Volkswagen Canada adds $1,000 incentive to Jetta Clean Diesel

Dodoma

Veteran Member
Joined
Mar 30, 2004
TDI
2002 Jetta White
The price of a car is a function of its sale. What we see is that the diesel Jetta is much more expensive than other gas compitators with similar equipment. Moreover, with the 3rd or 4th generation hybrids giving 50+ mpg and now becoming mainstream and their price less than the TDI, the TDI will have hard time to sell. Longitivity is not an issue as you will see that there are not that many diesels going over 300k+ miles without undergoing thru some major issues (such as having multiple timing belt changes or transmission replacement or glow plug replacement or injection pump replacement or injectors replacement). And even those that managed to reach these many miles, they have other body issues including faded paint or rust or dings, meaning it is time to replace. So it is not worth claiming that the premium is for longitivity. Without significant price reduction, VW will have a problem in selling these TDIs in large numbers. That explains why the recent federal clunker program did not result in many TDIs sales compared with Hondas, Toyota, etc.
 
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Jack Frost

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Location
Rural Manitoba
TDI
2009 Clean Diesel
LRTDI said:
If they have stacks of TDIs up there, bring them south. We could use them!
Their speedometers and other readouts are calibrated in kilometres and litres. You would have to go metric.
 

thebigarniedog

Master of the Obvious
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Location
Fail Command (Central Ohio)
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1998 Jetta tdi
Jack Frost said:
Their speedometers and other readouts are calibrated in kilometres and litres. You would have to go metric.
I don't see your point :confused: . The metric system was designed for unskilled labor (i.e. people with minimum abilities that can only count to 10 and cannot handle rudimentary math ---- fractions). Since most developed countries (i.e. the US) have compulsory education in fractions --- I think we could handle it (i.e. for the right price :D )
 

bluesmoker

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Maple Ridge, B.C.
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Jack Frost said:
Their speedometers and other readouts are calibrated in kilometres and litres. You would have to go metric.
that is a simple dealer flash as the odometer and speedo are digital
 

Dooglas

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Location
Portland, OR
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'06 Jetta
Dodoma said:
Without significant price reduction, VW will have a problem in selling these TDIs in large numbers. That explains why the recent federal clunker program did not result in many TDIs sales compared with Hondas, Toyota, etc.
Actually I don't believe that was correct. I understand about 70% of VW sales during the "cash for clunkers" program were TDIs. That is substantially higher than the proportion of TDIs that VW has sold over the past year. Did they overtake Toyota and Honda in numbers of vehicles sold. Well, of course not, but that hardly tells you anything about TDIs in particular. Chrysler didn't overtake Toyota and Honda either. That had even less to do with TDIs.
 

k1xv

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southern Vermont
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09 TDI sedan, sold back 12/16. Present cars 2013 BMW X5 diesel, 2015 Corvette convertible
thebigarniedog said:
I don't see your point :confused: . The metric system was designed for unskilled labor (i.e. people with minimum abilities that can only count to 10 and cannot handle rudimentary math ---- fractions). Since most developed countries (i.e. the US) have compulsory education in fractions --- I think we could handle it (i.e. for the right price :D )
I guess that is why most in the USA cannot understand the metric system.

I hope this was tongue in cheek.
 

Padrino

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thebigarniedog said:
I don't see your point :confused: . The metric system was designed for unskilled labor (i.e. people with minimum abilities that can only count to 10 and cannot handle rudimentary math ---- fractions). Since most developed countries (i.e. the US) have compulsory education in fractions --- I think we could handle it (i.e. for the right price :D )
This is very sophisticated comment... well done.
Comments and attitude like this one give the US citizen abroad bad name...trust me, I know what I am talking about. If you ever been to Europe you should know that as well.
I don't want to start a war here but please respect the rest of the world...you don't own it.
People think that mathematics must be an act of intelligence. Most likely, it is not reading your comment, perhaps you know what the Rudimentary Math is...but do you know that insulting other people is not intelligence.... more often is sigh of something else, I will let you work this one yourself.
Peace
 
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thebigarniedog

Master of the Obvious
Joined
Oct 14, 2007
Location
Fail Command (Central Ohio)
TDI
1998 Jetta tdi
Padrino said:
This is very sophisticated comment... well done.
Comments and attitude like this one give the US citizen abroad bad name...trust me, I know what I am talking about. If you ever been to Europe you should know that as well.
I don't want to start a war here but please respect the rest of the world...you don't own it.
People think that mathematics must be an act of intelligence. Most likely, it is not reading your comment, perhaps you know what the Rudimentary Math is...but do you know that insulting other people is not intelligence.... more often is sigh of something else, I will let you work this one yourself.
Peace
Chill out and learn to laugh a little. Kthnxbai :D
 

Jack Frost

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Location
Rural Manitoba
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2009 Clean Diesel
I went through the public school system while this country was measuring everything in imperial. The first year I went to university, physics was taught in both imperial and metric units and in subsequent years, it was taught only in metric. So I can swing either way.

There are advantages and disadvantages to both systems. However, anyone who has taken math, engineering, and physics knows that the real world of measurement is not made up of perfect fractions very often. It is a lot easier to calculate energy, pressures, and stress using a system that does not change its base value all the time.

Beside, Americans have used metric without knowing it for years. A watt of electricity is the electrical power needed to raise a newton of mass one metre in one second. No imperial units there. And did you know that our numeral system was once tablulated in Roman numerals. But it got too hard for uneducated people to calculate in without an abacus. Then someone discover Arabian cypher where a relatively unskilled person could calculate on a piece of parchment instead of an abacus. An early first desktop computational device was a piece of paper and a quill.

However, I find the imperial system more useful for cooking and machine shop work and anything that tends to exist in the form of integers and fractions. Our road system in the country is in miles and that will not change.

When American cars are imported into Canada, there are all sorts of regulations to ensure that no one gets the units mixed up and end up going 100 mph instead of 100 kph. I imagine the reverse might be true in reverse. Try explaining to a sheriff who pulled you over for on suspicion of drunk driving that the reason you were driving so slow is that your speedometer is calibrated in kilometers.
 

chimaera

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Ireland
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A watt of electricity is the electrical power needed to raise a newton of mass one metre in one second.
Looks like you need to do some more study on the metric system - the Newton is a unit of force - the kilogramme is the unit of mass in the metric system.

Here is NIST's summary of the SI units for reference: http://physics.nist.gov/cuu/Units/units.html
 

40X40

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Feb 12, 2006
Location
Kansas City area, MO
TDI
2013 Passat SEL Premium
The speedometer/odometer calibration is a non-issue. Just plug in your vag-com cable and change the country code.

Also, metric is far easier to learn and use but I prefer to use the system of my forefathers. I draw the line at furlongs per fortnight though.

Lighten up, guys.

Bill
 

Friar

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Location
North York, ON Canada
TDI
2006 Jetta TDI, 5spd
I agree that Metric/Standard or Imperial Standard are Non-Issues. As a Canadian with a metric calibrated car, I've been doing much of my driving in the US this past year while on sabbatical. On the fly conversions are not that difficult and all the education systems I am aware of usually teach both systems. Maybe not in math class but for sure in basic high school science classes. The resistance is more likely a lack of convenience than intelligence therefore perhaps only a moment of mental laziness?

Chill out and stick with the TDI's
it makes us all a special breed and group
of characters!

Alan
 

DickSilver

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Funny how a thread about Canadian Govt. & VW rebates for buying Jetta TDIs has morphed into a metric/Inperial/English(USA) units discussion. Both are interesting anyway.....
 

Mike_04GolfTDI

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Richmond, BC, Canada
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Mine: 2019 Golf R DSG, Wife's: 2015 Golf Comfortline TDI
DickSilver said:
Funny how a thread about Canadian Govt. & VW rebates for buying Jetta TDIs has morphed into a metric/Inperial/English(USA) units discussion. Both are interesting anyway.....
VW could invent its own system of measurement and I still wouldn't be buying another TDI.
 

T_D_I_POWER

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'04 VW PASSAT GLS TDI '06 Audi A4 q Avant 6-Spd Sport Pkg
thebigarniedog said:
I don't see your point :confused: . The metric system was designed for unskilled labor (i.e. people with minimum abilities that can only count to 10 and cannot handle rudimentary math ---- fractions). Since most developed countries (i.e. the US) have compulsory education in fractions --- I think we could handle it (i.e. for the right price :D )
Really? Boeing, Chrysler, Ford, and GM new designs are all in metric. I can still remember as far back as 1995-96 when I was involved in designing '98 JGC new rear suspension (boomerang shaped upper link) replacing the old 5-link live rear suspension, the unit system was metric.
 

cjamescook

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Mar 18, 2009
Location
Westborough, MA, USA
TDI
'79 Scirocco
Trying to get this thread back on track...

Okay, so did the $1,000 incentive start?
Did it increase TDI sales?
Is it a 2009 end-of-model year incentive? / Any chance of it continuing for 2010?
Does Canada continue to enjoy a large TDI inventory for selection?

I suppose some of these questions can only be answered by a VW insider.

Cheers!
-Jim
 
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