly and get it up to speed, then mostly coast and let the electric motor handle the slight modifications needed to keep the vehicle at speed. Hermance says the average mileage among Classic drivers is about 44 mpg. But car makers (including Toyota) are not allowed to publicize anything other than the EPA figures.

A survey of 750 first-generation Prius owners on yahoo.com showed them obtaining between 35 mpg and 55 mpg combined driving, with an average of 44. An early poll of 30 2004 Prius owners showed most got between 45 mpg and 49 mpg.

"Actually, it would get an economy DECREASE from a theoretical non-hybrid Prius. You're toting around all this hybrid equipment (= more weight), and converting gasoline to heat to motion to electricity to motion (= more energy, not less). The ONLY thing that a hybrid can do to improve economy is regenerative breaking.

Yes, that and shutting the engine off while stopped and an electric motor powerboost during acceleration.

Of course you could still turn the engine off like some vehicles do.

Either way, hybrids so far are nice, but a bit of a waste of money, as better fuel efficiency could be gained in other ways first.

All cars should have small frugal displacement engines. All cars should have aerodynamically efficient shapes, light equipment most important of all be small.

Actually the supercharger is considered less efficient at higher RPMs because of the parasitic drag on the motor that consumes up to 40% of the horsepower to just drive the blower. Now this may not be an issue when the blower increases hp by 60%, so your net gain is still greater than without the blower, but the turbo does not rob the engine of horsepower like the blower does.

It is interesting to note that Volkswagen has come up with a new engine that is just 1.4 liters, yet it utilizes a supercharger and a turbocharger. The supercharger supplies boost until the turbo spools up, then an electro magnetic clutch disengages the supercharger. It peaks at 170 hp with a fuel consumption of 47.9 mpg.

Twin Charger

http://www.vwvortex.com/artman/publish/volkswagen_ news/article_1526.shtml

has she not seen the incredibly hot VW Eos? check http://www.vwvortex.com/

...or maybe the 'Kenwood Music Keg' which seems to run the same firmware.

The ogg question is addressed here.

I bought a PhatBox that works well for me, on account of the fact that it can handle flac - Free Lossless Audio Codec. flac gives you the option of compressing like MP3 or OGG, but at best those are still lossy, that is, you lose some data. I ripped my entire CD collection to "full quality" which, the claim goes, gives you the identical information as the original WAV file, but it's only about 70% of the size.

A 20 GB media player gives me 800-900 songs, though some of those are MP3s, so a flac-only disc would be 750+ songs. You can also get up to 120GB of storage now.

The other draw for me was the fact that it took the place of my 6-disc changer, and I just had to plug it in; no head unit surgery was required. It took seconds to install it, though I also opted to rip the unit out of its 8 pound steel casement and jam it in where my 6-disc changer was. It works with your existing head unit, that is, you use the 6 CD buttons on the existing stereo to browse the songs by playlist, artist, genre, etc.

The downside is that they have a 'list' price of $800 (not sure about the Kenwood Music Keg). I happened to find one on a VW enthusiast site for $120. The firmware is written to particular type of car stereo, so the same piece of hardware will be $800 for a Porsche, $600 for a BMW (as my BMW-owning boss discovered to his irritation), $400 for a Toyota, or $120 if a VW dealer is trying to get rid of them, as in my case. ...and no telltale iPod wires hanging out of the dash, or proprietary closed formats.

Actually, current TDIs already have catalytic converters. But you're correct in that the diesel situation will improve greatly in 2006 when sulphur is phased out of US diesel fuel:

http://www.vwvortex.com/artman/publish/vortex_news /printer_318.shtml

http://forums.vwvortex.com/zerothread?id=828696&ui d=45226&dir=1&postid=10549557#10549557

Right click on them and select "Adblock iframe" and set the string to 'http://*.googlesyndication.com'. Or 'http://*/pagead/*'. Or 'http://*/show_ads.js'.

Try it on this URL:

VWvortex Forums: Golf IV & Jetta IV

I also have blocks on this page on:

http://*.qksrv.net/* /*banner/

What ads? ;) Though for that site I do buy from banner advertisers that sell things on it. The ads are relevant -- I just don't want to see the banners themselves since they make the page look bad. It's much cleaner without them. They even provide a nice little directory:

VWvortex - The Volkswagen Enthusiast Website

Right click on them and select "Adblock iframe" and set the string to 'http://*.googlesyndication.com'. Or 'http://*/pagead/*'. Or 'http://*/show_ads.js'.

Try it on this URL:

VWvortex Forums: Golf IV & Jetta IV

I also have blocks on this page on:

http://*.qksrv.net/* /*banner/

What ads? ;) Though for that site I do buy from banner advertisers that sell things on it. The ads are relevant -- I just don't want to see the banners themselves since they make the page look bad. It's much cleaner without them. They even provide a nice little directory:

VWvortex - The Volkswagen Enthusiast Website

Not to be outdone by the growing hybrid boom, it seems Volkswagen is taking one of their strongest technological resources, their proficiency with diesel, and is focusing on a decidedly American spin with the consideration of Agriculture and its relation to biodiesel.

The environmental benefits are clear, and the side-effect of lowering our economic reliance on oil-producing countries are a welcome side-effect. The government already as tax-breaks on the books for bio-diesel, so its new inclusion in the form of B5 biodiesel as covered by the Volkswagen new car warranty is a strong move on the part of the German automobile manufacturer.

Volkswagen is currently the only manufacturer in North America selling a whole range of diesel vehicles, including the Golf, New Beetle, Passat and Touareg. We learned that Volkswagen plans a diesel version of the new Passat for the USA in 2007.

If you own a TDI and are interested in purchasing B5 biodiesel for your vehicle, more information can be found at www.biodiesel.org.

See the full article here.

If I recall they announced this product at CES... in February... shame it took em so long to speak of it again.

Preliminary info here.

-ted

Where do you live? Go to VWVortex, find the regional forum for your area, and see if anyone is willing to help you. Chances are, someone near you will have the VAG-COM tool, and will be willing to hook you up. If you have a local enthusiasts' club (here's mine, join it. The membership fee you pay, if there is one, is almost guaranteed to be less than what the dealer charges for ONE hookup, and club people are willing to help for free as much as you need, as long as you're nice to 'em.

What I really want is a car head unit that has a slot that one just pops the iPod into.

It is coming......

This will be the first, others will come after....

Perhaps even an iPod changer for those who want more than 40 GB....

Lupo Action

The VW Lupo has received awards for being the most fuel efficient car, and records like this just add to the fact. 101.6MPG while averaging 50MPH

It is surprising how popular this portable is, but how few manufacturers have even added basic integration of an iPod into car stereos.

To my knowledge, no factory stereos come with line in inputs on either the rear of the desk (difficult to use) or on the front of the unit which is much easier. I had a blaupunkt with a front side line in and there are several aftermarket makers that have that ability.

But where are the ones that offer an "iPod Mini Dock", you know, just slide the think into a slot like a tape desk but shaped for the Mini. I dont' see these poping up anywhere.

At least our friends at Alpine are releasing a converter to treat your iPod like a CD Changer. This is the best attempt yet to integrate an iPod but it is, in my opinion, not a very tight integration.

At least it will display the track title on the head unit!

Visit Here for a press release. The unit will be available later this year. It integrates all control through the head unit, via the dock connector. You can tuck the iPod away inside the glove box. Still requires you to take your eyes off the road and look at the display of the receiver, however. Until Alpine comes out with an easy-to-install aftermarket heads-up-display...

Alpine is releasing a headunit with an iPod connector module:

To be released this summer.

The "blown out of proportions" problem can happen with any complicated product. Try finding a forum about your car, like VW Vortex or Mazda. It could be that the problem happens with less than 3% of units produced, but if you read the forums it'll sound like it happens to everyone and you should fear for the lifespan of your product.

A further possibility for controlling the atmosphere in the Phaeton is offered by the sliding sunroof. It may be had in both glass and solar versions as an option. The sunroof is operated via a preselector in the roof-mounted console. The solar sunroof is the biggest of its kind on the market. The 28 integrated solar cells provide 24 Watts of energy, which is also used to power the electric fan when the vehicle is at a standstill. In the summer this reduces the interior temperature by up to 20 degrees. Unpleasant air currents and loud wind noise when the roof is open are prevented by a speed-sensitive, electronically-controlled wind deflector.

wheeeeeeeee!

TDI have alot of touque. HP for show and Tourque for go :)

The VWVortex had a week long look at TDI technology

Diesel engines have been proven in europe.

Europe mandated the use of low sulfur. So their diesel engines generate more HP/Torque.

Here in north america, low sulfur diesel will be mandated in 2007 see http://www.eia.doe.gov/oiaf/servicerpt/ulsd/prefac e.html

Another advantage to diesel engines is that you can run different types of diesel.

1) Biodiesel. see http://www.biodiesel.org/resources/faqs

2) 100% biomater Biomater can be Vegitible oil or processed animal fats(roadkill and stuff that can't be processed in meat production)

3) Diesel

In fact you can go to KFC and get your fuel there
Greasel sells conversion kits for diesels http://www.greasel.com/

Anywho... Checkout VW's diesel spec sheet http://www.vw.com/art/engines/complete_specs_TDI.p df and checkout the flash

Belkin is building part of the 'connectivity kit'.

Knowing the general build quality of modern VWs and Audis, I can't imagine they'd suffer the cassette adapter on buyers. I'm sure an AUX input adapter thingy for the iPod is in the works.

I'm feeling like nitpicking. ;)

'fahrvergnuegen' should be 'fahrvergnugen'.

As for the origin of the word for anyone who is going "what the hell?" -- it's a 'made-up' word VW used in its ads for a time; it translates to 'driving pleasure'. A form of this campaign still exists, in the form of the "Drivers Wanted" slogan.

"On the road of life, there are passengers and there are drivers."

I still remember the old ads for the Rabbit/Golf:

"Volkswagen does it again!" -- a reference to the original Beetle and the huge worldwide sales it generated. The Golf has now outsold the Beetle.

-- proud and very happy owner of a 2000 Golf GLS

Don't forget that in Europe, VW has diesel cars with even better efficiency - there are models of the Lupo (just a touch on the small side for most Americans) that currently attain 70-100mpg, and it was fairly recent that VW proved out a 239mpg concept vehicle. Certainly not your best shot for everyone, but it proves that there is still quite a bit of room for improvement. A lower HP direct injection diesel can really rate well, and has significantly lower emmisions per mile than most vehicles on the road today.

I'm certain that a hybrid DI diesel could end up being a very attractive solution for many cars in the long run. One thing to think about is trying to get the US to the same standards for diesel fuel as most of Europe (less sulfur, etc.). Biodiesel would help quite a bit towards that end, and could help farmers as well as consumers. It would take some time, but there are some really good solutions waiting out there.

Coming from NJ to Minnesota, I was amazed that there aren't even basic car inspections required, much less the emissions testing. One can be rather frightened by the various vehicles running around on these snowy roads - i.e. windows made of plastic tarp and duct tape, severely cracked windshield, missing brake/turn signal, blue smoke belching from where a muffler/tailpipe used to be, and a bumper hanging at a 30 degree angle from twine. This was all just one car I was behind today on the way to work. Things like that should be taken off the road or fixed. Yech.

Car in Brazil

VW Concept Car

Grin, I always thought that car in Brazil was cool. We're all in it together.

Congratulations to VW, this is a very cool thing, despite the smart-ass remarks above.

...and yet it's not hideously ugly like the Cayenne.

Additionally, cars don't have re-occuring revenue, such as maintenence and support contracts. (although after a few years they can sell replacement parts)

sales stats here

Bet yer a Vortexer too, eh? ;>

Well, this might not be exactly what you were talking about, but this is a VW concept that's designed to use only 1L of diesel per 100km.

In other, American, words - 239mpg. And it's 4-wheeled two-seater.

Volkswagen has already put out a New Beetle Special Edition in a similar brilliant yellow. The color was called Reflex Yellow (this is not me; my VW is a 2000 Golf and is white) and was only available in a limited number 2,000 and only available online. However, if you wanted to purchase one of these used and add an Autobot logo with either a vinyl sticker or having a body shop paint one on (relatively expensive, but the best shops will do a wonderful custom job ...)

I was not able to find any photos online of a Beetle being painted to look like Bumblebee, but there is a vast aftermarket out there for Volkswagens and finding a tire and wheel combination that would be similar to that seen on the cartoon would not be hard. You could even have the wheels powdercoated Reflex Yellow (the paint code for the car should be in the spare tire well if it's in the same place as it is on Golfs). I personally think it would look mean with the wheels powdercoated black...

Honestly, Goldbug is a much better replica of a Beetle, though I'm glad the New Beetle isn't offered in that garish yellow. Looks like a late '70s model from the elephant's-foot taillamps...

For more news, take a look at the VWVortex.com page on the Special Edition New Beetle. This site is a wonderful resource for VW owners -- take a look in the forums and poke around the main page; ignore the whining for best results. (I'm personally looking forward to seeing what that Jetta Coupe looks like they're building...)

Volkswagen has already put out a New Beetle Special Edition in a similar brilliant yellow. The color was called Reflex Yellow (this is not me; my VW is a 2000 Golf and is white) and was only available in a limited number 2,000 and only available online. However, if you wanted to purchase one of these used and add an Autobot logo with either a vinyl sticker or having a body shop paint one on (relatively expensive, but the best shops will do a wonderful custom job ...)

I was not able to find any photos online of a Beetle being painted to look like Bumblebee, but there is a vast aftermarket out there for Volkswagens and finding a tire and wheel combination that would be similar to that seen on the cartoon would not be hard. You could even have the wheels powdercoated Reflex Yellow (the paint code for the car should be in the spare tire well if it's in the same place as it is on Golfs). I personally think it would look mean with the wheels powdercoated black...

Honestly, Goldbug is a much better replica of a Beetle, though I'm glad the New Beetle isn't offered in that garish yellow. Looks like a late '70s model from the elephant's-foot taillamps...

For more news, take a look at the VWVortex.com page on the Special Edition New Beetle. This site is a wonderful resource for VW owners -- take a look in the forums and poke around the main page; ignore the whining for best results. (I'm personally looking forward to seeing what that Jetta Coupe looks like they're building...)

I'm amazed no one linked to this press release of VW's 1 liter car, the L1. It's a carbon fiber two seater (one behind the other like a motorcycle) with a mild hybrid drivetrain comprised of an electric motor and a 0.3-liter, 1-cylinder diesel engine. BTW, to all non-Euros (like me), am x liter car means x liters per 100km. A 1 L car is the equivalent of 239mpg (US gallons).

Sweet commuter. Where do I send my check?

While I like these ideas, projects like this make me think that we haven't even approached the limits of efficiency in fossil fuel engines. This thing might be a concept, but VW made it now, it runs on normal diesel fuel, and gets nearly 240 MPG. This is the kind of thing that we need to explore in the near-term. While I think that pie-in-the-sky exotics are sexy, I also think that they won't be ready for production or have a working support infrastructure for years - here is something we could do now to cut our fuel usage.

Audi W12 420 BHP luxury sedan and

VW W12 recordholder 600BHP.

Like having a twin engine V6 under your hood.

Audi W12 420 BHP luxury sedan and

VW W12 recordholder 600BHP.

Like having a twin engine V6 under your hood.

Which doesn't mean you can't compare them. The Veyron and your typical dump truck are very different, but you can still judge which is faster and which carries a heavier load. More important is the relationship between those results and your needs.

If you've noticed though, all RISC processors are behind CISC processors in terms of Mhz, I'm not sure exactly why, most likely pipeline issues or the like.

Or because those CISC processors are more RISCy than many people believe. Until recently the paragon of the 'more performance through clock speed' philosophy was (in my mind) the Alpha, and I've always considered it much more of a RISC philosophy. I'm more inclined to believe that Intel has a very successful RISC chip buried under a few miles mud than that they suddenly discovered that CISC could be beat RISC at it's own game. (Actually, I'm mostly inspired to say 'stop pretending "CISC" and "RISC" are really meaningful'.)