Posted By RichC on September 11, 2006
A picture is worth 1000 words if you are driving a diesel car or truck. This spread is the largest I’ve ever seen. Hopefully we’ll see a little down pressure on diesel fuel too, as some friend traveling in Kentucky spotted diesel fuel priced around $2.50/gallon. (I’m posting from my Palm Treo 700p camera while driving by the ‘normally’ low cost area leader just north of Cincinnati Ohio)
Posted By RichC on September 11, 2006
In keeping with the VW posts, J.D Power annouced that Volkswagen Ranks Highest in a new Automotive Environmental Index. According to J.D.Power and Associates “2006 Alternative Powertrain Study,” Volkswagen of America is the industry’s most environmentally friendly automaker. Volkswagen placed three products on the list of low emission vehicles which included the Golf, Jetta and New Beetle gasoline, diesel and hybrid powered vehicles.
The study includes EPA data as well as “voice-of-the-customer” information. A quote from Dr. Wolfgang Bernhard, chairman of the Volkswagen brand stated that “The ‘Alternative Powertrain Study’ is testament to our intensive and global commitment in the area of economic engines. And this innovative strength continues to have an impact, via our range of TDI vehicles. No other manufacturer has sold more diesel cars in the United States and that upward trend continues.” Volkswagon has in particular lead in the diesel area with its top selling American models that to date have little if any competition from other foriegn or domestic brands. From the economical 1.9 liter TDI 4 cylinder engines to the first SUV with a particule filter, the V10 TDI Touareg — Volkswagen to date pretty much owns the entire US passenger car diesel market.
See full J.D.Power Report.
Posted By RichC on September 10, 2006
Dan Ball brought both his Volkswagen TDI (above) and his brother’s TDI to the garage today — his brother’s had a power and ‘smoking problem.’ With my uncanny powers of observation, noticing he brought it on a trailer, I recognized that it was in need of some TLC.
😉
Thankfully the CinciTDI mechanical gurus had already assembled, consulted and prepped to make a “How-To” video clip (not available yet) for the CinciTDI website: Replacing a Jetta A4 TDI Turbocharger. Dan and his brother Dustin had already purchased a VNT15 turbocharger from World Impex and installation kit from TDIParts and were prepared lend a hand in documenting this 6 hour procedure.
In preparation, we debated as to exactly what to include in the video procedure since half of the procedure is a duplication of our 2006 club fundraiser: Intake Manifold Cleaning DVD. The brother’s had also removed a few parts and cleaned the intercooler which was as expected … full of oil. The conclusion was that we’ll not show the removal of the intake manifold and recommend that people see the Intake Manifold DVD or TDIClub PDF files for those procedures.
After the installation Dan and his brother started the car to an unwelcomed cloud of smoke from the excess of oil left in the exhaust pipes which was expected. This along with about a pint of oil dribbling on the cardboard that we wisely put under the tailpipe prevented most of the oil from hitting the driveway. The guys were happy and heading for home at about 9PM after thanking Bruce Bowling and Tim Hunter who once again go over and above in volunteering their time and energy to members of our group. (after realizing where Dan works —Reebok — we should have hit him up for Bengals T-shirts! BTW, here’s summary of Sunday’s 23 -10 win against the Kansas City Chiefs)
🙂
Posted By RichC on September 9, 2006
After two weeks of delayse do to weather and technical problems, the shuttle Atlantis and mission STS-115 rocketed into space and to its mission to continue the buildout of the International Space Station. The launch was not without a few launch worries in regard to debris once again, but program manager Wayne Hale indicated that there is no sign of damage to Atlantis. The crew will follow up the preliminary camera views with the mandated inspection of the heat tiles on Sunday.
According to Reuters (photo above from Reuters), since the accident NASA has flown two missions to test fuel tank redesigns, in-flight inspections and heat shield repair techniques. The early report was that there were two “sprays” of debris believed to be tank foam and a piece of ice that broke away more than four minutes after the shuttle left the launch pad — well past the time they would pose a threat to the ship. By then, Atlantis was nearly out of the atmosphere so the debrris would have little aerodynamic force.
See Reuters article and one minute lauch of Atlantis video.
Posted By RichC on September 9, 2006
The memories of Friday night High School football — not that I ever looked quite like these two. (or was I that goofy?) The week comes to an end and the Friday night game is still a big deal in my hometown(ship). Even with Lakota East having a 0-2 season two games into the year the school spirit still seems high … as you can tell from my son and his buddy. They sure had fun dressing and painting themselves with school colors in order to help cheer on their team this first “home” game of the season. When I questioned if they were permitted to look like this I received the reply, “We can do this now since we’re upper classmen.”
Oh to be young again and BTW … Lakota East beat neighboring Mason 20-10.
🙂
Posted By RichC on September 8, 2006
Here is a great ‘diesel’ article … read on at MSN Money.
WASHINGTON, Sept. 8 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Modern, clean diesel engines will be a cornerstone of America’s energy solutions, and clean, renewable biodiesel fuel will be critical to the success of diesel-powered vehicles in the U.S. market, a DaimlerChrysler executive says. [-more-]
Posted By RichC on September 8, 2006
Although there is a very tight window on Saturday due to “traffic” in space (that what they said!), space shuttle Atlantis, crew and ISS payload will attempt to get into space on Saturday, September 9th at 11:15 a.m. EDT. Today’s (Friday) launch attempt was delayed due to a fuel sensor system problem.
Posted By RichC on September 8, 2006
The shuttle Atlantis sits on the pad this morning is set for liftoff from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center at 11:41 a.m. EDT this morning BUT comments being made at 10AM indicate that they are having some problems with the fuel shutoff circuit – the ECO sensors. That is considered a launch stopping concern and could postpone the launch until Saturday … stay tuned. Also another issue relating to possible water leaking into a cover which could lead to a debris problem was just discovered. (10:30AM)
The STS-115 crew is set to install the 17.5 ton P3/P4 truss on the International Space Station, activating a new set of solar arrays that will double the outpost’s ability to generate power from sunlight.
Update from NASA website -Sept. 8, 10:05 a.m. EDT
The hatch into Atlantis’ crew cabin has been locked and sealed for flight following the seating of all six STS-115 astronauts inside the ship. The crew members continue to flip switches and power up the orbiter’s systems as the countdown to an 11:41 a.m. launch marches on. The weather in the Kennedy Space Center area is pleasant with temperatures in the upper 70s and wispy clouds fanning across the sky.
Earlier in today’s countdown, launch controllers detected a problem with one of the four ECO sensors inside the hydrogen portion the space shuttle’s orange External Tank. The sensors monitor hydrogen levels inside of the tank and trigger the orbiter’s engines to shutdown when gas levels drop below a specified level. NASA managers are currently meeting to examine the issue and determine if Atlantis is capable of safely launching.
Posted By RichC on September 8, 2006
Ford Motor Company continues to try and rebuild its reputation as a solvent American car company with the internet based “Bold Moves” campaign. The recent update after announcing Alan Mulally the new President and CEO is a video clip on their segment leading F-150 pickup truck. I’ve often believed that American pickup buyers would be the most receptive bunch to a smaller and quieter diesel? (hinted in the video) Why are they so slow in bring it to market?
Eric Bryant in a recent Ford promotional article commented that as you “travel around the world, one thing becomes decidedly clear – Americans are basically the only ones to use pickup trucks as private vehicles.” Americans purchase nearly 2,500,000 full-size trucks every year, which is about 15% of all passenger vehicle sales, according to Bryant. Of that ‘full-size’ market segment, Ford remains the leader and the domestic three dominate with about a 90% market share. Is this about to change? We’ll see if Ford’s “bold moves” will be enough to defend their turf … I find myself as a Ford shareholder and ‘prideful’ American … hoping they can.
Posted By RichC on September 7, 2006
Everyone with a car, truck or SUV has noticed the drop in gasoline prices at the pump … but not all vehicle ‘fuels’ are seeing that same relief. (an 80 cent difference is about all a ‘diesel’ owner can take!) Anyway, I did a little digging today in hopes an expert might be able lend some insight on “what is going on” and found some help through a friend in Chicago.
Tom McCready is a institutional futures trader and he was willing to talk with me a few minutes as to what he sees. His conclusion is that last year refined fuel inventories were low as Katrina came ashore and impacted the refinery production supply of gasoline. Crude oil continued to rise which created a nervous market and so prices were traded up.
According to Tom, refineries were working as quickly as possible to get back to 100% with the stimulus being that they were the beneficiaries of high fuel prices. They had a real incentive to produce all the gasoline they could during summer driving season. Also contributing to higher prices were the events in the Middle East as well as predictions for an active summer/fall hurricane season.
Now, we have strong supplies of refined gasoline, the summer driving season is over, turmoil in the Middle East has wained, and we’ve yet to see a significant threat to refineries from hurricanes. This equates to lower ‘gasoline’ prices and futures trading that can move as quick in the other direction.
According to McCready, he doesn’t see diesel, jet fuel or heating oil in excess, besides they have their traditional peak season ahead. The inventory and stepped up refining was not the same as it was for gasoline. He had no comment on the switch from LSD to ULSD; I have heard from others in the industry that suppliers are struggling to get enough Ultra Low Sulfur Diesel to market.
Your thoughts?