Posted By RichC on November 19, 2013
It is about time Volkswagen diesel vehicles demonstrate what is in store for their new TDIs. (European story)
Frugal hatchback travels 995 miles from Nantes to Copenhagen without refuelling
On a 995-mile test run supervised by German inspection company DEKRA, the Golf TDI BlueMotion has returned an incredible 97mpg. The feat was achieved on a special Think Blue Eco Ride designed to push the car’s fuel parsimony to the limit. And our frugal hatchback performed admirably, with the 110PS TDI engine driven from Nantes to Copenhagen on a single 50-litre tank of fuel. Simon Thomas, Head of Marketing of the Volkswagen Group and the Volkswagen Passenger Cars brand: “This is a really impressive result. The trip shows that the interaction between fuel-saving BlueMotion efficiency technology and a well thought-out proactive driving approach allows economy figures that are hard to match.”
The trip took 20 hours and 45 minutes, starting in Nantes in the west of France, the European Green Capital 2013, via Paris, Antwerp, Bremen and Hamburg, before ending in the Danish capital Copenhagen – next year’s European Green Capital. The Think Blue Eco Ride shows that the standard consumption figure based on the official New European Driving Cycle (NEDC) – already extremely low at 3.2 litres per 100 kilometres (88.3 mpg) and 85g of CO2 per km – can even be beaten.
The standard 50-litre tank was filled in Nantes, where it was sealed by a DEKRA inspector. At the end of the trip, 46.92 litres of diesel were put into the same tank under the supervision of the same inspector. The Golf TDI BlueMotion is one of the technical highlights of the Golf family. Like all the other Golf models, it has a standard start-stop system and regenerative braking mode. In addition, the perfected aerodynamics, the low weight of the vehicle, the modified six-speed manual gearbox and especially the tyres, which have been optimised for low rolling resistance, contribute to the high efficiency of the Golf TDI BlueMotion. Think Blue is our holistic environmental sustainability strategy.
Category: Automotive, Diesel, Volkswagen |
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Tags: diesel, tdi, volkswagen, vw
Posted By RichC on November 18, 2013
My son Taylor checked in with me during the Bengals win over the Browns for another “battle of Ohio” NFL game this weekend. He is ‘im‘patiently waiting for his new big screen TV to arrive and complains that his little TV is not satisfactory for watching football — in the day of HD it is understandable. This new 60″ screen will be his first big purchase since starting his first job in Williston ND; having an income is a real plus considering relatively high unemployment. It is fun to watch your kids struggle to spend their own money and make big purchases.
Work as a “Planner” seems to be good for Taylor … definitely a career that fits for him. The “boomtown” atmosphere in Williams County keeps him plenty busy and gives him a lot of responsibility (see video below for a flavor of the changes in western North Dakota). I’m amazed at the kinds of projects and developments he is responsible for, oversees and reviews — from rail spurs to huge commercial building and of course the housing developments are everywhere. He spends part of his day in the field in Williams County — and when we’re talking “field,” that exactly where he is! Thankfully is job includes a county 4×4 Ford F-150, but even a decent truck isn’t always enough to get in and out of some areas … and it isn’t even winter. I have enjoyed the video clips he sends me bouncing on dirt roads or helping his partner out of a ditch (of course those times are the highlights of his day!)
Second, I know he’s not 100% thrilled with the area. When looking at TVs, there’s Walmart and … well, there’s Walmart. He actually decided to drive to Minot (2+ hours) to visit a Best Buy only to find out they didn’t have any of the TVs in stock that he wanted. Too funny. So after driving home he decided to buy online and have his big screen shipped … thankfully free shipping. In the meantime, he has made a few friends in his apartment complex who are in the same boat as he is. Single and a long way from home. The two guys he mentioned are deputy sheriffs and most likely have a more miserable job … all the boom and long hard oil rig work have plenty of guys releasing steam in bars, etc. Not the most idyllic setting but probably reminiscent of boomtowns in the old west.
So for Taylor the wait is on and I’m enjoying his anticipation. He’ll be taking the train to Minneapolis after getting an invitation from his cousin Justin for Thanksgiving so I know that will be fun for him. Then in December we’ll have him home for Christmas and New Years … a time-off perk not many first jobs offer, although he is burning some precious vacation time. We’re looking forward to having him back for few days.
Sloppy Joes, I’m impressed!
Category: Personal, Video |
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Tags: boomtown, family, nd, panasonic, taylor, tv, williston
Posted By RichC on November 17, 2013
My schedule had me driving back and forth from Mercy Anderson Hospital late this afternoon and evening. The drive south earlier was so-so, but the drive home at 6:30 was a little more tedious — mostly wind and rain although heard tornadoes were spotted earlier in Indiana? My mother-in-law (reason for hospital visit) is doing fine looking forward to being released tomorrow. I dropped her off a copy of Charles Krauthammer’s new book, “Things That Matter,” which I hope to read later this month too.
Category: Weather |
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Tags: Books, krauthammer, weather
Posted By RichC on November 16, 2013
This morning was spent working on the leaves again, but I took a break this afternoon to be part of the Butler Country Amateur Radio Association’s (BCARA) emergency communications network (W8WRK). One of my “senior” contacts in the amateur radio club asked if I could do some volunteer community service and represent the Middletown area of the county in the quarterly Tactical Net. As a rookie, I wanted to say “no,” but opted to give it a try for an hour this afternoon. Thankfully it was simpler than I thought and besides programming the primary and backup repeaters in my radio required mostly acknowledgment of “Full quieting” and “Full copy” of messages. The only issue we had was with the Oxford tactical and his ground plane antenna set-up. As soon as he moved his rig to the car mount antenna even with fewer watts all was good.
Category: Misc, Radio |
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Tags: amateur, ham, radio
Posted By RichC on November 15, 2013
The U.S. stock market powered forward again today with the expectation that Janet Yellen will continue the easy money policies as head of the Federal Reserve. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (chart above) has investors cheering even as recent bumps attempted to derail the anemic jobless recovery. I doubt the party can continue forever, but until the majority of Americans lose faith in the Fed’s ability to print money out of thin air while keeping interest rates low and still not face inflation, there aren’t any normal economic roadblocks to contend with … equities could go higher. On the other hand, big money managers have seen great returns this year and may just be willing to book profits so they can relax and the holidays.
The big picture isn’t really that rosy. Tax policies are keeping corporate profits sheltered overseas, the administration siphons more money from consumers while they spend inefficiently and pressure for more borrowing and taxing (Obamacare will surely be a drain). More so for all the wasted stimulus efforts only the wealthy are profiting and only a few in the lower and middle class are gaining ground. Good jobs people … where are they? Let’s focus on real growth and policies that create private sector jobs.
I heard a discussion this week on CNBC that was so true: The Republicans dislike President Obama’s economic policies yet their “supposed” 1% rich friends have gained considerably. The Democrats claim they fight for the lower and middle class, yet the current policies are primarily benefitting the wealthiest Americans and are costly for the rest. Again … few jobs and very few good middle class jobs are being created. It seems backwards to me?
Category: Financial, Politics |
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Tags: investing, stock market, wall street
Posted By RichC on November 15, 2013
I found out my small 28HP diesel “sailboat duty” jump starter had a bad battery last week (my starter and deep cycle battery bank is another story). Yes it was frustrating, but since Encore was still hanging in the travellift slings it wasn’t panic time either. Nevertheless it is time to find a new battery.
I did some online surfing and the one I wanted is tough to find … but zbattery.com had one with a $25.99 price (high?) and $11+ for shipping. It seems finding a seal lead-acid battery with the heavy nut and bolt terminals is more of a challenge than I thought?
Category: Misc, Sailing |
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Tags: battery, encore, jumpstarter
Posted By RichC on November 14, 2013
Nice Jeep project with a Volkswagen TDI diesel for someone with the time and money. It’s not cheap, but well designed and something most VW TDI advocates have thought about. Check out COTYbuilt and their step 1,2,3 components … I particularly like their 2010 SEMA project (video).
Category: Automotive, Diesel, Volkswagen |
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Tags: diesel, jeep, project, tdi, volkswagen
Posted By RichC on November 13, 2013
Busy day back at work, but noticed some pretty impressive Sprint LTE data service driving on rural I-71 near Wilmington, Ohio (between Cincinnati and Columbus). The LTE light has been popping on once in a while lately (previous posts), but this is about the fastest ping, down and up speeds I’ve seen. As the Mazda commercial whispers … “zoom, zoom.”
Category: Cellphone, Mazda, Technology |
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Tags: 4G, lte, sprint, wireless
Posted By RichC on November 12, 2013
The excuse I made for putting the boat in the water this week was that I would purchase a new refrigerator and have it installed in the Howard family condo before our snowbird tenants arrive in January. Sounds like a simple enough plan, right? Not so this week. The buying was easy enough as I found the exact size, model and sale price at the neighborhood Home Depot, but then came setting up the delivery – only available slot was my last day in Florida. Whew!
I did my homework and measured the opening width (at the counter) and carefully check the height. Tight, but all good. What I failed to do was to check the measurement between the cabinets that hang down and the wall … about a 1/4” narrower. Yikes. Of course this oversight wasn’t obvious until the delivery guys removed the doors to get the frig in the kitchen, hooked up the waterlines and begin to slide it in – it didn’t fit. Good grief Charlie Brown! What more can go wrong this trip. Thankfully there was still time in the day to meet with one of the retired handyman guys in the complex who has handled similar issues and is a trustworthy neighbor. We discussed the “fix” and is planning to tackle things later this week or next. On a bright note, the new refrigerator works, I plumbed the new fittings and just heard the first ice cubes dropping into the tray!
Category: Misc, Personal |
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Tags: condo, condo1718, delray beach, florida, refrigerator
Posted By RichC on November 11, 2013
The bank of three deep cycle AGM marine 105AH were not new when I got the boat and since they were installed in 2006 are considered to be running on borrowed time. Add to it the lousy care I’ve been giving them AND the fact that a non-AGM wet cell was added to the mix as a dedicated starting battery, the charging was not always efficiently done (according to my “light” reading on the subject). On return I’ll be shopping for more batteries and these puppies are not cheap … even if I do horse them aboard and into the bilge myself. I can feel my sore back aready!
🙂
Category: Misc, Sailing |
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