My Desultory Blog

Posted By RichC on May 6, 2006

Car and Driver Magazine has a “Short Take Review” of the 2006 Volkswagen Jetta TDI written by Tony Quiroga this month which does a fair job of detailing VW’s only current US diesel. To be fair, the photos posted were taken by Nick Say and are also displayed in a slide show fashion in Car and Driver’s online article.

The article is ‘fair’ since is doesn’t gloss over the challenges facing VW diesels in the US. Mr. Quiroga was upfront when comparing the $52K Mercedes E320 CDI and the $23K Jetta in so far as clean diesel technology goes. “Mercedes has shown us its particulate filter equipped and 2007-compliant E320 BlueTec, but Volkswagen hasn’t revealed what it’s doing to comply with the stricter standards.” This concerns those of us wanting to see Volkswagen continue to capitalize on their diesel powered vehicles in the US and fearing they may not have a diesel capable vehicle ready for the 2007 models. It would be sad considering VW has been the only small diesel car available continually for many years. (Mercedes stop importing diesels to the US for a few years)

The magazine article quickly gets to the diesels strength in its review as it points to the fuel economy they achieved on their test loop: 42mpg highway and 33mpg around town. (equipped with the DSG 6 speed automatic) I suspect that most owners of the grown up Jetta will average just under the 40mpg mark. This is shy of my 45 mpg lifetime average in my smaller 5 speed 2003 Jetta TDI … but they are no longer the same sized cars. The new Jetta is powered by the Pumpe Duse 100 HP TDI engine and was, as expected, slow off the line. The reviewer comment that there was a “trace of turbo lag from a stop, which can be seen in the longish 11.6-second 5-to-60-mph run, but a more aggressive launch reduces the time to 10.3 seconds.”

The larger 5th generation Jetta is well appointed and “sophisticated” compared to previous generations. Most old time VW owners remember more utilitarian versions, especially when reflecting on the diesel models bearing the same nameplate; the new 5th generation Jetta has grown up. It sports a very comfortable and quiet interior as well as feature not even available in prior generations. The author says “Don’t tell your passengers they’re in a diesel and it’s unlikely they’ll ever suspect there is anything unusual about your Jetta.”

For those who love diesels, the new Jetta isn’t so quiet as to be with out some of the startup noises. “When the engine is cold, a bit of diesel clatter can be heard from inside the cabin” states Tony Quiroga, “but once the engine is warm, there is mostly a mellow hum with only the slightest hint of the characteristic percolator-like gurgling.” He goes on to comment that the TDI versions is only slightly louder than the gas versions but at speed its background sound. After reading the comments, I still see the new Jetta an excellent buy and would gladly pay $25,000 for a well equipped Jetta over a ‘snooty‘ hybrid. (that jab was just to tease my friends over at GreenHybrid.com)
🙂

Specifications from Car and Drivers “Short Take Review”
Vehicle type: front-engine, front-wheel-drive, 5-passenger, 4-door
Price as tested: $24,910 (base price: $22,235)
Engine type: turbocharged and intercooled SOHC 8-valve diesel inline-4, iron block and aluminum head, direct fuel injection
Displacement: 116 cu in, 1896cc
Power (SAE net): 100 bhp @ 4000 rpm
Torque (SAE net): 177 lb-ft @ 1800 rpm
Transmission: 6-speed manual with automated shifting and clutch
Wheelbase: 101.5 in
Length/width/height: 179.3/70.1/57.4 in
Curb weight: 3306 lb
Zero to 60 mph: 10.3 sec
Zero to 100 mph: .37.0 sec
Street start, 5–60 mph: 11.6 sec
Standing ¼-mile: 17.6 sec @ 77 mph
Top speed (governor limited): 114 mph
Braking, 70–0 mph: 176 ft
Roadholding, 300-ft-dia skidpad: 0.81 g
EPA fuel economy, city driving: 35 mpg
C/D-observed fuel economy: 36 mpg

Category: Automotive, Volkswagen | 2 Comments »
Tags: 2006, diesel, tdi, vw

Posted By RichC on May 5, 2006

Just finishing meeting a friend for lunch at one of our local favorite Mexican restaurants, Casa Grande (previously El Rancho Grande), for lunch to celebrate of Cinco de Mayo. As with most Americans, we are pitifully unaware of events outside our country so I proceeded to explain how the day came to be … courtesy of my daughter.

Cinco de Mayo was the day that the much prized European Mayonnaise was due to arrive in Mexico aboard the RMS Titanic. (May 5th, 1912) Europeans centuries have prided themselves on making the finest Mayonnaise in the world and that taste was appreciated by the citizens of Mexico. The loss of life the day the Titanic hit the iceberg overshadowed much of the cargo that was lost by all but the lovers of Mayo in Mexico. They marked the loss by establishing May 5th as a day to remember this event. Just as with many holidays, over time the true meaning is lost and commercialization of the day has taken over. Thankfully through the power of the internet, you know the true story behind Cinco de Mayo (The Sinking of the Mayonnaise) and can keep its true meaning alive.

Ok … if you’ve read this far you deserve the truth.
😀
Cinco de Mayo is a date of great importance for the Mexican and Chicano communities. It marks the victory of the Mexican Army over the French at the Battle of Puebla. Although the Mexican army was eventually defeated, the “Batalla de Puebla” came to represent a symbol of Mexican unity and patriotism. With this victory, Mexico demonstrated to the world that Mexico and all of Latin America were willing to defend themselves of any foreign intervention. Especially those from imperialist states bent on world conquest.

Cinco de Mayo’s history has its roots in the French Occupation of Mexico. The French occupation took shape in the aftermath of the Mexican-American War of 1846-48. With this war, Mexico entered a period of national crisis during the 1850’s. Years of not only fighting the Americans but also a Civil War, had left Mexico devastated and bankrupt. On July 17, 1861, President Benito Juarez issued a moratorium in which all foreign debt payments would be suspended for a brief period of two years, with the promise that after this period, payments would resume.

The English, Spanish and French refused to allow president Juarez to do this, and instead decided to invade Mexico and get payments by whatever means necessary. The Spanish and English eventually withdrew, but the French refused to leave. Their intention was to create an Empire in Mexico under Napoleon III. Some have argued that the true French occupation was a response to growing American power and to the Monroe Doctrine (America for the Americans). Napoleon III believed that if the United States was allowed to prosper indiscriminately, it would eventually become a power in and of itself.

In 1862, the French army began its advance. Under General Ignacio Zaragoza, 5,000 ill-equipped Mestizo and Zapotec Indians defeated the French army in what came to be known as the “Batalla de Puebla” on the fifth of May.

In the United States, the “Batalla de Puebla” came to be known as simply “5 de Mayo” and unfortunately, many people wrongly equate it with Mexican Independence which was on September 16, 1810, nearly a fifty year difference. Over, the years Cinco de Mayo has become very commercialized and many people see this holiday as a time for fun and dance. Oddly enough, Cinco de Mayo has become more of Chicano holiday than a Mexican one. Cinco de Mayo is celebrated on a much larger scale here in the United States than it is in Mexico. People of Mexican descent in the United States celebrate this significant day by having parades, mariachi music, folkloric dancing and other types of festive activities.

See Mexonline.com … I’m so ashamed. 🙂

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Posted By RichC on May 5, 2006

How much oil does the United States actually have? Its sort of a loaded question considering “what the definition of ‘oil’ is.” The estimates are all over the board when looking at traditional oil, but a recent read has me thinking the US might be far more oil rich that we think. Think Oil Shale.

Disclosure: I’ve spent the last several years learning about cleaner renewable energy in the form of biofuels, and have been promoting biodiesel as a way to offset some of the oil we currently import. It make sense from the standpoint of using something Americans grow, process and use. The fact that is clean, renewable and helps reduce our dependance on foriegn oil is a good thing for our national security as well. Biofuels are not the beat all to end all, but are alternatives that might ‘grow’ our way towards a smarter and cleaner energy future.

I still am confident that renewables are important as they are a carbon neutral source of energy, but are not a complete replacement for petroleum. In other words, I’m not burying my head in the “shale” and ignoring the obvious … that of the US oil reserves in ‘Shale Oil.’ It comes as a shock to many that under the mountains of Colorado, Utah and Wyoming there are billions of tons of oil rich shale. This rock is similar to the ‘oil sands’ of Alberta Canada, but contain far more petroleum per ton than the oil sands. Besides that, the estimates are that the United States has far more oil shale than Canada has oil sands.

According to a report in TheStreet.com, there are over 16,000 square miles of oil shale in the Green River Formation alone and that each are holds nearly 2 million barrels of oil — it’s the most concentrated energy source on earth, according to the Energy Department. Interestingly, since the 1930s, the federal government has protected this land from mining and actually owns 80% of this oil-rich land.

One of the old complaints about extracting oil from shale (or sand) was that it was too expensive to extract oil, but recently companies are coming up with innovative ways to extract the oil. The rule of thumb was that oil needed to be $30.00/barrel to be profitable to begin this kind of extraction — it has started to make sense. A company in Utah states that “it can extract the oil for as little as $10 a barrel.”

On August 8, 2005, President Bush signed into law, a mandate lifting the protective legislation on the Green River Formation which now allows companies to begin testing the shale formations. Then in January, the government gave six companies 160 acres each of the government’s oil-rich land to beginning tapping the petroleum rich rock. If they start to deliver on this shale oil, we could once again be awash in petroleum putting “Peak Oil” off another few decades or even centuries … depending on how wisely we use this domestic shale based oil. Perhaps the original Hubbert curve model of future oil, devised by M. King Hubbert, needs to be re-scaled, flattened or at minimum moved a bit toward the right? (see sketch below)

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Posted By RichC on May 4, 2006

This post is for Jason who commented that he enjoyed the Vee-Dub television ads that were posted in February (or was it the VW TDI ad?). If you like them you might like this one; besides being a creative ad, the 2006 Citroen C4 was voted 2006 World Car Design of the Year, at the New York International Auto Show. To me its just another good looking smallish car, but then I’ve never driven or looked close at one? The 30 second commercial is available in quicktime H.264 here or below in the usual Flash if you would like to see it.

Category: Automotive, Marketing, Misc | No Comments »
Tags: cars, Citroen, commercial, europe, Humor

Posted By RichC on May 3, 2006

Windows Vista delayed until June 2007??? Wouldn’t you know I own Microsoft (MSFT) stock. Can you say — Apple or Linux? Unbelieveable if this rumor is true.
🙁

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Posted By RichC on May 3, 2006

There has been heavy advertising for convertible cars on television lately (at least the news programs) and I’ve particularly enjoyed the Volvo C70 ad. I suspect its the nostalgia music, but the mechanical ballet that occurs when the top opens and stacks neatly in the truck is mesmerizing as well. The 30 second commercial is below in case you haven’t seen it.

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Posted By RichC on May 2, 2006

Aggressive activists have stepped up their approach in anti-businesses activism … or terrorism … or blackmail, if you want to be polite and it seems to be working. Anyway you cut it, its a fear tactic that worked against the New York Stock exchange last year and could become a way to threaten and achieve an objective. A company called Life Sciences (or known as Huntingdon Life Sciences in Britain) was an hour from being listed on the New York Stock Exchange, but the NYSE pulled the listing. It sure seems as if it had something to do with the pressure eco-activist groups applied through threats. During the first week of September 2005, “Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty’s” (SHAC) website provided “willing thugs with the names, phone numbers, and e-mail addresses of 100 New York Stock Exchange leaders and staffers. SHAC’s New York City subsidiary, which calls itself W.A.R. (“Win Animal Rights”), announced in similarly pointed e-mails to 10,000 like-minded supporters that the exchange was now the “primary focal point” for its campaign.”

According to the NYSE Hostage website there is no clear indication whether members of the stock exchange received polite phone calls, death threats, or something in between. In any case, “NYSE president Catherine Kinney quickly blinked. And LSRI (Life Sciences) was denied its listing less than an hour before its scheduled launch.” Coincidence ??? … I think not.

According to a report to the Senate, aggressive animal rights groups like the Animal Liberation Front (ALF) and the Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty (SHAC) are stepping up their threats. The particular case against Life Sciences (Huntingdon Life Sciences in the UK) has been going on for 7 years but has only recently stretch beyond protesting the companies use of animals in scientific testing. How aggressive certain activist being called to action are willing to go is anybody’s guess … but Catherine Kinney and the NYSE caved in.

How is this viewed from your perspective … if it works will it be used again and how should the NYSE have respond to the threat?

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Posted By RichC on May 1, 2006

As we gear up for election day tomorrow, the Roger Reynolds campaign had a problem and creative solution — a solution that seems to be “just what the ‘lawyer’ ordered.” In our township (in SW Ohio) we have neighborhood regulations, just as in most areas I surmise, as to the size of signs allowed in a yard — several of the Reynolds for Auditor signs violated the township’s zoning code. (and of course foul was called by supporters of the sitting candidate, Kay Rogers) The Reynolds campaign was notified that the 16 square foot zone regulation limit was exceeded by many of his signs. The campaign began to think outside the box and the Reynold campaign decided that they could cut the signs in half, place them and inch a part and that their signs would remain legal.

It almost comical if not for the heavy negative campaigning (both sides) … I only hope that if Mr. Reynolds is elected that he’s not quite that creative with our county money??? (also to date, Monday before the election, not all signs by the Reynolds campaign have met the zoning regulations. According to the local paper there are at least 4 signs that still violate the 16 square foot limit.)

On a secondary note, the campaign is probably the ugliest local one I’ve ever seen. At first I thought it was Kay Rogers bashing Roger Reynolds with poor fiscal management … then the Reynolds campaign levied misleading ads describing Rogers as being involve in something criminal. (half truths, as the FBI is investigating, but Rogers has not been accused of any criminal wrongdoing.) Then the final straw … which could be serious … was an email death threat again Kay Roger. (see story) I’m looking forward to this being over … and don’t seem myself as the only local voter unable to confidently vote either person — maybe this will be my first ever write in vote???

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Posted By RichC on May 1, 2006

Ron Patrick’s New Beetle gives a new definition to the Super Beetle of the 1970s. He has a ‘slightly modified’ version of the popular Beetle that I first saw on Tech Blog back in March. He was interviewed by Michael Taylor at Mr. Patrick’s office in Sunnyvale, California this week while a bit of video was shot. You could say that the Beetle is an ‘oil burner’ of sorts although not a stock TDI model since he tends to burn Kerosene instead of D2, ULSD or Biodiesel. Check out the video below (or SFGate article) and you’ll see exactly what I’m talking about.

EDIT 6/2006: See more of Ron Patrick’s photos and crazy scooter idea here.

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Posted By RichC on April 30, 2006

Congress this past week included 1.8 billion dollars of funding that would encourage more plug-in hybrid vehicles. We’ve discussed this as an excellent solution for those using a vehicle for daily commutes that could be accomplished with a nightly ‘garage charge’ and still be able to function once that charge is depleted.

Senate Republicans and electric utilities are the ones currently pushing for the measure in congress, one that could jump-start research, development and market awareness of “plug-in hybrids.”

The Wall Street Journal reported some time ago that “DaimlerChrysler has already converted a European delivery van called the Sprinter into a plug-in and plans to allow a variety of U.S. businesses to test 40 of the vehicles over the next two years.”

The backers of this, Electric Power Research Institute being one of the primary, would conduct research with battery manufacturers to speed development and production of plug-ins.

Although the bill is choked with pet projects relating to energy, this component might be a piece of the energy policy that our future could really use. (ie. Electric energy from power companies is at an excess at night and goes wasted if not used)

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