2004 VW Passat & Touareg TDIs

Well, he said "low-sulfur diesel in 2006" rather than ultra-low sulfur.

Funny quote:

"Diesels are powerful, economical, ecological and future-oriented," Dorenkamp said.

Ecological?!?

ecological

adj 1: characterized by the interdependence of living organisms in an environment; "an ecological disaster"
2: (biology) of or relating to the science of ecology; "ecological research"

Ok.. so maybe 'environmental' woulda been a better word..

Very interesting quote:

By 2013 industry experts predict diesels will make up 20 percent of the U.S. light-duty vehicle market.

Very interesting quote:

By 2013 industry experts predict diesels will make up 20 percent of the U.S. light-duty vehicle market.

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So THAT'S what that was all about! Some guy asking me questions about diesels on the phone last week, said he wanted my expert opinion on diesel futures.

j/k of course, but I wonder what "experts" he was referring to. I believe the 20% number easily - ive been saying that sort of thing for a while. Personally, I believe it will come a lot faster than 2013. More like 2010 at the latest, for new car sales penetration, once people get a load of these engines.

The twin turbos are electronically driven rather than pneumatically driven, increasing the throttle response.

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Here I go again boldly displaying my ignorance, but what does the author mean here and how does it work?

Don

The turbocharger's turbine vane actuator has been controlled via pneumatic devices in the past which do not give quite as instant or exact response as an electrically controlled actuator does.

The result is a faster and more precise adjustment of boost pressure with feedback from other boost related sensors.

pneumatic
adj 1:Of or relating to air or other gases.
2:Run by or using compressed air (ie. a pneumatic drill)

electric
adj 1:also e·lec·tri·cal (-tr-kl) Of, relating to, producing, or operated by electricity: electric current; an electrical appliance.
n 1:An electrically powered machine or vehicle: The lawn mower is an electric.

From the Greek pneuma, meaning "air, wind, breath, spirit." (pneumatic, pneumonia, etc...)