Hybrid | My Desultory Blog

New Volkswagen Seven-passenger CUV to be built in Tennessee

RichC | July 14, 2014

As hinted a few times before, Volkswagen has now officially announced that it will be building the new “yet to be named” seven passenger CUV in Chattanooga, TN. The attractive American-sized crossover will help VW compete in the popular SUV/CUV market come 2016. Many VW enthusiasts (and potential new customers) with growing families have […]

Category: Automotive, Diesel, Hybrid, Volkswagen | No Comments »
Tags: 2016, crossblue, cuv, diesel, hybrid, SUV, volkswagen

The Volvo V60 plug-in diesel hybrid in the US?

RichC | March 21, 2013

The Swedish automaker Volvo will be showing their new plug-in V60 diesel hybrid at the New York auto show later this month according to reports in the automotive press. This new information may hint that Volvo is considering bringing their pricey new hybrid to the U.S. after all; initially reports suggested it would only be […]

Category: Automotive, Diesel, Hybrid | No Comments »
Tags: diesel, ev, hybrid, volvo

Filler up! The Super efficient Volkswagen diesel hybrid XL1

RichC | March 13, 2013

The Volkswagen XL1 sure would be a different kind of car to own and would make stopping for fuel every 700 miles almost a pleasurable even. You could even spurge for “full service” and walk away with change from your ten dollar bill! (click for Autoblog “First Drive story) “The liquid fuel tank of the […]

Category: Automotive, Diesel, Hybrid, Volkswagen | No Comments »
Tags: concept, diesel, hybrid, volkswagen, vw

Comparing three efficient hybrid cars from Toyota and Ford

RichC | March 1, 2013

An automotive enthusiast friend of mine, Wayne Gerdes, is a noted “hypermiler” and posted a well documented write-up comparing three of the top selling hybrid cars for a CleanMPG report. His efficiently conclusion is about what my gut would have told me when looking at the car profiles in his photo above … Toyota Prius […]

Category: Automotive, Hybrid | 1 Comment »
Tags: c-max, ford, hybrid, prius, toyota

Volkswagen UP! may get the 261mpg XL1 powertrain

RichC | February 26, 2013

Not that the Volkswagen UP! is the sleekest looking VW model (image to right), but it may be the model getting the highly efficient 261mpg XL1 diesel-electric hybrid powertrain. According to Autocar.co.uk, the UP! minicar might be the 2-cylinder diesel and electric minicar produced en masse. I know VW enthusiasts would love to see the […]

Category: Automotive, Diesel, Hybrid, Volkswagen | No Comments »
Tags: diesel, electric, hybrid, up!, volkswagen, vw, xl1

Most Recent Posts

07/14/20: Update on Fitbit replacement and JAMA step count guidelines
After my much enjoyed Fitbit Versa smartwatch died in less than a year (it was replaced under warranty – thank you), I have been a bit more careful when wearing the new one. I no longer wear it in the pool or even… »
07/13/20: Music Monday: Mary Chapin Carpenter – Hometown Girl
Last weekend, while on Facebook catching up on family goings-on, Mary Chapin Carpenter had a live chat as quite a few musicians have been doing. The video conversation she had with fans from her front porch reminded me… »
07/12/20: A new keyless remote and programming for my Honda Odyssey
The Keyless Remote on my 2002 Honda Odyssey stopped working this past year and figured it was just a dead battery. Unfortunately after replacing the battery … twice …and confirming that my other remote still worked,… »
07/11/20: Paintings and memories: Do you own any priceless art?
Since I recently completed the bookshelves project this past spring and repainted our Library/Music room, Brenda and I have been discussing what artwork to put back on the walls. We’ve collected or have been given… »
07/10/20: Wouldn’t it be nice to cool off in the pool on hot summer days?
It has definitely been sunny and warm this past week or so, but this kind of pool temperature is ridiculous! Whew, 89 degrees! I’ve been trying to keep up with brushing half the pool each evening in hope to stay ahead… »
07/10/20: Tech Friday: Apple Mac OS Catalina desktop window tip
As an Apple Macintosh user for nearly forever, I learned a new tip from a Verge article this past month that has not been widely talked about. It happened to come up when I was offering advice on how I rotate through… »
07/09/20: A happy Taylor after updating his apartment’s kitchen #TBT
While smiling and thinking about my “now domesticated son ” (HA!) after seeing a couple photos Taylor proudly sent me after updated his kitchen apartment, I realized he is now closer to middle age than living in… »
07/08/20: The longest serving US military rifle – the Coconut Rifle
The “Coconut Rifle” … known to most as the Colt ArmaLite AR-15 (SN 000106) … the original for what is now the longest primary service weapon in our country’s military history. The originals firearms (20 of… »
07/07/20: Well so much for a smooth reopening in Ohio #COVID19
See a few more details leading up to this from Gov Mike Dewine on this post.… »
07/07/20: Archive: Just a couple family photos from the 4th of July
Archiving a few leftover 4th of July weekend family photos, but really, my phone/camera was not all that handy since I spent most of the weekend in swim trunks. Still we had a great couple of days relaxing with Taylor… »
07/06/20: Music Monday: “Superstar” made popular by the Carpenters, but ..
When picking a song to highlight for Music Monday, it is often the “what I didn’t know” that seems the most interesting. For anyone who grew up with music from the 1970s, songs by the Carpenters was on… »
07/05/20: Carpenter bee traps, a box joint finger jig and birdhouse ideas
While I should be finishing up out taxes and figuring out how to pay what we owe … I instead found myself thinking about our granddaughters coming down later this summer and my promise to “build something for… »
07/04/20: Winning freedom is one thing, maintaining it is yet another
As we celebrate our country’s freedom from oppression and an independence won from Great Britain this July 4th, it is hard to imagine any US citizen wanting to give up their liberty? Yet once again, it is looking more… »
07/03/20: Tech Friday: Amazon’s AI notifications needs improvement
As often as I gripe about ordering from Amazon or more to the point, complain about their delivery and updating, one would think I would opt for another online ecommerce portal? Unfortunately there aren’t better… »
07/02/20: With June 2020 behind us, how is Ohio handling COVID19?
It sure would be nice to report all is well in Ohio, but unfortunately our returning to semi-normal routines and statewide reopening has hit a snag … at least according to those elected and paid to monitor our… »
07/02/20: Idea: Using eggshells as planters to grow seedlings
Every once in a while an idea triggers me into thinking … “I’m going to try this!” Last week I stumbled across a Lifehacker post that was worth archiving. Using biodegradable eggshells to start seedlings … and… »
07/01/20: It was on my mind, so made a better Featherboard Hold-Down
As mentioned a couple days ago, I saw a fellow woodworker using a better featherboard hold-down clamp … and after over 30 years of using my “temporary” pine featherboard … with a makeshift wedge style clamp, I… »
06/30/20: Winding down June 2020 with a couple granddaughter photos
Time to add a couple photos to close out June 2020 and mark the 4 month pediatrician appointment for Ellerie. She is doing great and weighed in at 13 lbs 6 oz and 25 inches. Not to be left out, Annalyn is growing too,… »
06/29/20: Music Monday: Bread – Baby I’m-a Want You plus concert video
After mentioning and listening to my friend’s “vinyl” version of Bread’s album Baby I’m-a Want You last week when visiting, I thought why not a sampling for Music Monday? So here’s the cover song from the… »
06/28/20: Archive: Flying down and driving back from hurricane prep
Flew on the airlines for the first time since COVID19 to Florida via Baltimore (photo BWI terminal above) last week and thankfully the flights and negotiating the airport was uneventful. Besides a computer glitch which… »
06/27/20: Woodworking idea to better clamp a table saw featherboard
I’ve used the same combination of featherboards on my table saw for years (photo left). I also have a Shopsmith commercial featherboard which fits the smaller table perfectly, but it only works to hold larger sized… »
06/26/20: TechFriday: Dropbox paid cloud storage is tough to justify
Besides Google’s less intuitive cloud storage, Dropbox was the first cloud service that I gravitated to “back in the day.” I’ve posted about them before on TechFriday (2015 comparison) and they are still… »
06/25/20: Forgot to archive my 2020 Father’s Day conversation #TBT
Our family went in different directions for Father’s Day this year, but I enjoyed the text messages, ‘last year memory photo’ and FaceTime singing by Annalyn. She sang a great Happy Father’s Day… »
06/24/20: US Debt clock, Unfunded Liabilities and Debt to GDP ratio
By now we all have heard and know about the TRILLIONS we have borrowed and continue to borrow as a nation in deep debt, but few are willing to make any changes to the status quo before this house of cards comes tumbling… »
06/23/20: A new Weber grill, some assembly and Father’s Day grill brush
We replaced our rusting “hand-me-down” rebuilt grill from 2016 (thanks Jeff) this year with a new natural gas Weber Spirit S-315 stainless steel grill set up. So far it is a great grill and perfectly sized for our… »
06/22/20: Music Monday: An hour with Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young
While backing up and updating one of my servers last week, I noticed an hour long recording saved on another data server, but I never used it or mentioned in a Music Monday post. Live Studio Mic ..… »
06/21/20: Happy Father’s Day 2020 to a great dad and son-in-law, Drew
Only my granddaughter Annalyn and I (and those who watch us playing) really understand the “bubble” photo that I sent her earlier this week. The two of us have a few toys that will likely remain in our… »
06/20/20: A long winded reader answer with a bit of my Internet history
A couple weeks ago I shared an old automotive link from MyDesultoryBlog.com on Twitter and one of my automotive buddies sent me a private message asking about the name of my blog (now nearly 7000 posts). The… »
06/19/20: TechFriday: Blog housekeeping and a WordPress 5.4.2 update
Way too often those who maintain their own web servers and computers grit their teeth and cringe when it is time to update and upgrade. A month or so ago I replaced one of my servers (the one this blog is on) and… »
06/18/20: Archive: Last weekend chores, yardwork photos and memories
Last weekend was great weather for working in the yard … something both Brenda and I do enjoy when it doesn’t become a rush to finish chore. I’ve been steadily working on the area under the “now” larger pines… »
06/17/20: Currently my favorite podcast: Streetwise by Jack Hough
Podcasts have been around for a while now and I suspect I”m like most people, it is an on again, off again listening affair; finding or making time to them can be challenging. The iPhones and Android phones do make it… »
06/16/20: Amazon delivery issues, but their chat-bot seems efficient
Like a lot of people during COVID19, we have gravitated even more to Amazon and online ordering for our “stuff.” We have not ordered groceries online yet, but are definitely doing more online shopping than ever… »
06/15/20: Music Monday: Grooving with two more Van Morrison songs
There’s no stopping now … I’m stuck in a rut and listening to Van Morrison about as much as I’ve listened to Jackson Browne. Here are two classics from the mp3 archive without the normal bloviating from me.… »
06/14/20: What are we hearing as the 2020 presidential election nears?
Ok … I’ve decided that most of the outrage (see 1, 2 & 3) in our country happening is politically motivated and it is being fanned and fueled by political operatives and left-wing ideologues as we approach the… »
06/13/20: If you dislike the police or civil society, ignore the next two posts
It is officially time for me to start wearing the “grumpy old man” cap (or “GOM” as my “poke the bear” friend Jeff refers to it). I can’t believe the things our country is now divided over. Tomorrow I’ll… »
06/12/20: Tech Friday: Google making its clout felt even on my blog
Regular readers have likely noticed a few “hopefully” discrete ads running on My Desultory Blog. It is a way for me to experiment with ways to help my customers choose or forgo the use advertising services like… »
06/11/20: Is this defunding/dismantling police for real or just politics?
After listening to the loudest protestors from around the U.S. seemingly unite around the “defund and dismantle the police” manta, it is natural for people to ponder the questions regarding how this movement of… »
06/10/20: Happy Birthday to my "aging" son Taylor
Wishing my son a very HAPPY BIRTHDAY today. I know he is getting older, but I don’t think he is THIS old yet. Yikes! A couple weeks ago Taylor sent a FaceApp photo with his college friends (a post from when they were… »
06/09/20: We had a great time with the family last weekend
Today’s blog update is really just to archive a couple grandkid photos from this past weekend. We see our family enough not to have to post something every time we get together, but those with grandchildren know how… »
06/08/20: Music Monday: Van Morrison – Ballerina/Move On Up #video
If you are like me, or a friend who commented on my including a bit more from Van Morrison for Music Monday a couple weeks ago, hearing even a little more music from him is not a problem. Below is a great 10 minute set… »
06/07/20: The Fiat 500X and selling hot dogs from a VW bus in NYC
Just an automotive kind of filler today after sharing Erwin Wurm’s “chubby” Volkswagen Hot Dog “microbus” from NYC last week on Tom Appel’s Twitter feed. The discussion started when I commented that the Fiat… »
06/06/20: Have Americans completely lost their minds – Defunding Police?
It is hard to imagine the lawlessness and chaos we would see without a fair bit of law enforcement of some kind? Perhaps Americans aren’t really hearing each other and are unwilling to have a logical debate … but… »
06/05/20: Tech Friday: Apple Mac, Preview PDFs and Quartz Filter tweaks
Size matters when emailing or just saving PDFs. It is easy to create them for paper-free archiving, but sooner or later most of them are larger than they need to be. Years ago in the printing world, almost every project… »
06/04/20: Patio cleaning, finishing opening the pool, tree cutting and a fond Al Szuch’s Bait Shop memory … triggered by smell #TBT
The “to-do” list is slowly being chipped away at as last weekend Brenda and I enjoyed the nice weather at home to work on yard chores. She is still struggling with a back issue, but felt good enough to use the… »
06/03/20: A moon rising iPhone 7-plus photo worthy of archiving
Every once in a while when seeing what cellphone cameras can do, I wonder why I even bother to ever grab my camera bag and relatively expensive DSLR camera anymore? Last night the weather in Cincinnati was clear and… »
06/03/20: Are rechargeable wearable tech devices like the Fitbit Versa and the Apple Watch doomed to prematurely fail?
It is starting to look like early gadget failure going to become the ‘norm’ now that we’re wearing tech gadgets everyday. My Fitbit Versa watch is not even a year old and has failed. For a while it started to… »
06/02/20: A nation of unrest … filled with a bunch of immoral idiots
Well so much for the pre-posting yesterday’s Music Monday “So Quiet In Here” … before the Minneapolis George Floyd killing subsequent protests … and ensuing riots and crime spree. I suppose we all knew, that… »
06/01/20: Music Monday: Van Morrison–So Quiet In Here
The older I get, the more I gravitate to the music of Sir George Ivan “Van” Morrison. I’ve posted his songs a few times before on Music Monday before and often think about the comment that surgeons listen to… »
05/31/20: Payment processing: Testing Square’s link tool with a Monocle
Having used Paypal‘s simple sales link solution to sell a product or raise money for an organization in the past (EAA284 and CinciTDI) .. I’m always looking for a better way (cheaper way) to handle… »
05/30/20: Face masks, eating out again and PPE in the age of COVID19
It has been a couple weeks of more states and localities re-opening. Brenda and I stopped at Fazoli’s to pick up something last weekend, but instead decided to try something new .. at least since restaurants shut… »
05/29/20: Tech Friday: i-Device Wallpapers .. the Bompa edition
Although my computer monitor(s) still have relatively generic “paper airplane” wallpapers, I regularly update both my iPhone and iPad. Long gone are the days of sailboat pictures and Palm Pre wallpapers … and here… »
05/28/20: If the end of bread is not called the heel, then what do you call it?
What do you call the two pieces of bread that bookend all of the slices? Every once in a while, a quirky story gets me thinking and talking to those around me. I once though everyone called the ends of a loaf of bread… »
05/27/20: Do not fall for text messaging scams targeting senior citizens
Acknowledge scammers and you become a “live mark.” There’s no way around it, living with smarphones and computers makes life easier and more difficult at the same time. Scammers are busy targeting all of us and… »
05/26/20: Later and more work than usual in opening the pool this year
It is never as easy as expected? I’m accustom to opening the pool each season now that I’ve been doing it for 20+ years in Cincinnati and another 5 or so in Hudson before that. Each season it should get… »
05/25/20: Thinking about the ultimate sacrifice on Memorial Day
We should probably come up with a better way to remember those who gave the ultimate sacrifice for our country than a day off work, grilling out and giving momentary lip service? As I sat on the front porch on Sunday… »
05/24/20: Out and about, yardwork, flowers and more rain
It has been a slow start to getting our yard in shape. By now we usually have the pool open and flowers planned, but for some reason (probably rain) we are not ready for summer. Thankfully though, Saturday was nice most… »
05/23/20: Woodworking: Table Saw Clutter – a place for push sticks
The workshop runs smother when there is “a place for everything and everything is in its place” … to quote the printer and publisher Benjamin Franklin. On the other hand, perhaps the British are not fond… »
05/22/20: Where’s the strangest place to find wild mallard duck eggs?
I know it seems like a strange question, but our annual pair of ducks spend a lot of time in and around our pool. It doesn’t matter if it is covered or not, these mallard ducks do enjoy the relative safety of… »
05/21/20: Happy Birthday Ron! Did you know you had a doppelgänger?
Happy Birthday to my brother today. Although it is not every year I mentioned birthdays, particularly for those of us who prefer the year count be ignored, but this year with social distancing and lack of a physically… »
05/20/20: Woodworking: Finished my Scrapwood Challenge project
Several posts ago I mentioned that I was participating in the Makers Mob woodworking 6-week Scrapwood Challenge as part of the stay-at-home COVID19 orders. I can’t say that this project is anything great, but it did… »

July 2020
S	M	T	W	T	F	S
	1	2	3	4
5	6	7	8	9	10	11
12	13	14	15	16	17	18
19	20	21	22	23	24	25
26	27	28	29	30	31

July 2020

Most Recent Posts

Desultory - des-uhl-tawr-ee, -tohr-ee

Search

Year(s) ago on this day

Archives

Categories

Most Used Tags

Contact

Meta