OT: Diesels are the way to go

#11

I rented a four cylinder Golf when I was in Spain. It was almost as peppy
as the four cylinder Renault I rented another time. There are plenty of
trees there, except in the dry central part which is a little like Western
Colorado. I could smell the Golf, but it was early morning, just after I
had rented it, and while it was warming up. The Avis guy and I were
standing right back of the rear bumper, shooting the breeze, and it was just
a faint smell you could barely detect. I would have no qualms about letting
these cars in the States, except for the block heater I would probably need
in Silverton.

Another time I was in the Bus Depot in Burgos, and a guy from LA started
having breathing difficulties. I was trying to remember the Spanish
equivalent of "911" but he just stuck his head down by the bus exhaust, and
was OK in a minute or two. (Third time I've used this story. Have to go
back soon and get another one. You old coots won't notice anyway.)

Earle

"Matt Macchiarolo" <matt (AT) nospamplease (DOT) com> wrote

Quote:

I stand corrected, BMW's 6-cyl diesels are straight 6-'s, I was confusing
them with the Mercedes V-6's.

After looking at the site a little closer, it very well could have been
the
four-cylinder, in which case I would be doubly impressed. Nothing on the
registration indicated number of cylinders, according to my German
friend...

"Matt Macchiarolo" <matt (AT) nospamplease (DOT) com> wrote in message
news:beCdnSf6FbIajrnbnZ2dnUVZ_qarnZ2d (AT) comcast (DOT) com...

"Jeff Strickland" <crwlr (AT) verizon (DOT) net> wrote in message
news:Q6UUh.1434$xL6.325 (AT) trnddc05 (DOT) ..
1.) Are you sure it was a V6? BMWs are usually inline 6s. BMWs usually
badge the trunk lid with the model, and there is a 330d rolling around
Europe. The 330i that is in our market is an I6, not a V6, I'm not sure
of the configuration of the diesel motors, but I thought they were an
I6
as well.

I checked out the BMW-Germany website and apparently BMW 3-series cars
in
Europe have two V-6 diesels available as well as two four-cylinder
diesels. There were no badges of any kind on the car except the BMW
logo.
Many cars over there were like that, my friend I was visiting says you
have to request the badges when ordering. I'm even guessing at the
number
of cylinders based on my fuel consumption and top speed, there was
nothing
under the hood that told me how many cylinders it had short of taking
the
plastic engine cover off. It did *sound* like a four, but I don't think
it
was.

2.) Personally, I hold diesel motors in VERY low regard. Having said
that, I took note recently of the Audi TDI cars running in the Le Mans
Series. They kick ass. I need to re-think my position on them.

This is not your father's diesel :-) I was pleasantly surprised at the
performance and smoothness of this engine. Incidentally, almost every
car
that passed me on the autobahn when I was going a decent clip (110mph)
was
an Audi, and was usually black and passed me as though I was standing
still :-)

"Matt Macchiarolo" <matt (AT) nospamplease (DOT) com> wrote in message
news:Xu6dnWc0Q_zIrL_bnZ2dnUVZ_rqhnZ2d (AT) comcast (DOT) com...
Hi all,

Just got back from Europe yesterday, my first time to Germany visiting
friends, and we rented a BMW 3-series touring sedan with one of their
diesel v-6's with the six-speed auto. I'm guessing it was the 330, but
not sure...there were no tags on the car that indicated the model and
the manual was in German. Anyway, driving that car around for a week
has
me convinced that the North American auto market is missing out big
time
on modern diesel technology. Performance was excellent, it had great
acceleration, it topped out at about 140mph (228kph...I love the
autobahn!) and I got a combined 6.8L/100km which translates to about
34.6 mpg while regularly running the autobahn at 100-110mph. It was
about as quiet as my wife's Saturn Aura, though the engine did make a
different sound, more like a four cylinder gas engine. And never once
did I catch a whiff of diesel exhaust stink.

Just thought I'd share...

--
---
Matt Macchiarolo
mlmacchiarolo at comcast dot net

#12

Earle Horton wrote:

Quote:

I rented a four cylinder Golf when I was in Spain. It was almost as
peppy as the four cylinder Renault I rented another time. There are
plenty of trees there, except in the dry central part which is a
little like Western Colorado. I could smell the Golf, but it was
early morning, just after I had rented it, and while it was warming
up. The Avis guy and I were standing right back of the rear bumper,
shooting the breeze, and it was just a faint smell you could barely
detect. I would have no qualms about letting these cars in the
States, except for the block heater I would probably need in
Silverton.

Keep in mind the diesel fuel they have over there is more refined
than what you find in the pumps here. They will still run on it
but the smell will be just like any other diesel on the road over
here.

I've driven the 4cyl Golf before, but I like the BMW +1 because
you can park four in a one-car garage.

It's like riding in
a pimped out gocart.

--
DougW

#13

"DougW" <post.replies (AT) invalid (DOT) address> wrote

Quote:

Earle Horton wrote:
I rented a four cylinder Golf when I was in Spain. It was almost as
peppy as the four cylinder Renault I rented another time. There are
plenty of trees there, except in the dry central part which is a
little like Western Colorado. I could smell the Golf, but it was
early morning, just after I had rented it, and while it was warming
up. The Avis guy and I were standing right back of the rear bumper,
shooting the breeze, and it was just a faint smell you could barely
detect. I would have no qualms about letting these cars in the
States, except for the block heater I would probably need in
Silverton.

Keep in mind the diesel fuel they have over there is more refined
than what you find in the pumps here. They will still run on it
but the smell will be just like any other diesel on the road over
here.

I've driven the 4cyl Golf before, but I like the BMW +1 because
you can park four in a one-car garage.

It's like riding in
a pimped out gocart.

You'd like the Smart Car then.

http://www.smartcar.com/

Earle

#14

When the bonnet is raised, one is allowed to count the exhaust tubes.

Geez Matt, what's wrong with you?

If you had the 6-speed trans, I'm all but certain you had a 6 under the
hood. I do not think the 6-speed is available with the 4 banger. Having said
that, if you squoze 130+ mph from a 4-banger diesel, I'd be impressed so
much that I suppose my eyes would water when I raised the hood -- I mean,
bonnet.

"Matt Macchiarolo" <matt (AT) nospamplease (DOT) com> wrote

Quote:

I stand corrected, BMW's 6-cyl diesels are straight 6-'s, I was confusing
them with the Mercedes V-6's.

After looking at the site a little closer, it very well could have been
the four-cylinder, in which case I would be doubly impressed. Nothing on
the registration indicated number of cylinders, according to my German
friend...

"Matt Macchiarolo" <matt (AT) nospamplease (DOT) com> wrote in message
news:beCdnSf6FbIajrnbnZ2dnUVZ_qarnZ2d (AT) comcast (DOT) com...

"Jeff Strickland" <crwlr (AT) verizon (DOT) net> wrote in message
news:Q6UUh.1434$xL6.325 (AT) trnddc05 (DOT) ..
1.) Are you sure it was a V6? BMWs are usually inline 6s. BMWs usually
badge the trunk lid with the model, and there is a 330d rolling around
Europe. The 330i that is in our market is an I6, not a V6, I'm not sure
of the configuration of the diesel motors, but I thought they were an I6
as well.

I checked out the BMW-Germany website and apparently BMW 3-series cars in
Europe have two V-6 diesels available as well as two four-cylinder
diesels. There were no badges of any kind on the car except the BMW logo.
Many cars over there were like that, my friend I was visiting says you
have to request the badges when ordering. I'm even guessing at the
number of cylinders based on my fuel consumption and top speed, there was
nothing under the hood that told me how many cylinders it had short of
taking the plastic engine cover off. It did *sound* like a four, but I
don't think it was.

2.) Personally, I hold diesel motors in VERY low regard. Having said
that, I took note recently of the Audi TDI cars running in the Le Mans
Series. They kick ass. I need to re-think my position on them.

This is not your father's diesel :-) I was pleasantly surprised at the
performance and smoothness of this engine. Incidentally, almost every car
that passed me on the autobahn when I was going a decent clip (110mph)
was an Audi, and was usually black and passed me as though I was standing
still :-)

"Matt Macchiarolo" <matt (AT) nospamplease (DOT) com> wrote in message
news:Xu6dnWc0Q_zIrL_bnZ2dnUVZ_rqhnZ2d (AT) comcast (DOT) com...
Hi all,

Just got back from Europe yesterday, my first time to Germany visiting
friends, and we rented a BMW 3-series touring sedan with one of their
diesel v-6's with the six-speed auto. I'm guessing it was the 330, but
not sure...there were no tags on the car that indicated the model and
the manual was in German. Anyway, driving that car around for a week
has me convinced that the North American auto market is missing out big
time on modern diesel technology. Performance was excellent, it had
great acceleration, it topped out at about 140mph (228kph...I love the
autobahn!) and I got a combined 6.8L/100km which translates to about
34.6 mpg while regularly running the autobahn at 100-110mph. It was
about as quiet as my wife's Saturn Aura, though the engine did make a
different sound, more like a four cylinder gas engine. And never once
did I catch a whiff of diesel exhaust stink.

Just thought I'd share...

--
---
Matt Macchiarolo
mlmacchiarolo at comcast dot net

#15

Earle Horton wrote:

Quote:

"DougW" wrote:

I've driven the 4cyl Golf before, but I like the BMW +1 because
you can park four in a one-car garage.

It's like riding in
a pimped out gocart.

You'd like the Smart Car then.

http://www.smartcar.com/

looks like the same vehicle. Gonna have to dig through the photos
and see if I had one of the rental.

--
DougW

#16

Earle Horton wrote:

Quote:

Another time I was in the Bus Depot in Burgos, and a guy from LA started
having breathing difficulties. I was trying to remember the Spanish
equivalent of "911" but he just stuck his head down by the bus exhaust, and
was OK in a minute or two. (Third time I've used this story. Have to go
back soon and get another one. You old coots won't notice anyway.)

Earle

Don't worry Earle, I noticed. Before I saw your disclaimer, I was
thinking "hey, he's told this story before. I'm definitely calling him out."
Let me know when you go back. I'm down for a trip to Spain.

#17

I don't know about all the specifics about deisel refinement, but I do know
in Europe the sulfur content used to be way lower. Not anymore, since ULS
diesel was mandated in the States this year.

"DougW" <post.replies (AT) invalid (DOT) address> wrote

Quote:

Earle Horton wrote:
I rented a four cylinder Golf when I was in Spain. It was almost as
peppy as the four cylinder Renault I rented another time. There are
plenty of trees there, except in the dry central part which is a
little like Western Colorado. I could smell the Golf, but it was
early morning, just after I had rented it, and while it was warming
up. The Avis guy and I were standing right back of the rear bumper,
shooting the breeze, and it was just a faint smell you could barely
detect. I would have no qualms about letting these cars in the
States, except for the block heater I would probably need in
Silverton.

Keep in mind the diesel fuel they have over there is more refined
than what you find in the pumps here. They will still run on it
but the smell will be just like any other diesel on the road over
here.

I've driven the 4cyl Golf before, but I like the BMW +1 because
you can park four in a one-car garage.

It's like riding in
a pimped out gocart.

--
DougW

#18

"Jeff Strickland" <crwlr (AT) verizon (DOT) net> wrote

Quote:

When the bonnet is raised, one is allowed to count the exhaust tubes.

Not when there is a huge plastic engine cover obtrsructing the ENTIRE
engine...I didn't have time to look too closely, I was too busy enjoying the
beer and schnitzel...

Quote:

Geez Matt, what's wrong with you?

If you had the 6-speed trans, I'm all but certain you had a 6 under the
hood. I do not think the 6-speed is available with the 4 banger. Having
said that, if you squoze 130+ mph from a 4-banger diesel, I'd be impressed
so much that I suppose my eyes would water when I raised the hood -- I
mean, bonnet.

It was the 6-speed manumatic, and that would be my guess as well. It took us

ten minutes to figure out how to start the damn thing, there is no standard
key...you fit the key fob in a slot in the dash, foot on the brake, and
press the start button. Then we had to figure out out to get the navigation
system to speak.display English instead of German...

Quote:

"Matt Macchiarolo" <matt (AT) nospamplease (DOT) com> wrote in message
news:fMGdnUwia9OJhLnbnZ2dnUVZ_qSrnZ2d (AT) comcast (DOT) com...
I stand corrected, BMW's 6-cyl diesels are straight 6-'s, I was confusing
them with the Mercedes V-6's.

After looking at the site a little closer, it very well could have been
the four-cylinder, in which case I would be doubly impressed. Nothing on
the registration indicated number of cylinders, according to my German
friend...

"Matt Macchiarolo" <matt (AT) nospamplease (DOT) com> wrote in message
news:beCdnSf6FbIajrnbnZ2dnUVZ_qarnZ2d (AT) comcast (DOT) com...

"Jeff Strickland" <crwlr (AT) verizon (DOT) net> wrote in message
news:Q6UUh.1434$xL6.325 (AT) trnddc05 (DOT) ..
1.) Are you sure it was a V6? BMWs are usually inline 6s. BMWs usually
badge the trunk lid with the model, and there is a 330d rolling around
Europe. The 330i that is in our market is an I6, not a V6, I'm not sure
of the configuration of the diesel motors, but I thought they were an
I6 as well.

I checked out the BMW-Germany website and apparently BMW 3-series cars
in Europe have two V-6 diesels available as well as two four-cylinder
diesels. There were no badges of any kind on the car except the BMW
logo. Many cars over there were like that, my friend I was visiting says
you have to request the badges when ordering. I'm even guessing at the
number of cylinders based on my fuel consumption and top speed, there
was nothing under the hood that told me how many cylinders it had short
of taking the plastic engine cover off. It did *sound* like a four, but
I don't think it was.

2.) Personally, I hold diesel motors in VERY low regard. Having said
that, I took note recently of the Audi TDI cars running in the Le Mans
Series. They kick ass. I need to re-think my position on them.

This is not your father's diesel :-) I was pleasantly surprised at the
performance and smoothness of this engine. Incidentally, almost every
car that passed me on the autobahn when I was going a decent clip
(110mph) was an Audi, and was usually black and passed me as though I
was standing still :-)

"Matt Macchiarolo" <matt (AT) nospamplease (DOT) com> wrote in message
news:Xu6dnWc0Q_zIrL_bnZ2dnUVZ_rqhnZ2d (AT) comcast (DOT) com...
Hi all,

Just got back from Europe yesterday, my first time to Germany visiting
friends, and we rented a BMW 3-series touring sedan with one of their
diesel v-6's with the six-speed auto. I'm guessing it was the 330, but
not sure...there were no tags on the car that indicated the model and
the manual was in German. Anyway, driving that car around for a week
has me convinced that the North American auto market is missing out
big time on modern diesel technology. Performance was excellent, it
had great acceleration, it topped out at about 140mph (228kph...I love
the autobahn!) and I got a combined 6.8L/100km which translates to
about 34.6 mpg while regularly running the autobahn at 100-110mph. It
was about as quiet as my wife's Saturn Aura, though the engine did
make a different sound, more like a four cylinder gas engine. And
never once did I catch a whiff of diesel exhaust stink.

Just thought I'd share...

--
---
Matt Macchiarolo
mlmacchiarolo at comcast dot net

Thread Tools	Search this Thread
Show Printable Version Email this Page	Search this Thread: Advanced Search
Display Modes
Linear Mode Switch to Hybrid Mode Switch to Threaded Mode

OT: Diesels are the way to go

Jeep and Willys Vehicles Discussions on Jeep and Willys vehicles. (rec.autos.makers.jeep+willys)

Re: Diesels are the way to go - 04-16-2007 , 08:16 PM

Re: Diesels are the way to go - 04-16-2007 , 08:40 PM

Re: Diesels are the way to go - 04-16-2007 , 08:49 PM

Re: Diesels are the way to go - 04-16-2007 , 09:12 PM

Re: Diesels are the way to go - 04-16-2007 , 09:29 PM

Re: Diesels are the way to go - 04-16-2007 , 10:40 PM

Re: Diesels are the way to go - 04-17-2007 , 06:44 AM

Re: Diesels are the way to go - 04-17-2007 , 06:48 AM