Report: Volkswagen Changing Strategy for Hybrids (DIESEL!)

Germany’s Automobilewoche reports that with the change in Volkswagen’s top management is coming a change in strategy for hybrids.

Martin Winterkorn, who formerly headed the company’s Audi AG unit, became CEO after Bernd Pischetsrieder resigned at the end of 2006. Pischetsrieder had brought in Wolfgang Bernhard from DaimlerChrysler to run the Volkswagen unit. Berhard has now left (as of today), and Winterkorn will personally oversee the VW brand for the time being.

Now, rather than target a mild hybrid Jetta for sale into the California market in 2008 as described by Pischetsrieder, Volkswagen will focus first on a full hybrid Touareg SUV. VW has announced a 50-state compliant (Tier 2 Bin 5) diesel Jetta will go on sale in the US in 2008.

The additional cost of the compact hybrid or of a hybrid drivetrain applied in a Touran van didn’t make sense for management, given price-sensitivity of the consumers, and a negligible gain in fuel efficiency compared to a diesel powertrain. VW was exploring the use of the Continental mild hybrid system in those applications.

Now, Volkswagen will concentrate on developing a hybrid application of the Touareg (along with Porsche with its Cayenne) for the end of 2008, with Bosch providing the full hybrid system, according to the report.

You're exactly onto the reasons why American consumers are so suspicious of diesels: Detroit made a royal hash out of diesel engines in the late 70's. There was GM's stupid effort where they took a V-8 350 gas engine, changed the pistons and fuel system and called it a diesel. Horrible piece of crap. There was the VW Rabbit diesel, popularly known as "The Turtle" where they had a diesel with no boost.

Here's what is different about today's diesels vs. those diesels:

1. All diesels in passenger cars or pickups today have turbos.
2. All diesels in passenger cars today have computer controlled fuel systems, so it is impossible to over-fuel the engine. "Over fueling" is what results in the classic thick, black smoke that people hated about diesels.
3. Today's diesels have advanced very significantly WRT cold starting. Glow plugs are common in some product lines. Glow plugs aren't my favorite cold start assist, but they work. The better cold start assists have one glow plug and ignite a little bit of fuel in the air intake, thereby heating the intake air, which then gets sucked into the engine, which helps the engine start. Today's diesels are tighter, and with the computer control of the fuel system, the computer will prevent wet-stacking of engines when they're cold.
4. As diesel has become more popular for passenger cars, you see better control of the fuel supply for winter conditions. It used to be that in winter, the refineries and fuel retailers just kept on selling #2. Today, in many cold climate areas, in winter the fuel retailers aren't selling straight #2 any more -- they're selling #2 with some #1 mixed in to prevent gelling.
5. Lastly, and most people who aren't around diesels a lot don't understand how important this is -- injector technology has changed in ways the consumer cannot even begin to understand. Better injectors means better atomizing of the fuel. The old injectors used to produce, by comparison, some rather fat fuel spray patterns. This is OK if the engine is hot and the fuel gets nice and thin. It will mostly burn.

Emissions requirements has meant that diesel engine engineers have labored mightily to create injection systems that evenly and very, very finely atomize the fuel, resulting in both better combustion and better starting at low temps.

Even where industrial diesels are concerned, starting a 1970's diesel vs. a 1990's diesel is night and day. We have a bunch of tractors that date from the late 70's on this farm. They're a bear to start in 0F weather. We also have a recent engine in a New Holland balewagon. It has a cold-start assist of the glow plug+fuel dispenser in the air intake. I guess it works. I don't really know. I've never had to use it. The computer monitoring of the fuel supply, coupled with the improved injectors, means I can start the NH engine down to 0F without glow plugs or the cold start assist, whereas on the 1978 Deere tractors, I have to use the ether injection system and the block heater to get that machine running in the morning.

The most succinct way I can convince you that the modern diesels are vastly superior to the 1970's diesels is this:

GM has nothing to do with modern diesels. So the stupid people are off in a corner, going bankrupt, while the rest of the automotive industry, who happens to not suffer from cranial/rectal inversion, rapidly develops new and better diesel technology.

The "newer" Jetta TDIs have a slightly bigger engine, and a reduced MPG. My 2002 gets about 50, the 2007s get 45.

As to the gunking up of the turbo, requiring about $300 (or more?) to clean it up, I asked the local VW dealership owner that this was a problem on the '98 models, why hadn't they done anything to resolve this issue? Obviously other diesel engines (my Hubby's Ford truck comes to mind) do not have these problems, and he said that's because the diesel fuel sold in the US is different than that in Europe. I think this is BS; car manufacturers make cars for certain markets and I would think a US car would have different requirements than would a car sold in Germany. Some states have different requirements as well, like California.

All I know is that this has been a known problem since the late 90s at least, and they've done diddly squat to resolve it. Ater all, this problem for the consumer is an income-generator for the dealership.

Yes, road tax is charged on all "clear" (ie, on-road) diesel fuel. There is clear #1 diesel available in the fuel chain. You might have to ask your fuel jobber for it, but it is available, road tax and all.

For our on-farm fuel, it is dyed, aka "red" fuel, and that doesn't have road tax on it.

For those who might be thinking about running red fuel in your diesel automobile, ala the late 70's and people running heating oil in their diesel cars: don't. Don't go there. If they dip your tank and find traces of red dye, you don't pay road tax on the fuel in your tank. Oh, no. You pay road tax, plus a penalty, on the size of your storage tank. For us here on this farm, that's 4,000 gallons. Doesn't matter how much fuel you actually have, how much you've actually used without paying road tax. They have the regulation worded and enforced in such a way as to maximize the pain.

So, here's a tip from someone who has read the regulation: don't do it. Paying the road tax is much cheaper.

Dave,
While GM has had nothing to do with diesels, Ford on the other hand has some of the most advanced small automotive diesels in the WORLD (see the 4 different ones offered in the Focus) And they refuse to bring them to the US.

I went to the DC Auto Show last weekend and they had this beautiful little Volvo C30 which reminds one of the P1800ES (the only Volvo I ever liked) and it is available in Europe with 10 different engines including the 4 diesels. Guess what, it will only be available with the the T5 220hp gas engine. The small diesel available in the Euro model gets 56mpg on the highway. That is Prius like mileage in a car that doesn't look like a cow pattie.

I think Ford wants to go out of business to be honest with you.

Boiler Plate

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