My Desultory Blog

RichC | July 3, 2021

As we transition to renewable energy and electric vehicles, the discussion I had with a German tourist on our cruise to Alaska continues to replay in my head. I am an advocate of free-market capitalism and smaller, less intrusive government … but have been known to stumble a bit and have supported government using incentives […]

Category: Automotive, Energy, Environment, Financial, Hybrid, Innovation | No Comments »
Tags: brad templeton, capitalism, charging, electric, energy, ev, forbes, government, incentives, power, renewable, stations, tesla, vehicle

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

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

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

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

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