thowing gasoline on troubled waters

[sdewitt at stx.rr.com]

Better do so before the 2006 model year comes out. Federal emission standards change, which will make diesels in passenger cars and light trucks unavailable until technology can get caught up.

I spoke with a sales rep from VW and VW has no plans for US diesel models in 2006 for the time being.

----- Original Message -----
From: David Kavanagh <audiguy at gmail.com>
Date: Thursday, August 12, 2004 10:54 am
Subject: Re: thowing gasoline on troubled waters

> I recently went looking at hybrids again and decided that a nice TDI
> would be better. (though I still don't own one). You can bet that when
> I buy a fuel efficent car, I'll be heading to VW.
> 
> David
> 
> On Wed, 11 Aug 2004 21:31:45 -0400, Huw Powell 
> <audi at humanspeakers.com> wrote:
> > 
> > > As gasoline prices climb
> > 
> > Actually, prices have been fairly stable.  But, the dollar has 
> tanked> against other major currencies.
> > 
> > >> THE HIDDEN COST OF HYBRID CARS
> > >>
> > >> Hybrid cars are hitting our roads in ever increasing numbers as
> > >> purchase prices come down and fuel prices go up. But the 
> substantial> >> hidden costs of owning a hybrid car could make it 
> a financial time bomb.
> > 
> > Gee, didn't we always know they used batteries?
> > 
> > >> Owners of 'environmentally friendly' hybrid cars like the 
> Toyota Prius
> > >> and Honda Insight may be hit with a bill for up to $7000 when 
> their> >> car's battery dies less than eight years after purchase.
> > 
> > >> "A replacement battery on the Insight retails for $6840," 
> said Honda
> > >> spokesman Mark Higgins.
> > 
> > and from lower in the article:
> > 
> >  >> Toyota lowered the price significantly on the Prius battery 
> pack,>  >> from
> >  >> $4500 on the first model to around $3000 on the latest version
> > 
> > >> Toyota's manager of alternative fuels and specialized 
> vehicles, Vic
> > >> Johnstone, concedes the batteries, like the car itself, are 
> built to
> > >> last less than a decade. "The life of the car and the battery are
> > >> supposed to be the same... around 8 to 10 years," he said. 
> "We're not
> > >> expecting to replace them [the batteries]. In fact we only 
> hold one
> > >> [replacement] battery in stock nationally."
> > >
> > > Interesting - buy this car and expect to discard it in eight 
> to ten
> > > years . . . ! Average Prius sells for $24,000, so you have an 
> annual> > cost of ownership of between $2,400 and $3,000.
> > 
> > Most new car buyers don't keep them for their "lifetime" anyway.
> > 
> > >> Despite the dramatic price drop, hybrid ownership remains a 
> nod to
> > >> better fuel economy, not financial savings. CarPoint's review 
> of the
> > >> Prius, published in October, compared the hybrid's fuel 
> consumption to
> > >> a similarly specified Toyota Corolla, and reached the 
> conclusion it
> > >> would take 15 years before the Prius' fuel economy paid off 
> the extra
> > >> purchase price.
> > 
> > doesn't that analysis depend on a hidden assumption (or two) - 
> one, the
> > cost of fuel for the time involved, and two, the number of miles 
> driven> per year?
> > 
> > >> Add battery replacement every eight years to this equation, and
> > >> replacement parts costs as the vehicle exceeds its planned 
> life of ten
> > >> years and components wear out, and owners have no chance of ever
> > >> seeing a dollar back.
> > 
> > OK, so they are perhaps not "cheaper" in dollars to drive than a
> > Corolla.  But no car actually gets you money "back" (unless you 
> buy it
> > used and sell it for more...).
> > 
> > > Conclusion - these vehicles are an EXPENSIVE way to "feel good"
> > 
> > But far cheaper than, say, an SUV, which people also buy to 
> "feel good"
> > 
> > > After a careful look, I'd suggest these vehicles be avoided - 
> they ain't
> > > no bargain, and the cure appears worse than the disease.
> > 
> > Nickel was described, a few paragraphs below the scary word 
> "toxicity"> as "mildly toxic."  Sure, you don't want a landfill 
> full of the stuff,
> > but we plate things with it all over the place.  And it *is* 
> reclaimable.> 
> > > Give them ten more years to solve the problems, then come back 
> and try
> > > again.
> > 
> > Sounds to me like a poorly written article sourced mostly from 
> gasoline> industry handouts.
> > 
> > --
> > Huw Powell
> > 
> > http://www.humanspeakers.com/audi
> > 
> > http://www.humanthoughts.org/
> > _______________________________________________
> > quattro mailing list
> > quattro at audifans.com
> > http://www.audifans.com/mailman/listinfo/quattro
> > 
> 
> 
> -- 
> '00 A6 biturbo 6-speed
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