My Desultory Blog

Posted By RichC on September 26, 2006

The prototype of the 2008 Volkswagen ‘common rail‘ diesel powered Jetta TDI was on display along with several other vehicles in Boston last weekend and a member from the TDIClub was there to snap a couple photos. Of course I’m late to the table in commenting on this as several diesel related blogs and publications have already pick this up as well. Nevertheless, its great to see what the 2008 Jetta TDI might offer.

A couple of lip smacking highlights are the 140 ponies being produced by the common rail design which is mated to a 6 speed manual rather that the 5 speed that previous US TDIs have received. All it all it looks like something to wait for? (lets just hope the EPA likes it too?)

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Posted By RichC on September 25, 2006

Not since the ‘finger wagging’ incident in the oval office has President Clinton chastised someone the way he did Chris Wallace and the media (primarily FoxNews) in a Sunday newshow interview. The interview was intended to focus on promoting President Clinton’s “Global Initiative,” but ended up off topic. In the 20 minute interview, loved him or hated him, President Clinton vehemently defended his record and what he perceives as a ‘politically motivated’ perspective on what his administration did and didn’t do to capture Osama Bin Laden and thwart terror. I suspect that it was not only the question from Chris Wallace that ‘set him off’ (as Wallace did try to steer the subject back toward the “Global Initiative”), but the events including the recent controversial ABC Docudrama and the political escalation of attacks on both side the GOP and Democrats in what was done to combat terrorism. Issues are obviously coming to a head, and being ‘spun,’ as we approach a crucial November midterm election. Its was obvious to me that Chris Wallace and his reference to the ‘FoxNews viewers many emails’ was the straw that broke the camels back.

I’ll include a entire 2.7 meg MP3 Audio clip of the entire interview (right click/save as) because it is smaller than the video, but will add the ‘FoxNews Promo’ for the interview available on YouTube below. (interesting too) You only have to search your memory while listening to the audio to get a clear image of how much tension must have be in this room … oh to be a fly on the wall.

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Posted By RichC on September 25, 2006

We all know that diesel cars are among the stingiest on fuel, but then their has always been that emissions hurdle … until now. Honda has one upped their diesel leading European counterparts with a new fuel efficient California ready four cylinder car. It will be the first to meet U.S. Environmental Protection Agency strict California diesel exhaust rules said Honda’s President Takeo Fukui in Japan. This will be the first vehicle to meet these rules and will beat the equivalent gasoline model by 30 percent in efficiency.

Unfortunately the wheels of progress move slowly as the car is not planned for introduction until the 2009 model year, the same year Honda intends to bring over a fuel cell powered sports car, according to Bloomberg.

Currently there are only a handful of diesel passenger cars in the US, primarily made by Volkswagen and Mercedes, but with fuel prices taking a bigger bite out of consumers wallets many are looking at options. Hybrid leadership belongs to Toyota, followed by Honda and seems to be the best known option. Alternative domestic replacements for oil is hoped will add supply to the current petroleum monopoly over how we fuel our current and future vehicles, but is requiring government subsidies in order to compete as it is ramped up.

Conservation options are the individuals best choice in getting more for their dollar in either driving less or driving smarter. According to market forecaster J.D. Power & Associates, they estimate that diesels will account for 9 percent of U.S. auto sales by 2010 and continue to rise as US consumers recognize what Europeans have already found out … diesel are no longer the noisy and smelly cars they were in years past, especially with new ULSD and biodiesel available.

According to the Bloomberg article cited above, Volkswagen and DaimlerChrysler plan to use a system that squirts ammonia on diesel fumes as they pass through a filtering chamber, a system that the U.S. EPA and California regulators haven’t yet approved. Honda on the other hand, said its diesel engine differs from rivals’ by using a new nitrogen oxide catalytic converter to generate and store ammonia on-board, rather than adding it separately as the Volkswagen and DaimlerChrysler systems require. Particulate matter or soot produced by diesel engines contributes to lung disease, aggravates asthma and other breathing problems and creates smog, according to the EPA.

The new U.S. regulations, which start in 2007, require vehicles that weigh less than 6,000 pounds to emit no more than 0.07 grams of nitrogen oxide per mile on average. This new standard is proving a major challenge for fuel efficient diesel cars of the past … standards to which few diesel cars have been able to meet.

EDIT: A friend fowarded a good article on the announcement here. Thanks Buck.

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Posted By RichC on September 24, 2006

Entering a quick personal weekend update from my Treo smartphone with an attached sunset photo as I ride with my son driving a few practice hours before he takes his driving test later this fall. It was a nice weekend after a cooler and rainy start on Saturday. The Friday night high school football game went surprisingly well as our local team recorded its 3rd win in a row as Lakota East beat Fairfield 21 – 0, although next weeks game against Colerain is one to be feared. Saturday night was movie night as we rented United 93 … a sobering movie reminding us of the evil that exists in this world. And then today was full of luck as the Cincinnati Bengals took advantages of the gift of 5 turnovers offered up by last year much despised Pittsburgh Steelers to win the game 28 – 20. And … as a ready to post this from our Caribou coffee stop, our favorite ‘chatterbox’ at the coffee shop, Joe, will be moving on. I think will miss his enjoyable conversation as he was part of the reason we always stopped for an evening cup of coffee here.

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Posted By RichC on September 23, 2006

The folks over at Treonauts forum sleuthed some new photos of the much talked about antenna-less Treo 750. The phone itself is said to reflect the desire for a sleeker full feature PDA/Phone and will be first introduced running the Microsoft Windows Mobile operating system, hopefully followed by Palm OS. The network will be initially Cingular which is GSM and should be available soon. (September 2006 release we’ve been told) The screen is 240×240 pixels the same as the Treo 700w , but slightly lower than the 320×320 on the Treo 700p. (Palm OS) The 750 sports a thumb-board and touchscreen like all the Treos and has 60MB of built in memory with a miniSD slot available in the side of the phone. (see previous photos) The processor is a Samsung 300 MHz similar to all newer Treos and the connections offer 3G networking speeds in areas where it is supported. (384 kbps) The camera is a 1.3 megapixel with video capability which is unfortunately still not acceptable quality in my opinion. According to GSMArena the standard 1200 mAh Li-Ion battery should offer up to 240 hours of standby time and 4-1/2 hours of talk. No matter which way Treo lovers look at this new offering … its only a baby step.

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Posted By RichC on September 22, 2006

Since there are a few VW owners reading these posts, I told my nephew I would give hime a hand in selling a set of 4 Dropzone Suspension springs he purchased for his 2000 VW A4 Jetta. (click for large photo) He has since sold the car and purchased a minivan after never getting around to installing the lowering and stiffer replacement springs. If you are interested send me an email or leave a comment. The asking price is $100 and will save you about $50 and if you are around Cincinnati will save on the shipping. First come first serve. (note: they are brand new and from what I can tell have never been out of the plastic packing.)

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Posted By RichC on September 22, 2006

The Hezbollah rabble-rouser gave an inperson speech today in southern Beirut in a rally celebrating a ‘victory’ over Israel. One has to wonder if 1) he is a target in such a large gathering, 2) if his speaking will inspire more terror and/or 3) will make the United Nations/Lebanon’s job of disarming Hezbollah and preventing further violence? Today’s ‘in-person’ appearance seems to be a surprise to many. It will be interesting to follow what transpires as there is a significant crowd of pro-Hezbollah gathering … at this time the rally doesn’t seem to be out of hand but is doing little to promote a peaceful existence.

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Posted By RichC on September 21, 2006

Heads must have turned as the World Solar Rally made it way through the cities and countrysides of Taiwan this past week. As regular readers know, I’ve been following the Rally through the eyes of Team UNM University of Minnesota and their vehicle Borealis III. The team managed to perform well the final few days of the rally, and improving on their starting position, after a ‘flat‘ start. (pun intended) The final standing for the rally have been posted and they were able to inch their way from a day 1 start of 8th to a final place 5th overall. Despite a motor controller issue late in the final day, all went well with their masterful work of engineering. I look forward to the continued advancements in what is possible in harnessing the nearly limitless power of the sun. Now as the team packs up their gear and spends the final day as tourists, those of us enjoying their experience via the Internet want to convey our thanks and appreciation for a job well done. Stay in touch.

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Posted By RichC on September 21, 2006

In an early morning landing today the Shuttle Atlantis returned safety to Florida at 6:21 EST. The “in the dark” landing was near perfect and as many pilots can confirm, clear morning landings on a lit paved runways are no more difficult than daylight landings. This STS-115 mission marked NASA’s official entry back into the space-station construction business, a task put on a four-year hiatus due to upgrades and test flights made after the Columbia accident. Commander Brent Jett and his five crewmates – pilot Chris Ferguson, flight engineer Dan Burbank, Canada’s Steve MacLean, Joe Tanner and Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper – delivered and installed a $372 million solar power system during a complex series of robotic maneuvers and three spacewalks.

Hopefully more information will be gleaned on the black colored UFOs spotted by cameras on the Atlantis prior to entry … stay tuned. (UFO = unidentified space junk .. most likely coming from the space shuttle itself considering the orbits were similar)

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Posted By RichC on September 20, 2006

I filled up this morning at a Sunoco station in central Ohio that offers clean alternate fuel to travelers on Interstate I-71 between Columbus and Cleveland. This station, as of September 2006, offers corn-based ethanol – E85 – and soy-based Biodiesel in three blends: B2 (2%), B5 (5%) and B20 (20%). Pricing is competitive with petroleum fuel and is one of a very few stations I’ve seen offering so many choices.
The proximity to Interstate 71 at exit 151 just east of Mount Gilead Ohio makes it an ideal stop for many who find the other renewable fuel filling stations inconvenient. I personally appreciated the pay at the pump credit card option as it makes the stop quick … besides, it is just a few yards west of the interstate exit — truly a no-hassle ‘pit stop.’ If you have a flex-fuel vehicle, or drive a diesel, be sure to support Ohio farmers growing clean fuel made in America.

There is a significant amount of information available on both biodiesel and ethanol. Here are a couple things to keep in mind: First, E85 is the government designated term for motor fuel blends of 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline. Ethanol burns cleaner than gasoline, is a domestic renewable fuel grown by farmers and what we currently use is processed in the US. Its not only better for the environment, but is good for the American economy by keeping the dollars circulating at home — BUT be sure your vehicle is E85 compatible before filling up. (see list of vehicles)

Biodiesel, on the other hand, is generally a soybean based fuel in the United States, although can be made from anything from recycled cooking oil to algae. It runs without vehicle modification as a replacement for petroleum diesel fuel and is clean, domestically produced will run at 100% (B100) or in any blended percentage. I’ve been running biodiesl in two TDI (diesel) Volkswagens for several years without an issue, although those desiring to run at high percentages should be aware of warranty and cold weather issues. Here is a quick FAQ on Biodiesel. At any rate, those looking for a ‘great’ place to purchase renewable fuels in Ohio should definitely mark this station on your maps.

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