Shrimpy

We bought my wife a new TDI VW Jetta last May (06). We filled out all the marketing questionaires that VW sent hopeing to win some free stuff.

Last week my wife recieves a call wanting her to participate in a market survey at a local Houston Hotel. At first she said no then they offered her $125.00. She agreed. Now she really likes her Jetta for kid hauling. Not the largest car we have ever owned, but the fuel bill is VERY reasonable. She has become quite knowledgeable about her car and enjoys driving it. We average right at 35+ mpg with 99.99% city driving, in Houstons heat and humidity.

She went to the event tonight and it was mainly question and answer. When they found out that they had a female who understand diesels, they invited her back to actually test drive 5 new diesel car models from differant manufactures. They will be doing city driving with a same sex representative from the respective companies. It starts at 10:00 am tomorrow and they said to expect it to take 2.5 to 3 hours.

Guess what the vehicles are................1. BMW, 3 and 5 series. 2. Audi, A6 and A8. 3. Mercedes, SUV. 4. VW, not sure of body style. They had the new Jetta Diesel on hand tonight, but they did not drive.

And the best part..................$250.00 for her time!!!!!!!!!!!

I'll report back tomorrow on another thread.......

Jim

Shrimpy

Correction................

Only will get to drive the BMW. I misunderstood her (Like that could ever happen..........). At least she gets $125.00, not $250.00


Boy, do I feel like a

Jim

Marty86

Tell her to take pictures if they let her!

eddiebob

We have a 2006 E320 CDI that is used for special occasions and vacation. It gets 37-39 MPG on the highway doing 75 MPH. Pretty good for a full size sedan! My wife doesn't drive it because she would rather drive her truck.

mcoleman

Audi A8 diesel. I like the E320's also. Would love to have a early 2000ish or even a 99 model Mercedes E320.

signature600

A friend has one of those...200K+ miles on it and drive like brand new. Pretty peppy too. I was extremely impressed when I drove it last summer. Told him if he ever wanted to get rid of it to let me know...he just laughed

Chris

Shrimpy

She said the reps told them about diesels that may be state side sooner than most think. The Audi folks like the A8 and the Q SUV for the states. Problem is, upper mgmt is not convinced. The Luxo A8 would probably retail for upper 60's to low 80's. My wife and the others in the group all agreed that that was too much for a large majority of Americans (myself included). The group said from the high 40's down would be the bread and butter of an American diesel market to start, then slowly increase prices as the diesel catches on.

Believe it or not, but they said most car companies are still scared of how Americans will react to diesel vehicles. The group said to build it correctly and not use the public as a test source for new ideas (6.ooohhhhooohhh) and folks may surprise them.

P.S. No phots coming. They had to sign paperwork for no disclosure about the vehicle other than the brand name, and that it is a diesel. They encouraged them to tell their friends and neighbors, but not any proprietary info they may learn about.

Jim

Shrimpy

Well car was a Euro BMW 330 D. She said it drove very well, but no better than her Jetta. She said she was expecting more ride comfort from the BMW, but that blindfolded, she would not be able to tell the differance between the jetta and the BMW.

After the drive, she was "de-briefed" by a room full of suits, about 8 or 9 in all. Two were Asian guys who had folks interperting what she was saying for them. Later she learned they were from Honda motors, and Honda was doing the testing using BMW vehicles . They asked her many, many questions about how she percieved diesels, why she bought one, and her feelings on the environment.

She thinks they were looking to use the market research for advertising purpose only. She said they asked the same questions on pollution from cars and what she "thought" about 5 or 6 times, rephraseing it each time.

Jim

tmleadr03

When I started working on BMW's that was my first suprise, you get into one thinking its going to be the smoothest quietest ride you have gotten into. Actually they are just as loud as other cars, they just handle better in the extremes I think.

patdaly

Its simple, you want to make a gazillion dollars?

Take a 2007 Dodge Charger and a 2007 C220 MB Bluetec 4 cyl TDI, tie it all together with a 6 speed tranny from the C220, and sell it for 30K or under in std. config, 35-38 loaded. 30 plus city MPG/42 HWY MPG.

There isn't a CHANCE you could build the things fast enough.

But hey, they don't pay me to figure this stuff out, pity.

96_12V

Actually, the Germans and myself prefer something called the "quarter test" for ride quality. Drive over it, and you should be able to tell if it's heads or tails. Seriously, a BMW is not nor should it be deisgned to impress on a 45-minuite test drive. It simply takes longer to appreciate - think acquired taste and you're on the right track.

As it goes, I would take a 330d in a heartbeat. i would prefer an e-46 model as compared to a new e-90, which has some glaring ergonomic flaws, which, by the way, don't go away after a much longer test drive.

DieselBoost410

Well allow me to chime in a bit. I work for a very popular automotive supplier that specializes in common rail injection systems "cough" . Anyways, we have a marketing manager that spends her time planning events to showcase our diesel fleet. I have had a chance to drive some of these European cars, and I must say, diesel technology is just amazing and progressing even farther day by day. I do not understand why americans haven't fallen in love with these things....torquey, efficient and a blast...perfect for shooting in and out of traffic.

Case in point. I took an E320 CDI on a business trip. Averaged 41mpg in a large sedan with a ton of power. I loved it, and god willing, if I had the money, I wouldn't mind one.

My only advice is for us diesel nuts to keep supporting automakers by using the power of the dollar. 2010 holds some exciting new launches of vehicles too. Just be patient..trust me, I know about some upcoming launches that would make some of you guys drool....but for now my mouth is shut.

induchman

Most folks of my generation got stuck with GM's diesel menagerie and didn't like smelling diesel oil fumes. Today, that's all changed, cuz to me, gas stinks!

96_12V

Can't wait - I'll put up with odd design and "ergonomic flaws" for clean diesel technology & effiency. But you're right, 2010 is the KEY hurdle....

patdaly

How about getting YOUR bosses ( and the knuckleheads at the big 3 ) to LISTEN.

The problem isn't with the consumer, we have NOTHING TO BUY.

Oh sure, the more affluent of us can afford a MB yuppiemobile, but for the masses?

Seriously, build the Charger with the 4 Cyl C220 diesel and sell it at a reasonable price.

Do the same thing with the 1/2 Ton pickup, forget the V-8 Cummins, we want 30 plus MPG and reasonable acceleration.

Sorry, not yelling at you, but by God, one of these days someone in power will look past Marketing and try common sense.

Oops, VW did that, and we all know those Passat and Jetta TDI's don't sell.

How about it DC, got ANY guts?