The age of engine downsizing is over, says Volkswagen

Lightflyer1

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Sep 13, 2005
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Round Rock, Texas
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2015 Beetle tdi dsg
I taught my kids being in debt is a modern form of slavery. I helped them pick out their first $1k car. As above I also told them to save their money. After a few years they sold the klunker and bought a better car, cash. As their jobs improved so did their savings. They can now pay cash for most things. My oldest daughter paid cash for her home when she got out of the military. She still buys used usable items instead of the flashy new things.
 

kjclow

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Apr 26, 2003
Location
Charlotte, NC
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2010 JSW TDI silver and black. 2017 Ram Ecodiesel dark red with brown and beige interior.
I love the last comment. LOL

I am too poor to make car payments to end up paying a few extra grand in interest. I have to pay cash for my cars.

I worked with an idiot who had nothing but ongoing car payments, from one car to the next.

So I told him, once your car is paid for, open up a spare bank account...call it your car account. Now deposit the same payments you made the last 4 or 5 years into your car account and when your car is 8 or 10 years old, you'll have enough saved up for your next car. He said he couldn't afford to do that, yet he can afford to make car payments. Duhhh...:eek:
I had a coworker that used to lease everything. Two lease payments every month. He said it was because his wife loved the new car smell. I told him he could get one of the 25 cent trees to hang from the mirror with the "new car" scent and pay the cars off.
 

Mcgink

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Oct 15, 2004
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South of Boston MA
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I-Red,"The Passat formerly known as Harlequin" 97 B4, a non VW GTDI too
Maybe off topic but.... My loaner of today is a 3.0 liter twin turbo with 400hp.
Think I got whiplash driving to work with it. AWD is a must IMO with that kind of juice.
 

DrSmile

Veteran Member
Joined
Feb 7, 2003
Location
New Jersey USA
TDI
05 GLS PD 5spd Wagon
I just bought a '17 Honda CR-V for the wife with a 1.5 liter turbo, and the problems of a small turbo engine are really amplified in that big of an SUV (almost mid size) with that small of an engine. As long as you're just cruising, such as highway driving , it gets impressive mpg (33-37mpg). But as we live in a very hilly town, if we just drive around locally, it's not uncommon to get 21-22 mpg. I have to agree that these small turbo designs are there to meet the CAFE standard test, but in the real world perform rather poorly in some conditions.

I will keep driving my TDI until it dies, or something comparable comes along. Heck, maybe I'll hit the lottery and convert my house to solar with a few Powerwalls and get a Tesla Model 3.
 
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PlaneCrazy

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Jan 3, 2000
Location
Province of Quebec, Canada
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Gone...
I just bought a '17 Honda CR-V for the wife with a 1.5 liter turbo, and the problems of small turbo engine are really amplified in that big of an SUV (almost mid size) with that small of an engine. As long as you're just cruising, such as highway driving , it gets impressive mpg (33-37mpg). But as we live in a very hilly town, if we just drive around locally, it's not uncommon to get 21-22 mpg. I have to agree that these small turbo designs are there to meet the CAFE standard test, but in the real world perform rather poorly in some conditions.

I will keep driving my TDI until it dies, or something comparable comes along. Heck, maybe I'll hit the lottery and convert my house to solar with a few Powerwalls and get a Tesla Model 3.
A 1.5 does seem small for a CR-V. However I live in a hilly area and in mostly rural driving on roads posted at 80-90 km/h i get very good fuel efficiency. Currently my long-term average since the MFD reset itself a few weeks ago, is a displayed 5.3 L/100 km. Factoring in the average 0.4 L/100 km optimism of the MFD, that's still a respectable 42 mpg, and is better than what my son's '05 Passat TDI gets. Yesterday my wife filled it up for me and the MFD showed 920 km range after filling, and keep in mind the Mk VII fuel tank is only 50L compared to the Mk VI and before.

No sorcery was necessary to get those numbers. Just follow speed limits, don't tailgate, anticipate lights, drive smoothly. I can't complain!
 

Blondee

Veteran Member
Joined
Jul 18, 2002
Location
Canada
TDI
Jetta
No sorcery was necessary to get those numbers. Just follow speed limits, don't tailgate, anticipate lights, drive smoothly. I can't complain!
Ha. Depends on one's stress level, location, disposition, and selfishness.

It seems fairly common now driving in the urban jungle where considerate drivers have their mind on one thing: driving defensively and not getting into an accident caused by aggressive drivers. Following the speed limits may cause a lot of stress, anxiety, and frustration if you're not driving with the flow of traffic.

Among one of the most common driver's pet peeves, people driving slowly in the passing lane, there's also nothing worse than someone driving a standard vehicle and they think they're driving a commercial truck and they intentionally drive far below the speed limit slowing the traffic behind them, leaving a huge gap. It's not only frustrating, but illegal. Unfortunately, there's not enough police enforcement so all one can do it just put up with it, or record the event and send it to your local police traffic office and be prepared to go to court.
 

oilhammer

Certified Volkswagen Nut & Vendor
Joined
Dec 11, 2001
Location
outside St Louis, MO
TDI
There are just too many to list....
If I tried to follow speed limits on the Interstates around here, I would be stressed out to the point of needing medication. It is why driving my old Volkswagens, one of which is a 48hp diesel Vanagon which is probably THE slowest vehicle sold here new in the last 50 years, has become taboo on most "normal" days.

I was doing 80 on our "loop" this morning, I270, and was on the lower end of average speeds people were going. An STL county police car rolled past me... no lights or anything on... and someone was not all that far behind him doing the same speed (maybe 85?). The speed limit is 60. If anyone was doing 60 in the dark that early in the morning, they would be a hazard to everyone else, sorry to say. And I occasionally see those folks (usually a Prius), you can see them a ways back actually... because you see the constant tail lights swerving to avoid them long before you actually get up near them.
 

PlaneCrazy

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Jan 3, 2000
Location
Province of Quebec, Canada
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Gone...
Ha. Depends on one's stress level, location, disposition, and selfishness.

It seems fairly common now driving in the urban jungle where considerate drivers have their mind on one thing: driving defensively and not getting into an accident caused by aggressive drivers. Following the speed limits may cause a lot of stress, anxiety, and frustration if you're not driving with the flow of traffic.

Among one of the most common driver's pet peeves, people driving slowly in the passing lane, there's also nothing worse than someone driving a standard vehicle and they think they're driving a commercial truck and they intentionally drive far below the speed limit slowing the traffic behind them, leaving a huge gap. It's not only frustrating, but illegal. Unfortunately, there's not enough police enforcement so all one can do it just put up with it, or record the event and send it to your local police traffic office and be prepared to go to court.
Well I certainly don't hog the left lane. That will cause a lot of problems if attempted here. The rule though, only applies to roads with a limit of less than 80 km/h in Quebec. Trucks are governed to 105 km/h here by law, so I hang in the right lanewith the semis. I will kick it up to 120 max if I need to overtake, but then settle back to 105. On rural 2-lane roads I'll drive 80-95 depending on speed limit and road conditions. The roads are crappy enough that most sane people drive at that speed. In urban areas I try to time the traffic lights. It's fun watching the stressed out folks whizz by only to catch up to them at the next light. Only once did someone give me crap for going too slowly. He pulled up and yelled at me through his open window. Weird, as there were 4 lanes. Anyway I yelled back that the light ahead was RED, so what's the rush you fool?

I'm not responsible for other peoples' stress, only my own, and I find hanging right with the semis at 105 FAR less stressful than spending all my time in the left lane playing the cat-and-mouse that those doing 130 like to play with those doing 120. Nothing like watching two asshats whizzing by at 120 with only half a car length between them. And you know what, door to door on a drive to Montreal, going 120 over 100-105 saves on average a whopping 3 minutes (100 km drive), sometimes even less.

Around here if you do 120, maximum tolerated by the police, you have to spend most time in the left lane because of the heavy semi traffic, and invariably some jerk is on your tail wanting to do 5-10 km/h more. Tailgating is dangerous, and driving defensively means spending as little time as possible on the left, and using a short burst to 120 when safe if you must overtake.

I recognize that conditions are different in different places, but one law nobody can overcome is the law of physics. I was hit from behind by a tailgater once, $5500 damage. I learned the hard way to avoid putting myself in that position again.
 
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oilhammer

Certified Volkswagen Nut & Vendor
Joined
Dec 11, 2001
Location
outside St Louis, MO
TDI
There are just too many to list....
Well we have no such governors on semi trucks. And with the state of current diesel technology, a fully loaded Volvo or Freightliner has no problem whatsoever hitting triple digit speeds on level ground. My buddy's big FL is frighteningly fast running bobtail, too. Like, so fast the manumatic MB e-shift transmission cannot hardly go through the gears fast enough. :eek: And that is the "lesser" output MB engine available. The more powerful ones, especially the uncorked DD60s are even more powerful.

I got a chuckle out of your comment about not being responsible for other peoples' stress, only your own. I agree that driving with common sense is good, but never assume that something you are or are not doing isn't causing someone else stress. I'm sure the doofuses driving around with ignorant bright lights on, and another set of fog lights on just to be cool, have no idea they are stressing people out either. :(

I avoid being tailgated, too. And I never tailgate anyone. Even if it means pulling over on a two lane road to let an idiot pass me, I will. No reason to tailgate me, as I am generally not ever poking along holding up any traffic.
 

20IndigoBlue02

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Joined
Aug 22, 2001
Location
Was North NJ, now SoCal
TDI
2002 Golf TDI-- deceased
If I tried to follow speed limits on the Interstates around here, I would be stressed out to the point of needing medication. It is why driving my old Volkswagens, one of which is a 48hp diesel Vanagon which is probably THE slowest vehicle sold here new in the last 50 years, has become taboo on most "normal" days.

I was doing 80 on our "loop" this morning, I270, and was on the lower end of average speeds people were going. An STL county police car rolled past me... no lights or anything on... and someone was not all that far behind him doing the same speed (maybe 85?). The speed limit is 60. If anyone was doing 60 in the dark that early in the morning, they would be a hazard to everyone else, sorry to say. And I occasionally see those folks (usually a Prius), you can see them a ways back actually... because you see the constant tail lights swerving to avoid them long before you actually get up near them.
I have driven around St. Louis. Too many people don't understand the concept of keep right, pass left. Way too many left lane campers.
 

truman

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Joined
May 18, 2000
Location
columbia,MO,usa
TDI
'05 Passat Variant, Still miss the 03JW
Kansa City is even worse for driving behavior
Columbia sucks too
I have been passed on the right shoulder on I70 a few times in the last year
 

oilhammer

Certified Volkswagen Nut & Vendor
Joined
Dec 11, 2001
Location
outside St Louis, MO
TDI
There are just too many to list....
I have driven around St. Louis. Too many people don't understand the concept of keep right, pass left. Way too many left lane campers.
Truth. Funny, my morning commute on I44, I get in the right lane, like I am supposed to do, and I do occasionally signal, move left, pass, signal, move right, to pass someone. But I pass more people by just staying in the right lane. Left lane campers, center lane campers, etc. Sometimes I make silly faces at them as I pass.
 

PlaneCrazy

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Joined
Jan 3, 2000
Location
Province of Quebec, Canada
TDI
Gone...
I have driven around St. Louis. Too many people don't understand the concept of keep right, pass left. Way too many left lane campers.
Big problem in Ontario too. Quebec is somewhat better in that regard. If you exaggeratedly stay in the left lane blocking traffic, you WILL get pulled over if a cop is around. Though I haven't seen it recently. Few people do it now. In the past, very often, someone would pull out to pass at a sane speed (say 120), having looked and seen nobody coming in their line of sight, when some jerk doing 140+ suddenly is on their tail, lights flashing. Though this too has toned down in recent years. Doing it now can get you an aggressive driving charge. And cell phones have helped a lot. You're encouraged (hands-free of course) to call in dangerous driving. Once I was being tailgated by a semi on the autoroute. There was no way out. A slower-moving pick-up pulling a large trailer was blocking the fast lane and other traffic in the right lane. The semi was so close I couldn't even see his bumper, and he periodically flashed his lights. After it was safe to pull over, I noted the name of the company on the cab of the tractor, it was a local gravel pit operator. I called the police, and gave them the info. When I got home a nice officer called me and said that they had a chat with the company's owner, and the owner in turn chewed out his driver reminding him whose name was on the side of the truck. The cop asked if I wanted to press charges. I declined, I told the officer that I'm sure his uncomfortable time with his boss taught him a good enough lesson.

I got a chuckle out of your comment about not being responsible for other peoples' stress, only your own. I agree that driving with common sense is good, but never assume that something you are or are not doing isn't causing someone else stress. I'm sure the doofuses driving around with ignorant bright lights on, and another set of fog lights on just to be cool, have no idea they are stressing people out either. :(
I've heard it said that in a monastery, there will always be at least one other monk that drives you crazy, and if no monk is driving you crazy you can be assured that you're driving at least one other monk crazy :p

That said there's only so much one can do. If someone on my butt gets worked up because I'm "only" doing 95 in a 90 zone, or I'm doing 80 because the car ahead is doing 80 and there's no safe place to pass, then it really is his craziness, all I can do is try to keep him from hitting me. This is deer country, and there's no guarantee I won't have to brake suddenly and hard to avoid one, especially at this time of the year when they're on the move, and at night (which is also why I have HIDs on my car).

We're all human and make mistakes sometimes, most, I hope, inadvertently. Some folks are just inherently bad drivers, like people who systematically signal their turn after they're half way into it, and there are some people who just don't give a hoot. Best is that one doesn't set one's expectations too high on the road, i.e. drive defensively.

I also avoid driving in packs like the plague. I don't like my safety being determined by the worst driver in the pack.

Oddly enough I've never ended up with opaque headlights or tons of stone chips on my hood...
 
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Dozenspeed

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Joined
May 1, 2012
I was trying to force a regen in my car recently on 270 for many miles at 64mph so 5th would be at about 2050 rpm. EVERYONE passed me. :rolleyes:
 

oilhammer

Certified Volkswagen Nut & Vendor
Joined
Dec 11, 2001
Location
outside St Louis, MO
TDI
There are just too many to list....
I was trying to force a regen in my car recently on 270 for many miles at 64mph so 5th would be at about 2050 rpm. EVERYONE passed me. :rolleyes:
I distinctly remember one morning on northbound 270 when I was 10+ over the limit and a certain cab went past me.... :p (BTW, it was by far the nicest looking cab I have ever seen ;) ).
 

dogdots

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Sep 4, 2002
Location
Kansas City
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None
Kansa City is even worse for driving behavior
Columbia sucks too
I have been passed on the right shoulder on I70 a few times in the last year
Nope, St. Louis takes the cake for stressful driving for me. Actually I detest the trip between KC and STL, the entire route is like rush hour, compounded by semi's pulling out to pass as they approach long steep inclines :rolleyes:

STL drivers do tend to exceed the speed limit by 20+ regularly, coming back from Atlanta a couple of weeks ago I buzzed through downtown STL where the speed limit is 55, I was driving 80 and was the slowest vehicle on the road.

The best busy highway driving I have found is through Ohio, with 3 lanes each direction and rules to keep vehicles with more than 6 tires out of the left most lane. I-44 isn't too bad between Tulsa and STL, until you approach Pacific, where the traffic starts clogging up approaching 141 and I-270.
 

dogdots

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Location
Kansas City
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....Big problem in Ontario too. In the past, very often, someone would pull out to pass at a sane speed (say 120), having looked and seen nobody coming in their line of sight, when some jerk doing 140+ suddenly is on their tail, lights flashing. Though this too has toned down in recent years. Doing it now can get you an aggressive driving charge....

All those billboards on the QEW stating that 50km over the speed limit = $10,000 fine and car impound definitely deter me from speeding when I am in Canada ;)
 

kjclow

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Apr 26, 2003
Location
Charlotte, NC
TDI
2010 JSW TDI silver and black. 2017 Ram Ecodiesel dark red with brown and beige interior.
I've found the worst two places to drive in the states are anywhere on I-95 and I-75 coming into Atlanta from the south. It's three lanes most of the state. Right lane is mostly campers and semis mixing with entering and exiting traffic. Left lane is everyone wanting to run at least 15 mph over the posted limit. Middle lane is the suicide lane. You're either coming from the slow lane while trying to avoid the idiots dumping out of the past lane, or you're the idiot dumping out of the fast lane and having to brake for someone doing about 20 mph slower than you.
 

atc98002

Veteran Member
Joined
Nov 24, 2006
Location
Auburn WA
TDI
2014 Passat TDI SEL Premium (sold back), 2009 Jetta (sold back), 80 Rabbit diesel (long gone)
Oh come on. Have you never driven the DC Beltway (I-495)? What a horror, especially for me being an out of towner and not knowing my way around. It's just nuts around here. :eek: After having dinner with my son-in-law in Tyson's Corner, it took me an hour to go 15 miles to my hotel in Chantilly. And that's at a little after 6PM, when most rush hours are starting to subside.
 

Dozenspeed

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Joined
May 1, 2012
(BTW, it was by far the nicest looking cab I have ever seen ;) ).
Sober customer in daylight guessed <95k mi on the odometer just this morning. People don't believe 339k mi on front brake pads is possible either. :D

Nope, St. Louis takes the cake for stressful driving for me.

STL drivers do tend to exceed the speed limit by 20+ regularly, coming back from Atlanta a couple of weeks ago I buzzed through downtown STL where the speed limit is 55, I was driving 80 and was the slowest vehicle on the road.
I heard Atlanta was 80-90 routinely. Morning is worst here. I've had pick-ups fly up on me at 85 in the wet, even when I leave the hammer lane open for them. Or, what really ticks me off is waiting for some pleabean doing five under in the left lane who refuses to move no matter how many go around on the right and cut them off. I'm usually the guy in the middle, trying to give them a reasonable chance to do the right thing while losing position from endless right-side passers.

I-70 in the city (or as I call it, "the gangsta's raceway") is a real meat grinder. Usually I have to weave between those going 50 and those going 90 when I'm just trying to do a responsible 75. :rolleyes:

People here vary greatly by area, too. It's like they are either on valium or meth. In the west, even thinking about going the full speed limit makes you some kind of maniac. In the city, you have to drive like you stole it to get along.


Holy crap we are off topic here....
 

kjclow

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Joined
Apr 26, 2003
Location
Charlotte, NC
TDI
2010 JSW TDI silver and black. 2017 Ram Ecodiesel dark red with brown and beige interior.
I told my kids that I finally learned how to drive in NYC a few years back. One hand on the horn, one hand on the wheel, and one hand in the air. Don't stop for pedestrians because they will never let you go.
 

Graham Line

Veteran Member
Joined
Apr 18, 2012
Location
Pacific Northwest
TDI
'12 Golf TDI 6M
Truth. Funny, my morning commute on I44, I get in the right lane, like I am supposed to do, and I do occasionally signal, move left, pass, signal, move right, to pass someone. But I pass more people by just staying in the right lane. Left lane campers, center lane campers, etc. Sometimes I make silly faces at them as I pass.
Sounds like I-5 in northwestern Oregon. On a door-to-door time basis, the left lane is the slowest of the three.
 
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