By Twain Mein

Diesel: what’s old is new, only better
I’ve been unintentionally green for a few weeks now; my beloved 2000 Audi A6 is in the shop getting major surgery including a transmission rebuild, new power steering rack, and catalytic converters. So I’ve been cycling and train-riding to work for the past few weeks. Unfortunately, the train station is quite a ways from work, so I’ve been riding a minimum of 9 miles, and sometimes 40 miles a day (if I forego the train). You can imagine there are times I’m pretty tired.

Luckily, my backside got a welcome break with the chance to test the 2009 Volkswagen Jetta. But the “green” didn’t take a break with this frugal VW. It’s a fantastic car that offers plenty of room front and rear, fold down seats to easily fit the bike into the trunk, excellent handling, and a thoroughly entertaining diesel engine. Entertaining? Diesel? Yep-this sucker features a turbocharger that kicks in for some prodigious torque. While the 2.0 liter 4 cylinder has only 140 horsepower, it packs a whopping 236 foot pounds of torque. While it lags a bit off the line, at highway speeds, the torque makes passing a joy. It is an ideal highway cruiser. Even more impressive, despite my notorious lead-footedness (I infamously logged just 22mpg in the ‘08 Honda Fit), I averaged a stunning 37.5 mpg!

Read the rest of this entry »

On July 24, the EPA issued revised new combined MPG numbers for an unknown number of vehicles. As a result, some vehicles that had previously qualified for the Cash for Clunkers program will no longer qualify. If you’re not sure if your vehicle qualifies, you can confirm your car’s new combined MPG by visiting www.fueleconomy.com.

Nationwide, an estimated 250,000 people could get credits, helping to spur sales at a time when industry sales are down 35 percent.

Since trade-in value essentially represents the “wholesale” cost of a new car, you can generally do much better by selling some cars directly to a new owner, bypassing the middle man. The cars we’ve listed below represent those vehicles we feel are most likely to be available for less than $3,500, the minimum voucher value, and are therefore great matches for the CARS Program. If we think a particular car will sell for more than what you can get back on it through the program, it didn’t make our list.

Read the rest of this entry »

By Derek Mau and Melody C. Yang

Read the rest of this entry »

page 1 page 2

For many years, diesel engines have gotten a bad rap for being smokey and loud, but one man is on a mission to tell people it’s not that way anymore!

Recently, I had the opportunity to sit down with Gale Banks, owner of Gale Banks Engineering. He’s considered by many to be the King of Diesel in the U.S., having designed and raced diesel engines since the late 1950’s.

Banks said he has seen the diesel performance industry evolve at a tremendous rate during his nearly 50 years of building engines. “I sold my first engine in 1958,” he said. “I’ve seen this market change dramatically, and it’s been exciting. The question we need to ask ourselves is how do we work worldwide to make diesel bigger than it is today? The message I want to tell people is that diesel kicks gas, and that’s no smoke. Winning races and setting diesel performance records is the best way to further this industry and to get people really excited about diesel.

Read the rest of this entry »

Zipcar, one of the leaders in the fast growing car sharing industry and electric cars. It would seem to be a match made in heaven. Most people that use car sharing services don’t take long trips, and the current state of electric vehicles doesn’t give you much range beyond 60 miles or so. So why not combine the two? Why doesn’t someone like Zipcar set up charging stations where their cars are normally parked and set up some deal with an EV manufacturer?

Because the CEO of Zipcar says it will be a while before his company goes down that road.

Read the rest of this entry »

More word from Europe on engines and models that car companies should be bringing to these shores. Audi, maker of all things all wheel drive and quick, has just announced some new engines for the euro market that would be really nice to see here in America (along with a model we should see too).

The most interesting of the new mills is an entry-level diesel that will be available for both the Audi Q5 SUV and the A4 Allroad Quattro crossover. It’s a 2.0-liter TDI with a nifty common rail high-pressure injection setup that cranks out 143 HP and a maximum of 236 lb-ft of torque between 1,750 and 2,500 rpm. Pretty impressive grunt for such a small engine. There’s also a new base 2.0-liter gasoline fueled that puts out 180 HP and 236 lb-ft of torque from 1,500 to 3,900 rpm for the Q5 SUV. Both engines get a 6-speed manual gearbox.

Read the rest of this entry »

By Anson Tse

Pros

• Silky smooth power train
• Well balanced chassis that feels more like a sports sedan
• Great creature comforts and techno wizardry

Cons

• Very little rear seat leg room
• Overall size and versatility
• Can get pricey in a hurry

Read the rest of this entry »

page 1 page 2

You’d think you wouldn’t really need to run the numbers to make sure, but it turns out that some people have, and, as expected, it’s less expensive to own and operate either a diesel of a hybrid car than a gasoline fueled ride. Who knows what their motivation was, maybe it was that bogus study that showed a Hummer has less environmental impact than a Prius, but the numbers, which do look very good, are laid out after the jump.

For the fourth year running, IntelliChoice.com has released its annual survey of eco-conscious rides and it shows what anyone who has bought a car for long term use has found out first hand: Gas cars are cheaper in initial costs, but over the years of ownership, diesels and hybrids take less from your pocket.

Read the rest of this entry »

By Kurt Gensheimer

Blings:

• Infinite MPG
• Makes a Prius look like a gross polluter
• $50 MSRP
• Higher quality plastics than a Chrysler

Dings:

• Some assembly required
• Disconnected steering
• Zero headroom
• No cupholders

Ruling: The perfect car for those who can’t qualify for a loan, are looking to downsize, or who are crack contortionists.

Read the rest of this entry »

Ford Motor Co.’s unexpected $2.3 billion second-quarter profit could signal the end of the worst downturn in recent automotive history for at least one of Detroit’s automakers, but Ford’s recovery still depends on the broader economy.

Finally, some genuinely positive news to report. Old Henry Ford (pictured) is no doubt smiling up in heaven right now! I’ve been telling people for the past year that Ford would emerge as the best of the Big 3, but no one (except those people who work for Ford) believed me. Now maybe they’ll listen. The formula for the carmaker’s success isn’t molecular physics—they started to make high-quality, reasonably priced, fuel-efficient cars that can compete against the imports. And the best thing is that they didn’t take any bailout money to do it.

Read the rest of this entry »

Chrysler Group LLC said Wednesday it is offering up to $4,500 in cash toward the purchase of a new vehicle as it seeks to match a government incentive for people to trade in their old gas guzzlers. The automaker said it will offer cash or zero percent financing for six years on most of its 2009 Chrysler, Dodge or Jeep models. The incentive begins Thursday and lasts through Aug. 31.

Chrysler said in a statement that buyers are eligible for the new incentive even if they are not trading in a vehicle under the government’s “cash for clunkers” legislation. Smart move. In this economy, people have been holding on to their vehicles, in many cases, praying they continue to run while foregoing maintenance to save money. Now, they can get a huge rebate toward a new car. It’s a brilliant marketing move and I expect other car makers to copy it soon.

Read the rest of this entry »

Yup, diesel sales are on the increase again, and it’s not hard to figure out why. Times is tight, as Desmond Dekker said, and people are looking to save wherever they can. Add that to growing green concerns amongst the populace, and that’ll be another selling point for oil burners. “But performance” some people might ask, “Really?”

Indeed, performance is also a viable reason for considering diesels these days. A while back, just for the heck of it, I looked into building up a VW Golf TDi as an eco-friendly rally car. The Golf is a good platform for that in general, but I was concerned about what could be done with the engine.

Turns out, you could do a surprising amount of fun stuff.

Read the rest of this entry »

By Kurt Gensheimer

Blings:

• Powerful, Fuel Efficient, Clean and Quiet V6 diesel
• Off-road prowess
• Exceptional value
• Safer than a nuclear fallout shelter

Dings:

• No 3rd row seating (but this could actually be a bling depending on one’s affinity for hauling bodies)
• Umm…that’s it, folks!

Ruling: If you want an SUV that can do everything but schlep more than five passengers, stop your search here.

Read the rest of this entry »

page 1 page 2

Alan Mulally, CEO of Ford, recently commented on the future of his car company and made a statement that most motorheads would have thought inconceivable a matter of months ago. Mulally said that a key portion of Ford’s future plans center on “more and more electrification, both hybrids and battery electric vehicles.” In addition to that, he also made some predictions as to when the Blue Oval would be in the black.

The Ford CEO said that the automaker is on path to be profitable by 2011. If he was talking about the first quarter, that’s a scant 18 months away. And for a company that posted record losses of $14.7 billion in 2008, and forecast continued losses through the rest of 2009 and through 2010, that’s a pretty amazing thing to say. And something to keep in mind is that Ford is the only American manufacturer to turn down bailout money from the feds. Of course, they were also in much better shape, product-wise than either GM or Chrysler.

Read the rest of this entry »

Now that it seems every car maker from Mercedes on down is going to be getting into the hybrid or electric vehicle business, word is starting to filter out about not just the “whys” but more importantly, the “wheres” concerning production of the new generation of cars. The good news for autoworkers that might be looking for jobs, is that Nissan is rumored to be considering a battery or EV facility here in America.

Read the rest of this entry »