Public service announcement: before heading out for the holiday weekend (Monday is Columbus Day here in the US), make sure to check the air pressure in your spare tire. Actually, go do it right now!
Embarrassing as it is to admit, I don’t recall the last time I checked the spare in our wagon. I topped up all the tires today, and it turns out the spare was under 20 lbs. Not good.
So go check your tire pressures, and make sure to check the spare, too!
Over here at The Sportwagon, we try to do as much home maintenance and repair on the old wagon as is practical. Some repair work needs the dealer’s proprietary computers diagnostics or access to a lift. But most regular maintenance – changing fluids and filters, for example – can be done by pretty much anyone with a little knowledge and patience and a few common tools. Even many bigger items like brake and suspension work can be easily accomplished at home. It’s not rocket science (most of the time).
Most importantly, doing those regular maintenance items on schedule makes your car happy and keeps it on the road for a long time. You can often do work yourself in a few minutes, saving a trip to the dealer and, if you shop around, saving money on parts, too.
To help you out, the folks over at TDIBlog have posted a few more DIY maintenance articles that VW Golf and Jetta diesel owners might find useful.
First, replacing the fuel filter in your A4 series Golf or Jetta TDI. This is an important 20k mile maintenance item since dirty fuel is going to severely hamper the performance of your TDI’s high pressure injection system.
[photos courtesy TDIBlog]
Next up, replacing the air filter in your A4 Golf or Jetta TDI. You need two things for combustion: fuel and air. You replaced the fuel filter for clean fuel. Now give your engine a new filter for clean air. Another 20k mile item, though I suggest replacing more frequently if you live in a dusty environment.
Bonus: looking for more power from your diesel Jetta or Passat? TDIBlog runs down the turbo upgrade options for recent VW TDI offerings. Great information about off-the-shelf offerings if you’ve got the bug for greater performance for your oil burner.
Every Labor Day weekend the Rolex Vintage Festival brings historic cars to Lime Rock Park for a weekend of racing, club car corrals, and a Sunday car show.
It was a beautiful weekend for driving up to northwestern Connecticut. Lime Rock, near Lakeville, CT, is an easy 2-hour drive from Manhattan over rolling country roads.
The Rolex Vintage Festival practice sessions on Friday, and qualifying sessions and races on Saturday and Monday.
The weekend highlight was a very rare chance to see one of the legendary Silver Arrows on the track. A 1939 Mercedes-Benz W154 from the Collier Collection. This particular chassis was last driven by Manfred von Brauchitsch in the 1939 Yugoslavian Grand Prix, finishing second and setting the fastest race lap.
Here’s one of the many beautiful Porsche’s running in the Klub Sport Racing event this weekend.
This is Roy Walzer in his 1965 Techno accelerating out of the diving turn and onto the main straight.
Also in the group 6 session, this is Philip Harris in his 1968 Brabham BT-23c, driving out of West Bend toward the fancy new bridges.
Olga Reindlova gets her 1960 Porsche 356 slowed down for the uphill turn during the group 2 race.
The group 4 race had a huge field of cars, and this bright yellow Fiat 124 coupe stood out.
Here’s Benjamin Bragg’s 1934 Old Gray Mare running out from West Bend. But it wasn’t the only “rat rod” out on track Saturday…
…the Old Gray Mare was joined by Sandy Leith and his 1931 Bugatti T-37. The patina makes it look like this charismatic racer hasn’t been washed since before the war. Looked great, and sounded good, too.
I had a delicious burger and a Harpoon UFO Hefeweizen for lunch. Stopped by the Grassroots Motorsports and Classic Motorsports magazine booth to chat about their recently restored Group 44 Triumph (and grab a bumper sticker for the wagon). I also had a nice chat with Ross Bremer, a racer up from Florida with his ex-Paul Newman English Ford Escort, about the repaved track surface and places to visit in the Finger Lakes region. Good luck at Watkins Glen, Ross!
There were many other unique cars out this weekend, and the sights, sounds, and smells made for a pleasant afternoon at the track. So next Labor Day weekend, think about heading up to Lime Rock for a day or two. I’ll probably see you there.
Yet more diesel news…
Back in July I wrote about the 2009 Audi A3 wagon lineup and mentioned the upcoming A3 TDI diesel.
Today Audi officially announces pricing for the 2010 A3 TDI with S tronic front wheel drive at $29,950.
Expected to begin arriving at U.S. dealers in late November 2009, the 50-state certified A3 TDI delivers the highest highway fuel economy in the luxury car category – 42 mpg, according to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimates.
No mention whether a manual transmission or Quattro AWD will be options. Experience suggests that bottom-of-the-line wagons usually do not ship to the US in too many flavors (witness the Volvo V50). But time will tell.
You can read the full press release at the Audi web site.
We’re rolling on a diesel theme this week, apparently…
Today’s New York Times Wheels blog quotes Johan de Nysschen, president of Audi of America, dissing the forthcoming Chevy Volt:
“No one is going to pay a $15,000 premium for a car that competes with a Corolla. So there are not enough idiots who will buy it.”
(Actually, the quote comes originally from an MSN Autos interview with Lawrence Ulrich, published yesterday. Both articles are worth a read.)
Now, it’s worth noting that De Nysschen has a vested interest in this subject since Audi has a significant technical and marketing investment in diesel powertrains. As in bringing several new diesel models to the US in 2010.
And winning Le Mans.
But, aside from the incendiary quote most commentators will focus on, De Nysschen makes a good point about diesel cars being more relevant to buyers than EVs.
Diesel provides better efficiency at lower costs right now for consumers. The infrastructure is in place to refine, distribute, and sell diesel. US refineries and local oil sources are well positioned for making diesel efficiently. The technology is well known so both dealers and independent garages can service the cars. Plus diesel drivetrains are legendarily reliable and long-lived.
You can buy a diesel car today in both sporty and utilitarian models (or sporty and utilitarian at the same time if you like sportwagons).
You can find diesel fuel easily at reasonable cost. (As I write this, the AAA Fuel Gauge Report of national average prices shows roughly equivalent costs for diesel and gasoline. In fact, diesel is currently less expensive than premium gas and MPG/BTU-corrected E85 prices.)
You can get your diesel car serviced wherever you like (lowering cost of ownership), and if you’re so inclined (as I am), drive it for a decade or more.
How does the EV stack up? How long do the batteries last? What will it cost to replace them? What is the environmental cost of decommissioning or recycling battery packs?
We don't know and, so far as I can tell, nobody in the business wants to talk about these hidden costs of EV technology.
That said, there are other mitigating factors that need to be addressed in debates over diesel versus EV. Diesels tend to have lower CO2 emissions, but can have higher NO2 and particulate emissions than comparable petrol engines. Diesel fuel is broadly available, but not ubiquitous. EV recharging infrastructure – particularly away from home – needs to be built up still, and one has to wonder how much greenhouse gas gets emitted when generating the electricity for these cars. The batteries contain heavy metals that come from where and go to where? And so on.
In the longer term we need to move away from dependence on single-occupant vehicles altogether. I firmly believe that, even though I’m a long-time, dedicated automobile and motorsport enthusiast. Our sustainable future depends on making cars a weekend hobby rather than a necessity of modern life.
Although diesel is a readymade step toward better efficiency, does it reinforce our continuing reliance on cars and roadway infrastructure? Does diesel undermine change toward a more sustainable transportation environment? Would a faster transition to EV – even with its current constraints on driving distance, recharging time and infrastructure, and cost versus lifetime – increase momentum toward a carless future?
I dunno. In the meantime, there aren’t any EV wagons, so it’s a moot point.
TDI Blog has a well-done explanation of cleaning your diesel injectors with Lubro-Moly Diesel Purge.
[photo by Lothar Spurzem]
AutoObserver this morning has an article discussing likely product reshuffling that will occur due to VW taking control of Porsche (Porsche's Off-Message Models Axed in VW Takeover). This story is sure to incite handwringing and angst in the blogosphere, and loud complaining among Porschephiles.
But they’re wrong to complain. This is a good move, and I’ll explain why.
First, from a business standpoint, the Cayenne and Panamera were always about making Porsche less reliant on the 911. (In a nutshell, they can sell a second, more practical car to existing Porsche owners, or get a foot in the door with customers for whom an $80k sports car is impractical.) Big picture, it was a strategy for keeping Porsche independent in good markets and relatively flush if things turned bad (as they did in the early ‘90s).
Unfortunately, Porsche overreaching for control of VW sunk that ship.
Second, the Cayenne and Panamera have somewhat dubious relevance in Porsche’s story (which I’ll get to later) and overlap with existing VW offerings in more vehicle-relevant brands.
OK, I’ll admit to not getting the whole sport-SUV concept – it’s a truck, after all. But VW already offers the Touareg and Tiguan to cover the rugged, utilitarian end of the SUV spectrum and Audi offers the Q5 and Q7 on the sporty, luxurious extreme.
That said, even in the current economic environment, Cayenne sales in the US match Touareg and Q7 sales combined and is the strongest selling “car” in the Porsche lineup. Tiguan and Q5 sales come in at around 1,000 units each, roughly equaling Cayenne sales. So with Cayenne making up about a quarter of combined VW and Porsche SUV sales, it would take some engineering and marketing work to move potential buyers over to an equivalent VW or Audi offering.
So it’s not all upside in killing off the Cayenne.
Then again, the current models have a few years to run. We don’t know what the market will look like in 2011 and VW may rethink its strategy if Cayenne continues to be a hot commodity.
Third, and I think most important, is the history. Porsche history is inextricably tied to motorsport. And with all due respect to the legendary prototypes – think 917 and 956/962 – the true Porsche racing heritage has roots in production-based racers. No other marque has raced cars based so directly on production chassis for as long or as successfully as Porsche. From the 356 right up to the current 911 GT3 RSR, there is a deep and real connection between the boulevard cruiser and the Le Mans competitor.
That, in a nutshell – and more important than the quaint-but-still-effective rear-engine design – is the essential Porsche DNA.
So where, exactly does an SUV or a six-figure sedan fit in that story? Is Ferrari missing a truck from its lineup?
That’s not to say every Porsche needs to be a race car. Or perhaps the upstart Cayman should be given a chance at stardom on the track, dropping the flag on a new generation of competition Porsches.
Fourth, and finally, is what I think will be the deepest and most strident objection:
A VW-tinged Porsche is not a real Porsche.
Unfortunately, there’s very little for that prejudice to stand on. VW + Porsche cooperation goes back 40-something years, and it’s unfortunately taken almost that long for the unloved offspring of that relationship to get the respect they deserve.
The 912 (with a VW-derived Type IV engine in its last incarnation) was a lighter, more nimble version of the venerable 911 and has a cult following of its own to this day.
Likewise, the 914 provided a small, light, mid-engine platform that still sets FTD at autocrosses to this day. If you haven’t noticed, prices are on the rise for good examples and many are seeing full rotiserie restorations.
Moving on to the ‘80s, we have the front-engine 924/944/968 series. Legendary for 50-50 balance, sublime handling, and great styling. This car has Audi roots, you know.
OK, I’ll admit that the 911 has something shared by no other car: true beauty, timeless design, and a history – no, legend – shared by no other car. But all of those other pseudo-Porsches, demi-Porsches, quasi-Porsches… all had that essential Porsche DNA.
They were engineered for great performance, ergonomics, and, frankly, durability.
They received uniquely Porsche designs combining performance with sexiness.
They raced – often successfully – in production form.
That is Porsche.
I don’t see where trucks and sedans fit. VW will do Porsche a good turn by putting the focus back on the marque’s heritage as they have with Audi, Bugatti, and Lamborghini.
Sorry for no updates. We were doing some deep thinking about how The Sportwagon should be put together. One thing led to another and… no posts.
We’re back at it now, though, and the changes are going to be much less radical than what I originally envisioned. We’re staying on Blogger for the time being, and the vision of the site remains the same: wagons rule.
So with that out of the way, on to some new content….
