All new 2015 Passat (Euro)

VeeDubTDI

Wanderluster, Traveler, TDIClub Enthusiast
Joined
Jul 2, 2000
Location
Springfield, VA
TDI
‘18 Tesla Model 3D+, ‘14 Cadillac ELR, ‘13 Fiat 500e
Maybe they'll make batteries. My partner at IDParts lived in Beijing for a couple of years and he said the pollution is stunning. Funny, how China is so worried about cars and my understanding is that a lot of the air pollution is from industrial sources, including power plants burning the coal Americans aren't allowed to use to generate electricity. Doesn't seem they'll get much of a result if they go to electric cars and the power comes from unregulated coal-fired plants.

Seriously, I think the predictions of the death of the internal combustion engine have been dramatically overstated. Not sure how much fun your e-bike will be in January.
You took the words right out of my mouth.
 

eddie_1

Veteran Member
Joined
Dec 27, 2004
Location
Hannover, Germany formerly Toronto & NY
TDI
Jetta Wagon 2003 TDI tuned to 170HP, A6 Wagon 2008 TDI 2.7L tuned to 340HP
- Mahle wont be making batteries any time soon. China is massivley in the lead there. Even my bike battery is from China and it is top quality. (I got it in a clearance for €380 MSRP €1500 and it already paid for itself in one summer.) MB joint venture Denza uses chinese batteries.
- Primary pollution in terms of quantity and also fine particle content in cities is not industrial but from cars. They are working on all fronts to reduce pollution. Those old anti-China arguments can be used forever.
- Nobody is talking about sudden death of ICE but these are facts when govts (where they work together with industry etc - not the show me the money approach) make decsions and start creating incentives on several levels. Try to sell a 2 stroke scooter in China. VWs and others business growth plan is focused in China so you have to pay attention. In Europe they have the bulk of their sales but it is on the decline. Car-Sharing is really taking off in Germany. For every car share there are 8 new car registrations less. Other european countries are also ahead of Germany in providing EV infrastructure and giving subsidies. At some point a price tipping point could be reached. E-bikes are also taking off. I am not in Boston so I wont have a problem riding in January. Here even 80 year olds ride their bike in January.
- Of course what the US does remains to be seen. Probably like they resisted Diesels they will resist the EVs and continue driving SUVs and others will drive their Mk4 TDIs for the next 40 years. Big Swede Lawson will bring his smokey MB to the GTG? ;) Some areas like CA will probably pull ahead with Europe.

 

IndigoBlueWagon

TDIClub Enthusiast, Principal IDParts, Vendor , w/
Joined
Aug 16, 2004
Location
South of Boston
TDI
'97 Passat, '99.5 Golf, '02 Jetta Wagon, '15 GSW
I don't know how accurate this article is, but the charts are interesting: http://www.tealeafnation.com/2013/02/where-does-beijings-pollution-come-from/

Seems that gasoline quality has a lot to do with the auto pollution.

And this quote from a WSJ article points confirms what I've recalled hearing about recent high pollution levels in Beijing:

Tian Miao, a senior energy analyst at research firm NSBO, said that while Beijing’s city government has shuttered much of its outdated industrial capacity, most of its air pollution comes from nearby regions such as Hebei, an industrial hub for steel, cement and glass production. Coal-fired power plants are the largest source of air pollutants, and those facilities aren’t easily suspended, she said.
“You can’t stop the heat supply, and you also can’t halt electricity production,” Ms. Tian said.

BTW, I'm planning on keeping my ALH alive for another 10 years. And I have an old Mercedes, too. Kind of smokey, but when you think of the energy and pollution junking it would cause it's probably greener to keep driving it. Saves China from creating more pollution through battery production, too. :)
 

tikal

Veteran Member
Joined
Apr 18, 2001
Location
Southeast Texas
TDI
2004 Passat Wagon (chainless + 5 MT + GDE tune)
Where is the pollution of making these really large Li-Ion batteries for the EV cars is going to go? Not through the tailpipe but somewhere else? How dangerous is the mining to make these batteries to people and the environment? Are we 'robbing Peter to pay to Paul'?

Lets not kid ourselves. Science is not the sole savior when it come to reducing our vehicles energy usage/environment footprint. We ARE! Is the trend showing that we are changing our buying/driving habits when it comes to personal vehicles? When I look around in my neighborhood I see people going and trading in an SUV for another SUV and a pick up truck for another pickup truck. Also I have seen that between two SUVs (let's say Mazda CX-5 and Toyota Highlander) folks will choose the less efficient one because it has 'better acceleration'' and can get on the freeway ramp faster.I just read an article in the Wall Street Journal that says the rate of increase in MPG average is slowing down considerably now that fuel prices are going down. We are going back to our old habit of buying the bigger, more 'convenient', 'safer' SUV/pickup truck. And the car manufacturers like it as their profit margins are larger in those kinds of vehicles.

Nothing wrong in my view with the ICE but the the one we mostly buy in North America is another story ...
 

IndigoBlueWagon

TDIClub Enthusiast, Principal IDParts, Vendor , w/
Joined
Aug 16, 2004
Location
South of Boston
TDI
'97 Passat, '99.5 Golf, '02 Jetta Wagon, '15 GSW
That's a nice looking car. I know we won't get it, but I wouldn't mind if the '16 NMS facelift picked up some of its styling cues.
 

IndigoBlueWagon

TDIClub Enthusiast, Principal IDParts, Vendor , w/
Joined
Aug 16, 2004
Location
South of Boston
TDI
'97 Passat, '99.5 Golf, '02 Jetta Wagon, '15 GSW
I know we can't compare pricing because of taxes, etc., but that car's price converted to dollars is a bit over $55K. Sure is nice looking, however.
 

Early8Q

Veteran Member
Joined
Mar 8, 2005
Location
SE PA
TDI
2012 JSW TDI 3 pedal
It is a nice looking car. It also reminds me of the strategy with the current Taureg TDI; its handsome and placed way up market. I would like to see VW stay in the people's car niche and play Teutonic engineering hard against the low cost providers, I think they would be able to do well at that game. But I guess they can play the 80/20 rule both ways to reach the bottom line.
 

dubStrom

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 6, 2007
Location
Kansas City Missouri
TDI
2003 A4 Jetta (sold), 2010 JSW (sold), 2013 Passat 6MT traded for 2014 JSW with 6MT-TOTALED in November 2016, 2003 ALH 5MT conversion (sold), wheezing 2015 GSW/DSG and a new 2021 Tacoma Access Cab 4x4 p'up
The R-line wagon is interesting (the red one in this article), but it certainly can't compete with a plain Passat wagon for sales. I wonder why the more sedate version of the Passat Wagon hasn't been rolled out in NA. The JSW is very popular, despite everyone's assumption that a wagon is a dinosaur amongst the throngs of SUVs and crossovers.

A nicely appointed midsized TDI wagon might do quite well now (better than, and more profitable than an R-line version anywhere!), especially if they offer it in both FWD and 4motion. Cut into JSW sales? So what!

The bottom line is that it's pretty annoying to find out about yet another vehicle, this time a high end Passat that we'll never be able to buy, especially since we can't even buy a Passat wagon!
 
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Feilo

Well-known member
Joined
Jul 27, 2006
Location
N Lake Co, IL
TDI
2012 Golf Silver DSG
The R-line wagon is interesting (the red one in this article), but it certainly can't compete with a plain Passat wagon for sales. I wonder why the more sedate version of the Passat Wagon hasn't been rolled out in NA. The JSW is very popular, despite everyone's assumption that a wagon is a dinosaur amongst the throngs of SUVs and crossovers.

A nicely appointed midsized TDI wagon might do quite well now (better than, and more profitable than an R-line version anywhere!), especially if they offer it in both FWD and 4motion. Cut into JSW sales? So what!

The bottom line is that it's pretty annoying to find out about yet another vehicle, this time a high end Passat that we'll never be able to buy, especially since we can't even buy a Passat wagon!
... Ditto ... I miss my B5.5 Passat Variant ...
 
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