An American saying I loved and remember:
Horsepower tells you how fast you can hit a wall;
Torque tells how far you can dig into the wall once you hit it.
Diesels have certainly come on a long way and some of them are actually quite pleasant to drive.
IME the BMW 325D is so petrol like that its difficult to make thge normal arguments about diesels.
OTOH I used the Vauhall Astra 2.0 TD Eco from work the other day. I reckon it had a power band approaching 500rpm (figuratively speaking), I was constantly changing gear to have any real useable power. It was good in its power band and was economical but come on Vauxhall, it was soooo DULL to drive.
IME the BMW 325D is so petrol like that its difficult to make thge normal arguments about diesels.
OTOH I used the Vauhall Astra 2.0 TD Eco from work the other day. I reckon it had a power band approaching 500rpm (figuratively speaking), I was constantly changing gear to have any real useable power. It was good in its power band and was economical but come on Vauxhall, it was soooo DULL to drive.
It's really not so much the diesel engines, as the entire turbo assisting system built around them. All the engines really developed are the sealing system required to handle diesel's high compression ratio further augmented by the turbocharger.
Not too long ago, a 2 litre diesel was great if it pushed 75 hp, or 37.5 hp/l; roday, BMW does 204 hp, pr 102 hp/l.
However, a similar 2 litre petrol engine wiil easily put out 290 hp, or 145 hp/l, under the same conditions.
I have given this some thought and some calculation when deciding which version of the Cruze to buy. One option was the 141 hp/177 Nm petrol engine, and the other was a 2 litre diesel engine, delivering 163 hp/360 Nm, but also weighing in at an extra 190 kilos.
The first reason the diesel was discarded is that I am required to pay a premium of €2,800 for it. Also, regular annual service for the diesel is exactly 50% more expensive than for the petrol engine, I asked.
The second reason is that the said diesel uses up less than 0.5 litres of fuel less than the petrol engine.
Put these two factors together and my price breakeven point is a bit over 100,000 km. I am now selling a car I have had for 9 years and have ridden it for just 82,500 km. I have no intention to keep the Cruze for the next 12 years just to break even, thank you.
For two passengers in the car 99% of the time, or just me 70% of the time, I simply cannot justify the price premium.
Not too long ago, a 2 litre diesel was great if it pushed 75 hp, or 37.5 hp/l; roday, BMW does 204 hp, pr 102 hp/l.
However, a similar 2 litre petrol engine wiil easily put out 290 hp, or 145 hp/l, under the same conditions.
I have given this some thought and some calculation when deciding which version of the Cruze to buy. One option was the 141 hp/177 Nm petrol engine, and the other was a 2 litre diesel engine, delivering 163 hp/360 Nm, but also weighing in at an extra 190 kilos.
The first reason the diesel was discarded is that I am required to pay a premium of €2,800 for it. Also, regular annual service for the diesel is exactly 50% more expensive than for the petrol engine, I asked.
The second reason is that the said diesel uses up less than 0.5 litres of fuel less than the petrol engine.
Put these two factors together and my price breakeven point is a bit over 100,000 km. I am now selling a car I have had for 9 years and have ridden it for just 82,500 km. I have no intention to keep the Cruze for the next 12 years just to break even, thank you.
For two passengers in the car 99% of the time, or just me 70% of the time, I simply cannot justify the price premium.
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Around here the dealers are very happy to lease a car for three years. Then they sell it as used with a warranty.
Personally I prefer to buy new and run it until it drops. That way I know the oil gets changed!
My X-Type has been converted to LPG (Autogas). All the benefits of cheaper fuel, its about as economical as a diesel, but with none of the drawbacks. OK it loses about 23% of its economy and power but at 220BHP that is not a real loss. If I want the power I switch it back to Petrol.
The only real drawback is the availabilty of Autogas. Its freely available but you need to know where to get it.
Road Tax isn't as cheap as the diesel but its far cheaper than the non-converted petrol. And the 2.5V6 is 4-Wheel drive whereas the diesel is 2 wheel drive.
The only real drawback is the availabilty of Autogas. Its freely available but you need to know where to get it.
Road Tax isn't as cheap as the diesel but its far cheaper than the non-converted petrol. And the 2.5V6 is 4-Wheel drive whereas the diesel is 2 wheel drive.
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Errrr Torque and HP are mathematically related. You manage their different peaks with the gearbox.
Anyway, modern computer controls have done as much for Diesels as they have for gas. The Golf TDI works quite well, but no stations where I live had the fuel, so I bought a GTI.
It is not just the sealing on the head a Diesel has to do, but because of the faster ignition, the bottom end has to be a lot stronger. That is why they are heavier.
Anyway, modern computer controls have done as much for Diesels as they have for gas. The Golf TDI works quite well, but no stations where I live had the fuel, so I bought a GTI.
It is not just the sealing on the head a Diesel has to do, but because of the faster ignition, the bottom end has to be a lot stronger. That is why they are heavier.
Yes, but a fat lot of good it does for you and me. We buy it as it is. True, we can introduce some changes by chip tuning a car, but typically, that's not much, it's simply activating the reserves the manufacturer built in.
In case of normally aspirated engines, that will rarely be more than +10% - for more, we need to mechanically rework the engine (enlarge valves, use a different camshaft(s), input and output manifolds, etc). A fuel injected engine is just as tunable, or is even more tunable, than a carburrated one, but very soon you realize you have to do the mechanics as well, not just the electronics.
Turbo engines will show greater benefits, even up to +40%, however, this is the idiot way to do it, because it's achieved mostly by increasing the turbo pressure - not good for seals, or the engine itself. You quickly find you need not cast but forged parts, and they don't come cheap.
Anyway, I've done my part in that, now I just want a comfy car full of equipment I just sit in, turn the key and drive. 35+ years of tuning is quite enough, not to even mention the financial costs suffered. Sure, it was fun, but that's it.
The Migliozzi brothers are retiring and NPR's "Car Talk" will depart the airwaves. Last episodes this fall -- it'll probably reappear just like "Everybody Loves Raymond":
Hosts put the brakes on NPR's 'Car Talk' - latimes.com
Hosts put the brakes on NPR's 'Car Talk' - latimes.com
Well, the Cruze has arrived. These GM people are fantastic - they sold me a car off a boat. The exact model I wanted happened to be on a transport ship in the Mediterranean when I went shopping, so they sold me a car off that boat!
It's a hatchback, silver color, LTZ equipment level, supposed to be the highest they offer, only two submodels above it, one with leather seats, and another with a satnav which does not work locally, so it's actually meaningless to me.
I'm being very gentle with it just now, as suggested by the manual it should be driven gently for "several hundred kilometers", which I immediately understood as 1,000 km (app. 620 miles). Comes in handy anyway, to get a bit used to it. It won't take long, as its size is alsmost exactly the same as the car it replaces.
First impressions very good, also some small things which are bothersome. For example, the temperature setting knob of the air con is so placed that while driving, I can upset it inadevrtently with my knee - a lock function would have been welcome. Other than that, it's chock full of functions and capabilities, one really HAS to read the manual if only to see what he's got built in.
For the price, and it cost me a net sum of €14,629 (app. $19,500), there is NOTHING on the horizon to match it overall. A nearly equivalent Ford Focus would have set me back another €3,566 (app. $4,700).
As far as I can see, it's only technical glitch is that unlike the US market, in Europe it is NOT available with a 1.4 litre turbo engine, delivering the same HP but about 12% more torque; unfortunately, that engine is reserved for Opel Astra only, GM's own more upmarket product. This is their problem in Europe - they want to push Chevy, but have to VERY careful or they will compete with their own European prime brand, Opel of Germany.
BTW, that same Astra, with that turbo engine and same equipment, would have set me back €20,250 (app. $26,730) - definitely NOT worth the price difference of €5,621 (app. $7,420). The entire drivetrain, literally EVERYTHING underneath the skin, is made by Opel anyway.
And a juicy, sexy 5 year or 150,000 km international warranty.
MOST appropriately named "Cruze" - ideal for easy cruising, low petrol consumption, Euro 5 engine, very compact feel to it, like it was carved from one piece of metal, and extremely comfortable. Overall, I am more than pleased.
It's a hatchback, silver color, LTZ equipment level, supposed to be the highest they offer, only two submodels above it, one with leather seats, and another with a satnav which does not work locally, so it's actually meaningless to me.
I'm being very gentle with it just now, as suggested by the manual it should be driven gently for "several hundred kilometers", which I immediately understood as 1,000 km (app. 620 miles). Comes in handy anyway, to get a bit used to it. It won't take long, as its size is alsmost exactly the same as the car it replaces.
First impressions very good, also some small things which are bothersome. For example, the temperature setting knob of the air con is so placed that while driving, I can upset it inadevrtently with my knee - a lock function would have been welcome. Other than that, it's chock full of functions and capabilities, one really HAS to read the manual if only to see what he's got built in.
For the price, and it cost me a net sum of €14,629 (app. $19,500), there is NOTHING on the horizon to match it overall. A nearly equivalent Ford Focus would have set me back another €3,566 (app. $4,700).
As far as I can see, it's only technical glitch is that unlike the US market, in Europe it is NOT available with a 1.4 litre turbo engine, delivering the same HP but about 12% more torque; unfortunately, that engine is reserved for Opel Astra only, GM's own more upmarket product. This is their problem in Europe - they want to push Chevy, but have to VERY careful or they will compete with their own European prime brand, Opel of Germany.
BTW, that same Astra, with that turbo engine and same equipment, would have set me back €20,250 (app. $26,730) - definitely NOT worth the price difference of €5,621 (app. $7,420). The entire drivetrain, literally EVERYTHING underneath the skin, is made by Opel anyway.
And a juicy, sexy 5 year or 150,000 km international warranty.
MOST appropriately named "Cruze" - ideal for easy cruising, low petrol consumption, Euro 5 engine, very compact feel to it, like it was carved from one piece of metal, and extremely comfortable. Overall, I am more than pleased.
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Actually the show will not disappear, they are in the process of repackaging the existing shows for re-release after the last new shows air. (According to Doug Berman who produces the show.) Apparently they have enough material for 7 - 8 yrs worth before they start repeating - of course some of the more car specific stuff could end up sounding rather dated..
Here are the details from WBUR, the station that produces the show: http://www.wbur.org/2012/06/08/car-talk- Status
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