Buy a New Diesel In CA, NY, MA, ME, VT From a Dealer ... While You Can.
I wonder if this applies to other Diesels, or just the Touareg.
From the NY Times (
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/17/autom ... BLOCK.html ):
Around the Block
A Diesel Sold Everywhere (for a Limited Time)
By EZRA DYER
Published: December 17, 2006
TESTED: 2006 Volkswagen Touareg V-10 TDI
WHAT IS IT? Four-door midsize luxury S.U.V.
HOW MUCH? $59,690 base, $63,540 as tested with $3,350 Navigation Plus Package (navigation system, rear camera and 11-speaker audio system) and $500 trailer hitch.
WHAT’S UNDER THE HOOD? A 5-liter diesel V-10 with twin turbochargers (310 horsepower, 553 pound-feet of torque); 6-speed automatic transmission.
E.P.A. MILEAGE: 17 m.p.g. city, 22 highway.
EUROPEANS get all the cool diesels. A few months ago in Italy, I drove a diesel-powered Saab 9-3 convertible that did 125 miles an hour on the autostrada and returned 45 m.p.g. at more relaxed speeds. Modern diesels get hybridlike fuel economy without the complexity and wonky driving experience of a full hybrid.
With monstrous torque, they’re relaxed on the highway and don’t need to rev hard to keep pace in stop-and-go traffic. And lest you think diesels represent some kind of worthy hardship, a grim penance in the name of economy, consider that 67 percent of the BMW’s sold in Europe are diesels. So why don’t we have more of them here?
It all comes down to emissions laws — especially California’s. Getting a diesel engine to meet California’s rules is harder than getting a salary concession out of Scott Boras. New York, Massachusetts, Maine and Vermont also adhere to California standards, which takes a huge chunk of the market out of play. To paraphrase the Soup Nazi, then, “No diesel for you!”
So how is it possible that right now you can walk into a Volkswagen dealership in Vermont — where the haze in the air doesn’t necessarily come from tailpipes, if you know what I’m saying — and buy a Touareg S.U.V. stuffed with a take-no-prisoners, 310-horsepower twin-turbo diesel V-10?
It’s all about timing.
Volkswagen took a look at its calendar and realized that the last few months of 2006 presented an opportunity to sell its monster V-10 Touareg in all 50 states. (The Touareg V-10 TDI was last available in 2004 as a 45-state model).
The opportunity arose after the United States finally rolled out ultra-low-sulfur diesel fuel in September. The low-sulfur fuel permits the use of a particulate filter, which, in combination with the cleaner fuel, allows the engine to meet California emissions standards — 2006-level California emissions standards.
The regulations ratchet up to a new degree of severity on Jan. 1, at which point the mighty diesel will once again be motora non grata in Manhattan, N.Y., and Manhattan Beach, Calif.
Still, however, VW can sell 2006-model Touareg V-10s in all 50 states into 2007, until the ones it has imported (750 or so) are sold off. The company estimates that the supply will be gone by March.
Audi, BMW, Ford, DaimlerChrysler, Honda, General Motors and VW are among the companies working on 50-state diesels for introduction in 2008 and 2009, so the ’06 Touareg diesel can be thought of as a preview of good things to come.
With 553 pound-feet of torque, a prod of the accelerator sends the Touareg surging forward, often with a chirp from the front tires as the all-wheel-drive system shuffles power to cope with the thrust. While the V-10 isn’t as quick to 60 m.p.h. as the 350-horsepower gasoline V-8 (7.5 vs. 7.1 seconds, according to VW), it feels as if it wouldn’t be much slower while, say, towing a Boeing 747 down a runway. In fact, VW recently engaged in a bit of showmanship by doing exactly that, using a V-10 Touareg to tow a 155-ton 747 about 150 yards.
While the V10’s official tow rating of 7,716 pounds isn’t any higher than the V-8’s, the V-10 is the one that would give your horses whiplash back in the trailer. (As I am very much against horse whiplash, I recommend towing only boats and inanimate objects with the Touareg V-10). As you’d expect, the diesel gets moderately better fuel economy, 22 m.p.g. on the highway to the V-8’s 19.
One other thing: the V-10 costs a bit more than the V-8. As in $16,030 more — $59,690 versus $43,660. So there’s really no objective reason to buy this thing. You just have to want it because it’s cool, it’s exclusive and it puts a big smile on your face when those turbos light up and your 5,924-pound S.U.V. rockets forward as if it weighs less than a Miata.
With respectable fuel economy and prodigious power, the 2006 Touareg V-10 TDI is a foreshadowing of America’s diesel future that you happen to be able to buy right now. Even in California.
_________________
'05 CRD, Midnight Blue. Every option. Nice ride, idles like a garbage truck
Login
Register
FAQ
Search
