Jetta TDI Demos Generating Diesel Buzz
By John O'Dell June 30, 2008
Except for single demonstrator models in most dealerships, Volkswagen's 50-state legal diesel, the 2009 Jetta TDI, won't be in showrooms until August.
But early reports are that those demonstrators already are generating sales and enthusiasm fromVW and diesel fans.
In a blog posting late last week, salesman Jay Pichardo at Greenbriar Volkswagen in Chesapeake, Va., said that within 24 hours of its arrival at his dealership, the Jetta TDI demo car had been taken out for 13 test drives that had generated deposits from 10 would-be buyers.
The tester logged 120 miles during the drives and averaged 49 miles per gallon fuel economy, well above the 34 mpg that the EPA has estimated (although a more accurate representation of real-world mileage for gasoline-fueled cars and trucks, the new EPA ratings methodology penalizes diesels and hybrids)...
Green Car Advisor has calls in to several other dealerships to see what they are reporting and will update this item as soon as possible.
In the meantime, VW spokesman Keith Price said that the company's internal check with its U.S. dealers shows "that most of them have standing waiting lists for the TDIs," which are priced about $2,000 more than gasoline Jettas.
The high price of diesel fuel, averaging $4.76 a gallon this morning – about 17 percent above the average price of a gallon of unleaded regular gasoline – apparently hasn't put a damper on fans' enthusiasm for the fuel-sippy cars.
VW isn't alone is expecting that diesel sales won't suffer because of fuel price: Mercedes-Benz says it expects the BlueTec clean diesels it is introducing late this year and early next will soon account for 15% of its U.S. sales..
One reason diesel fuel prices don't seem to be hurting VW is that savvy consumers know that the previous diesel Jetta, a 2006 model that wasn't legal in California and several other states because it couldn't meet emissions standards, commands a hefty premium in the used car market, often selling at or above its new-car price.
Another is that those who are thinking beyond the price of a tank of fuel know that with a 30 percent or more fuel economy advantage over comparable gasoline models, the new clean diesels still provide an economic advantage.
John O'Dell, Senior Editor
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Interesting that diesel is making a comeback.
"(although a more accurate representation of real-world mileage for gasoline-fueled cars and trucks, the new EPA ratings methodology penalizes diesels and hybrids)"
Actually, it just penalizes diesels. One of the primary reasons for revamping the adjusted mileage computation for 2008 was to better represent hybrids. Previously, the EPA sticker numbers severely overestimated hybrid mileage (50s or 60s for Prius, for example). Now, hybrids are much better represented.
I've compared the real world mileage for every hybrid with more than 20 data entries in the 'fuel economy from drivers like you' database on www.fueleconomy.gov website to the 2008 combined 2008 EPA mileage figures. On a weighted average basis (over 1,000 drivers), the EPA combined only underestimated real world driver averages by 2.9%. This is not a bad thing; it means drivers would be pleasantly suprised to get a little better than the sticker.
The same weighted average comparison for diesels, however (vehicles with over 10 entries, over 220 total drivers), shows the 2008 EPA combined underestimates real world by 23%. That's a huge amount. That's a big enough difference to make potential customers shy away from the product in the first place, I think. If I were VW/M-B/Honda/Mitsubishi/Nissan etc., trying to introduce new diesels, I'd be pressing the EPA to make sure their adjusted mileage equations work as well for diesels as petrols and hybrids.
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