Diesels @ The Nurburgring 24h!

Diesels are quickly becoming more and more prevelant in endurance racing of many types. And it's not just the Audi R15 TDI vs. the Peugeot 908 HDi at LeMans, or the VW vs. Mitsu Dakar racers either.

Tomorrow (05/23/09) the 2009 edition of the Nurburgring 24h starts. There are 180 cars registered for this epic event, of which 18 are diesel powered!

In the D1T class (1.75-2.0L diesel) there are entries from BMW, Opel, Seat, & VW.

In the D2T class (2.0-2.5L) there is an entry from Toyota.

In the D3T class (2.5-3.0L) there are several BMWs and an Audi.

You can follow all the action live here: LINK

EVs & Diesels in Detroit

I've been closely following autobloggreen.com for the past couple of days as they cover the eco side of the Detroit International Auto Show. It's pretty cool to see the concepts, but even cooler to see the cars that are actually going to be found in dealer showroom this year.

You can check it out yourself HERE, or click the links below to specific articles.

MB Unveils Concept BlueZero

The Lotus... er, I mean Dodge Circuit
57 Miles Per Gallon Roadster: The BlueSport from VW

More Pics of VW's Diesel Performance Roadster

Audi A3 TDI Coming to US Dealers in '09

ED smart (a poor choice of acronyms)

Fisker Karma & Karma-S (will these ever been seen on a road near you?)

Another Hybrid Aborted

As I mentioned here back in July, Audi is doing it's best to push diesels in North America over hybrids, thankfully.

Since diesels outperform hybrids on highways (where North Americans generally spend more time driving) this makes perfect sense to me.

Audi did, however, have plans to offer their Q7 & Q5 SUVs as hybrids to appease the masses. Thankfully, they've killed those plans and are sticking with TDI powerplants for these two trucks. Interestingly, they cite crash-test issues with the batteries. Since other automakers haven't canceled their hybrid production, I have to wonder if Audi found some issue the others haven't, or if they simply are being more exacting than the others.

In any case, they are bringing new (for them) fuel saving technologies to their lineup, including start-stop and other improvements akin to BMW's Efficient Dynamics.

Personally I'd wish they'd also spend more energy on bringing their TDI powered sedans, coupes, and roadsters here as well... especially the smaller ones like the A3.

Source: Autocar

200+ Miles Per Hour on Biogas!

Audi is quickly becoming a favorite automakers of mine. The silver bullet pictured here is yet another example why. They took a standard 3.0L current gen A4, fitted twin turbos to boost the output, and converted it to run on biogas... in this case, fermented switchgrass!

The results? 585 horsepower, and a top speed of 327.2 km/h, or roughly 202.8 mph.

Source.

Monday News Quickies

I don't have a lot of time today to get into everything I'd like... but I did see a few articles over the weekend that I want to highlight.

First of all, Mazda is working on developing synthetic plastics. Since plastic is a petroleum based product, using it to lighten cars (to improve fuel economy) isn't exactly an entirely winning situation since it still would be reliant on oil. By working to develop synthetic substitutes for plastic, Mazda is effectively working on backing away from any reliance on oil. As I've mentioned here in the past, they're also working on a brilliant start/stop technology (much better than the usual way at least...) which I very much hope will be available sooner rather than later. When my current lease it up I'll be looking for a vehicle with start/stop and Mazda would easily be at the top of my list if theirs is out in Canada by then. Finally, they have a very interesting looking 2.2L diesel in the works too. It'll be sold in Europe sometime in '09, paired with their start/stop tech, which makes me hopeful that it will soon after find it's way to North America.

Next, Audi is working on an intelligent system that communicates with stop-lights on the road ahead and informs you as to what speed you should travel so as to arrive at the light when it's green. This is a fantastic idea that has to potential to greatly improve fuel economy by eliminating the constant stopping and accelerating that's associated with city driving. As you're driving down the road towards an intersection, you would know that if you decelerated a bit to 50kph instead of 65kph, the light ahead would be green when you get there, instead of you driving all the way to the light, coming to a stop only to have to accelerate again 3 seconds later. Maintaining a constant flow would pay dividends in your own fuel economy, as well as help improve traffic flow in general.

FIAT has yet another special edition 500 ready to sell... this time styled by Diesel, not fueled by it. Personally I love small, quirky cars like the FIAT 500, and while this particular edition is pretty nice looking, it's only skin deep. (The upcoming Abarth Edition is much more interesting to me.) The Diesel 500 is nothing more than some new colors, a little badging here and there, and some interior refinement. They call it an "Urban Survival Vehicle"... uh, ok. In any case, at least they're standing by their statement that going green means reducing size! (Image courtesy autoblog.com)

Audi R10 TDI Takes All

2008 American Le Mans Series Championship: Check! (clinched with two races to go no less...)

2008 24 Hours Of Le Mans: Check! (despite heavy opposition from Peugeot's own diesel)

2008 European Le Mans Series Championship: Check! (again, despite heavy opposition from Peugeot)

Congratulations to Audi and the diesel powered R10 TDI for taking top honors in all three benchmarks for sportscar racing in the world!

(image courtesy autoblog.com)

Audi Pushing Diesels Over Hybrids

Not only does Audi make the best diesel powered race cars, but they are also very adept at making great diesel powered sedans, coupés, and roadsters. They even make a diesel crossover (in Europe only), but the Q7 is outrageously hideous so I'll just pretend they never stooped so low.

What Audi doesn't make is a hybrid!

Why not?

According to Johan de Nysschen, the boss at Audi Of America, there just isn't really any point for the manufacturer, nor the consumer. Referring to the previously mentioned abomination... er, Q7... he wants to delay the launch of a hybrid as long as possible - if not indefinitely - given today's currency exchange rate and the low projected volumes for the vehicle.

"The price premium of the hybrid under these conditions would negate the savings to consumers, as well as eliminating any profit margin for the automaker."

No surprise there. Nor am I the only person to point out that a hybrid doesn't really save you much coin. They're really nothing more than a high-priced fashion statement.

But I digress...

Back to de Nysschen:

“I'm not pushing engineering to hurry up. We don't need hybrids for all segments for Audi in the U.S.”

“I'd like to see hybrids pushed out two more years.”

Like the other major German carmakers, Audi sees diesels as a better option in the U.S. than hybrids. Given the fact that a hybrid only really shines in slow, stop-and-go city traffic, while a diesel can greatly outperform it on a highway at speed, it makes perfect sense.

(In any case, I believe that large SUVs and crossover should be banned from city centers, or at the very least heavily taxed if they want to be driven downtown already. The last thing any downtown core needs is excessively large passenger vehicles occupied by a single passenger taking up far more room than they can possibly require!)

But I digress... again...

Unfortunately, Audi also recognizes the well-entrenched perception by North American consumers that hybrids are a better solution.

In Europe, diesels account for more than 50% of all new car sales across all the major brands. It's not just an econobox or delivery truck thing anymore for them. Prestige brands like Audi, BMW, & Mercedes all have significant diesel lineups. But in North America it's an uphill battle for them. The market here has been greenwashed into believing that hybrids are unbeatable when the fact is, they aren't. They're merely one way to cut fuel consumption... but by no means are they the only way.

Supercar Miles per Gallon

Single digits, anyone?

(Warning: Not to be taken seriously. Please!)

A Sub 7-Second German Sports Coupé That Gets Over 40mpg...?

Does that even sound reasonable?

It does to Audi, and they can even do it with conventional fuel.

The latest powerplant offered by Audi for their A5 sports coupé is the all-new 2.0L TFSI. The turbocharged engine puts out a respectable 208hp (@ 4300 - 6000 rpm) while producing 258 lb-ft of torque (@ 1500 - 4200 rpm). Those numbers are enough to propel the A5 from 0-60mph in just 6.9 seconds, while the TFSI technology allows the coupé to get a combined cycle fuel mileage of 42.8 miles per Imperial gallon (6.6L/100km - 35.66 miles per US gallon).

And it does all that while looking drop dead gorgeous!

Unfortunately, there's no word on when it will be available in North America. In the mean time we'll only be able to get the 2.0L TFSI in the A4 sedan later this year.

For more information on what TFSI is and how it works you can look here, on the Audi UK website.

Diesel Power Dominates LeMans

Audi has done it again!

Despite the diesel-powered Peugeot 908 being substantially faster than the diesel powered R10 TDI, Audi's "slow and steady"strategy payed off, giving them yet another LeMans win, bringing their total to 8 (in 10 starts). It's also the 3rd victory for the TDI R10 in three starts since it was introduced in 2006.

I have to say that it's great to see two fantastically beautiful cars battling each other for top honors at the world's premiere endurance race, both powered by engines developed by manufacturers who aren't afraid to try different technologies and push those technologies to their extremes.

The low, unobtrusive rumble of the diesel engines barreling down the straights of Circuit de la Sarthe was also amazing! I just wish I could have been there to witness it.

While we can't get Peugeots in North America (yet), we can buy Audis. Unfortunately, they don't sell their TDI powered cars here... again, yet! I'm fairly certain they'll be here one day though and given how they love showing off diesel-power, I'd bet we'll be seeing TDI Audis on this continent much sooner than later. And it won't be just their run-of-the-mill sedans either. Audi will soon be selling a 2.0L TDI TT coupe and convertible in Europe and by the numbers I've seen so far, it won't be any slouch. One hundred & seventy horsepower, while respectable, is nothing to write home about... but 258 lb-ft of torque is enough to pique my interest. That power-plant is enough to get you from 0 to 62 mph is just 7.5 seconds. Again, hardly a number to make your heart race... but still, very impressive when you factor in the final bit of information: it will do all that while still getting over 44 miles per gallon (combined Euro cycle).

And it's dead-sexy to boot!

So congratulations to Audi and Peugeot for putting on a phenomenal show at LeMans this year, as well as for putting diesel power in the spot-light and showing that it's not just for farmers tractors anymore!