Volkswagen's Diesels To Visit AltWheels Festival

By Anthony Fontanelle

Automakers like Toyota and Honda are focusing on the development of gas-electric hybrid vehicle as their response to the increasing call for cleaner cars. American automakers like Ford and General Motors also manufacture hybrid vehicles. But in Europe, automakers are focusing on the development of new generation diesel engines which are made to be as clean as gasoline engines. One of the automakers paving the way for the development of diesel vehicles is Volkswagen.

The biggest European automaker Volkswagen is making huge strides in the development and manufacturing of clean diesel engines. The diesel-powered Volkswagen Polo Blue Motion was found out to be the greenest vehicle in the United Kingdom. Volkswagen's Audi is also making huge steps forward especially in the promotion of diesel engines with its two straight victories at the prestigious 24 Hours of Le Mans with a diesel powered race car. In the United States, Volkswagen has embarked on a Dieselution Tour in an aim to educate the general public on the benefits of clean diesel engines to the environment.

The Dieselution Tour will be making a stop at the AltWheels Alternative Transportation and Energy Festival on September 28 to 29 in Boston, Massachusetts. The AltWheels festival will be the Dieselution's first public stop. The people behind the Tour will be using interactive displays and exhibits to point out the growing concern for the protection of the environment. The exhibits will also feature how the automaker designed their advanced diesel engines and all its parts like the Volkswagen glow plug Duraterm, and other for-diesel engine components.

The Dieselution Tour will be going across the United States and making stops at events and displaying the company's diesel technology. They will spend four months on the road and the biggest event that they will be making a stop in is during the 2008 Super Bowl. The Dieselution Tour will also be making stops at auto shows across the country.

"Volkswagen of America considers the Dieselution Tour an important informational resource for everyone concerned about the environment and improved fuel economy standards," said Keith Price, Public Relations Manager for Product and Technology at Volkswagen of America. He further said that this tour is aimed to change the perception of many American consumers whose view of a diesel engine is that of diesel engines in the 80s which produces a lot of soot and noise. "We want to show Americans that today's clean diesel technology is a quantum leap from the powerplants introduced nearly 30 years ago. This tour aims to change any outdated perceptions about diesel technology," said Price.

In the end, this tour is about bringing consumers to Volkswagen dealership. With gasoline priced higher than diesel, consumers need just a bit more persuasion to give diesels a chance. And that persuasion is what the Dieselution Tour brings to the table. "As the diesel car sales leader in the United States, we have worked hard to make our diesels cleaner, quieter and more fuel efficient," said Price. "Once consumers realize that a clean diesel alternative can improve their fuel economy by nearly 35 percent over comparable gasoline engines, we're confident that many drivers will visit their local Volkswagen dealerships."

Audi To Launch The Cleanest Diesel Technology

By Anthony Fontanelle

Audi AG will be launching the cleanest diesel technology in the industry. The Ingolstadt, Bavaria-based automaker will be putting the technology into series production from mid-2008.

The new TDI engines boast of ultra-low emission system that harmonizes superior pulling power and spontaneous performance of the current power units. As a result, unbeatably low emissions and superb fuel consumption figures are reached. The engines are designed to undercut the most stringent emissions standards that are to be enforced in Europe at some future time.

The latest TDI engines sees Audi reaffirm its headship claim in the arena of ultra-sophisticated diesel technology. As a fact, when the automaker started up a series of productions of the first passenger-car TDI engine in 1989, it etched a pivotal milestone in auto advancement.

The German auto manufacturer is determined to congeal its role in the industry as the pioneer of cutting-edge technology. To stress, Audi complied with the Euro 4 standard and the upcoming Euro 5 emissions limits years in advance. Eventually, Audi car parts have established a reputation for quality, performance, and style.

As for the automaker, the trendsetting TDI engine is a core element of its integrated technology strategy. “We intend to consolidate the status of the TDI as a highly efficient form of propulsion on a sustained basis. And in future we will be launching ‘e’ model variants designed for optimized fuel consumption in the high-volume model series – either in TDI guise or as petrol models with state-of-the-art TFSI technology,” said Rupert Stadler, the chairman of the Audi board of management.

“Audi is a trailblazer when it comes to diesel power. Since 1989, over 4.5 million cars have rolled off the production line with the highly efficient TDI technology under the bonnet. By equipping the R10 TDI sports prototype with this technology, we have just won the 24 Hours of Le Mans with a diesel-powered car for the second time,” noted Michael Dick, a board member for technical development at Audi.

“The Audi R8 racing cars with TFSI petrol direct injection took victory on five occasions at Le Mans. We have been incorporating the key findings from the world of motorsport directly into series-production development,” he added. “By so doing, we are demonstrating how TDI and TFSI represent the ultimate in efficiency, driving pleasure and economy both on the road and on the racetrack.”

Currently, diesel fuel is the most commended in motoring. This is because the fuel delivers better driveability and mileage with less emission. It packs around 15 percent more energy per liter than petrol but it also comes at a cost of 15 percent more greenhouse emissions, reported Bangkok Post. However, with a 20 to 40 percent better mileage in a modern diesel engine offsetting the emission, you get less CO2 per distance traveled, the report continued.

In motorsport, diesel application has already come a long way. But the most remarkable success came in 1998 when BMW won the 24 Hours of Nurburgring with a 320d. More recently in WTCC, diesel-powered Seat Leon landed eighth place outright on its launch in Sweden. But the most famed success is the 24 Hours of Le Mans-winning Audi R10 TDI last year. The notable success was repeated this year.

Experts say diesel may find its niche in future WRC. According to them, the new generation Subaru Impreza with its first in-house diesel boxer unit may become one of the first contenders. In this weekend's WRC Rally Germany, four entries are diesel-powered BMW, Seat and Volkswagen. But before it reaches stardom in the auto industry, diesel has to overcome some hurdles.