Jetta TDI proving more popular than VW planned
Click above for high-res shots of the 2009 Volkswagen Jetta TDI
Volkswagen is reporting that its new 50-State legal clean diesel Jetta TDI has already sold out. U.S. dealerships had an allotment of 1,300 TDIs and those have all been spoken for. The good news is that VW of America is likely to get some more due to the popularity of the model in the States. Initial expectations were for 25-percent of sedan buyers and 33-percent of wagon buyers would go for the new diesel. In actuality, those numbers are a bit higher, with nearly a third of sedan buyers and half of all wagon buyers opting for the oil-burner.
VW says it isn't competing with the hybrid Toyota Prius, but in truth they are likely competitors in the eyes of many consumers. Though the two models run on different fuels, they are both sold primarily on the merits of their fuel savings and low emissions. What's more, they are priced fairly close to one another and both of them were efficient enough for the Feds to offer tax credits on them, though Toyota's hybrid credits have run out. In any case, VW will begin offering the TDI engine in the Rabbit sometime next year and more may be on the way after that.
[Source: Automotive News - sub. req'd]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
bruce 7:15PM (10/03/2008)
It's great that VW is having such success with diesels. But the irony is that as long as the supply remains (artificially) low, they will still be able to command absurd markups, and customers on the waiting list will continue to get screwed out of their position in line because someone else was willing to pay more.
It's tough to rationalize buying a car to save money in such a seller's market. Everyone in the USA would benefit from some competition, in the form of a smaller, more economical diesel car.
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Paul Sallmen 1:59AM (10/04/2008)
Bruce, I can't imagine VW makes a lot of money on these cars. The US market is one of the cheapest car markets in the world, and that'll only continue as the US dollar loses more value (something that $700 billion theft will contribute to).
Look what Germans are paying for diesels:
http://www.volkswagen.de/vwcms_publish/vwcms/master_public/virtualmaster/de3/beratungundkauf/neuwagen/preisfinder.html?ModelType=3
Will Americans be willing to pay more for diesels? I would imagine, yes, if the price of gas keeps going up. It's dropped a little as of late, but clearly the trend will be to continue upwards.
RB 8:21AM (10/06/2008)
I think he is referring to the excessive dealer mark-ups caused by the low inventory.
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Mike 5:46PM (10/06/2008)
Has anyone looked at the cost per mile savings. Diesel in these parts runs about 50 cents a gallon higher that regular. Meaing cars getting 30 miles and paying $3.50 gallon are more economical than 48 mpg diesels paying $4.00.
Is VW counting on diesel to get cheaper?
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Bob Buck 8:08PM (10/07/2008)
Hey Mike you need to go back to math class
The fuel is 15% more expensive
While going from 30 to 48 mpG is over 50% more efficient.
to put in simpleton terms
$4.00/48 mpg= 8.3 cents/mile for diesel
$3.50/30 mpg=11.7 cents/mile for gas
29% savings in fuel cost
If you are driving 15K miles per year, thats a savings of
about $500/year.
montoym 7:48PM (10/06/2008)
That may be the going price where you are, but that's not really typical. However, it is getting closer to that as the prices continue to fall. Gas prices seem to be faling faster than diesel of late(this week anyhow). But I expect diesel to catch up. It was also lagging when prices went up as well. At least for me locally, I didn't see diesel prices climb as fast as gas.
From a national standpoint, as of today, ULSD prices are $3.887/gal with regular Unleaded at $3.484/gal. That is a 40 cent difference, but compared to last weeks prices, gas made a 14.8 cent drop compared to diesel's 8.2cent drop. Last week's average showed diesel being 33 cents higher than regular unleaded($3.96 vs $3.63).
So, on to the math where you are horribly incorrect.
You can't take a 30mpg gas car and compare it to a 48mpg diesel car and state that they are the same since the diesel's fuel costs 50cents more per gallon. I'm really not sure how you determined that and you didn't explain it.
Here are some more accurate figures.
In simple terms, 48mpg is 60% better than 30mpg. So, to be equal in cost, diesel would have to offset that 60% difference by being 60% more expensive. You don't have to be a mathematician to know that $4.00 isn't 60% higher than $3.50, it's actually slightly over 14% higher. So, there is a definite savings there and that's using your 50cent/gal difference.
Looking at it a bit more in depth, say you take a 100mile trip. In the 30mpg gas car, you used 3.33 gallons at a cost of $3.50/gal for a total cost of $11.65. In the 48mpg diesel car, you used 2.08 gallons at a cost of $4.00/gal for a total cost of $8.32. That's a difference of $3.33/100 miles or 3.3cents/mile.
The gas vehicle would have to achieve 42mpg in order to equal the fuel cost of the diesel vehicle. Granted that's based solely on the prices you mentioned and it will change daily, but it's still a fairly significant difference.
Mike 8:45PM (10/06/2008)
Huh?
VekTor 8:53PM (10/06/2008)
Mike, your math is way, way off. Some simple algebra should tell you how to calculate the fuel premium that represents break-even. If you lack the skill, here's the end result:
To calculate the breakeven premium (extra amount to pay for diesel to break even):
P = (Dm * Gc) / Gm - Gc
P = Premium for break-even
Dm = Diesel miles per gallon
Gc = Gas Cost
Gm = Gas miles per gallon
Plugging in your numbers from your example, the break-even is $2.10 per gallon. Diesel would have to cost $5.60 when gas is $3.50 before the gas burner would break even on fuel costs.
As an exercise for the student, calculate what mileage a gas burner would need to make when gas is at $3.40 and diesel is at $3.97 as it is where I am (a $0.57 premium) to break-even against a 48 mph diesel.
Snowdog 9:21PM (10/07/2008)
Why not compare with a hybrid?
http://www.popularmechanics.com/automotive/new_cars/4284188.html?series=19
The Prius matches the new Jetta on the highway and beats it handily in the city while using regular gas.
For you car as appliance folks the Prius will still be the choice.
car guy 2:39PM (10/06/2008)
"Excessive dealer mark-ups." Like any business an auto dealer needs margin to keep the doors open. They need to make that margin where they can. Who does the dealer complain to about "excessive discounts" when he has to sell cars at a loss just to move them?
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bruce 1:11PM (10/08/2008)
"Who does the dealer complain to?" He complains to the higher-ups in Wolfsburg for not giving him something he can sell, or not giving him enough of what people want to buy.
I can't say I have any sympathy at all for the dealer in this situation, having been repeatedly lied to, gouged, and insulted by car dealers (VW and otherwise) over the years. Besides, when your business model essentially consists of buying something and re-selling it for more money, and providing service (as little as possible), you don't get to go crying for help when it doesn't work out.
Dooglas 5:24PM (10/07/2008)
There is more than a little fuzzy math going on here. VW thought they would sell 1,300 diesel Jettas and that would be 25% of all Jettas but it turned out to be 33%? Huh? In the last 5 months of this year or during the '09 model year or what? If VW could only sell 5200 Jettas in the US in the last several months of this year, they would have to fold up their tent and go back to Wolfsburg. I don't know where those numbers came from but they are wildly low.
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David 3:33PM (10/07/2008)
I own a 2002 VW Golf TDI and a 2005 VW Jetta Wagen TDI. The 02 Golf "only" has 296k miles on it (read: I drive a lot!).
There are 3 fundamental reasons why I drive a modern Turbo-DIESEL car and won't own anything that runs on gasoline ever again if I can help it (hybrids included - what a joke!): (1) Economy, (2) Longevity, and (3) Performance. I drive a lot, around 1k miles/week, so all 3 are important to me. No more gassers for me ever again if I can help it. All future vehicle purchases of mine shall be DIESEL vehicles. At 45 MPG while driving my TDIs like I stole them, the 700+ mile tank range on ~ 15 gallons of DIESEL also comes as a nice bonus.
Bring on the modern turbodiesel cars!
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Steve E 4:31PM (10/08/2008)
What about asthma-inducing emissions? Air pollution is still a major concern in most states, and this "legal-in-all-50" vehicle is still DIRTY. It gets an air pollution rating of 6 at epa.gov/greenvehicles (). That allows it to put off 3.5X as much NOx, 9X as much non-methane organic gasses, 2X as much CO, and 4.5X as much HCHO as the cleanest vehicles available (with 9 and 9.5 emissions ratings).
I've put a lot of miles on diesel engines, and I appreciate their mystique. They are a seemingly superior technology with a hint of counter-culture rebellion. Unfortunately, emissions from today's best diesel engines are still irresponsibly high. "Clean diesel" is still an oxymoron.
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