VW Enters Hybrid Race

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06-26-2008, 04:51 AM

bwilson4web

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VW Enters Hybrid Race

http://www.riverwired.com/blog/vw-enters-hybrid-race

Quote:

Three Hybrids, One EV to Join Lineup in 2010
By Kristen Hall-Geisler

Volkswagen will have three hybrids, one of which will plug in, and an all-electric car in dealerships in 2010. The Touareg SUV and popular Rabbit hatchback will be available as hybrids, while the Jetta will be a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle.The electric car will be a limited edition of the new up! concept.

No word yet on how many of these four cars will actually hit the market in 2010. German-language car magazine Auto Motor und Sport reported that VW CEO Martin Winterkorn just recently announced the plan to build the green Vee-Dubs. The PHEV Jetta will -- theoretically -- be in good company, as GM is working furiously on the Volt and Toyota will offer a plug-in Prius.

...

I thought VW had once announced a hybrid and then withdrew the announcement?

Bob Wilson

06-26-2008, 06:46 AM

1stpik

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Re: VW Enters Hybrid Race

I thought the "hybrid race" was over. Toyota won. Honda finished a close second.

06-26-2008, 08:42 AM

doasc

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Re: VW Enters Hybrid Race

Quote:

Originally Posted by bwilson4web

http://www.riverwired.com/blog/vw-enters-hybrid-race

I thought VW had once announced a hybrid and then withdrew the announcement?

The website thetruthaboutcars.com reported that VW withdrew. They referenced a "print only" article in Auto, Motor und Sport. Ironically the article they referenced was online and didn't make the reference to VW's withdrawal. The sad thing is that several other websites made the same claim referencing the thetruthaboutcars.com article.

It is no surprise that thetruthaboutcars.com spread such misinformation. A quick look at the lsit of editorial articles:
General Motors Death Watch #182
Chrysler Suicide Watch #35
Ford Death Watch #45

Be skeptical of anything posted from thetruthaboutcars.com.

06-26-2008, 12:35 PM

doasc

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Re: VW Enters Hybrid Race

There are two articles in Auto Motor und Sport that give some details to VWs hybrid plans. They describe a "mild" Golf hybrid with start-stop automatic transmission being offered with the new generation Golf. They also state that the next generation Toureg and Jetta station wagon will be full hybrids with plug in capability. The hybrids will use Lithium-ion batteries and can be fully charged in 4-hours with 220-Volts (euro standard). The Golf hybrid prototype uses "Twin drive" as it's marketing name. The prototypes electric motor is capable of 120 kmh (75 miles per hour), has regenerative braking and Intelligent Drive control. Martin Winterkorn, VW CEO, stated that this will be a limited production and that the hybrid features will make it through the VW family of cars.

Current Article (German)
http://www.auto-motor-und-sport.de/n...3463_13987.hbs
Older Article (German)
http://www.auto-motor-und-sport.de/n...3278_13987.hbs

Unfortunately, I have also read that VW of US will continue with the current Rabbit (Golf) due to the high cost of retooling and may look to build a plant in the US (again!!). This would imply that the US wouldn't get any version of VW hybrid for a while.

I find 1stpik comments interesting, since the VW CEO has stated that he wants to be were Toyota is by 2010.

http://www.autoblog.com/2007/12/10/v...toyota-is-now/

06-26-2008, 10:09 PM

tballx

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Re: VW Enters Hybrid Race

I believe the golf diesel hybrid was shelved as the power plant would've been too expensive.

06-27-2008, 01:52 AM

bwilson4web

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Re: VW Enters Hybrid Race

http://blog.wired.com/cars/2008/06/vw-rolls-out-a.html

Quote:

...
Volkswagen's been toying with hybrids for awhile and got electric-vehicle advocates in a lather over the diesel-electric Golf it unveiled a few months ago. Now the company's promising a plug-in hybrid by 2010 and the German government's written a big check to make it happen.

VW boss Martin Winterkorn says gas and diesel engines will be around for a long time to come, but "the future belongs to all-electric cars." The automaker is staking a claim to that future with a plug-in hybrid drivetrain it calls Twin Drive. It will debut in a Golf fitted with a 122-horsepower diesel engine and an 82-horsepower electric motor.

"While the e-motor on a typical hybrid model just supplements the combustion engine, the exact opposite is true on Twin Drive," Winterkorn said during the car's unveiling in Berlin. "Here the diesel or gasoline engine supplements the e-motor."
...

Interesting, they are at the same point we were in 2000 before the hydrogen fool cell and CARB killed it.

Bob Wilson

06-27-2008, 05:50 AM

1stpik

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Re: VW Enters Hybrid Race

"he wants to be were Toyota is by 2010."

EVERY automaker wants to be where Toyota is by 2010. Problem is, they can't condense 15 years of R&D into a year and a half.

06-27-2008, 09:19 AM

doasc

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Re: VW Enters Hybrid Race

Quote:

Originally Posted by 1stpik

EVERY automaker wants to be where Toyota is by 2010. Problem is, they can't condense 15 years of R&D into a year and a half.

Hopefully Winterkorn, VW CEO, doesn't make the same mistakes Watanabe, Toyota CEO, did in it's quest to beat GM's sales. Who would have ever thought that GM could catch Toyota in production efficiency and Toyota would surpass GM in recalls.