AlpinaRacerX

Audi wants diesel option in most of its U.S. lineup by 2015 Challenge accepted! I’ve been researching this stuff for years, it’s part of my job. Simple facts: 1.) to produce a X amount of diesel you need way more crude oil then to produce the same X amount of gasoline. Since this is not offset by the better mpg of diesel engines, this means that if more and more people start driving diesel cars, we will need way more crude oil! That is not the direction we should be going!!! 2.) although modern diesel engines emit slightly less CO2 then comparable gasoline engines, they emit far more fine particles! CO2 is bad because of climate change, but cows are worse then cars, since a cow fart (methane) is 23 times worse then CO2! So by eating only a little less meat you can offset your CO2 emissions far more positive than trading in your Hummer, Ferrari and ‘69 Charger for one Prius. CO2 is not directly harmful for humans (it’s what we exhale), fine particles on the other hand immediately cause asthma, cancer and all other kinds of chronic diseases that kill people! Various recent university studies in several different countries have shown that. Indeed in the UK diesel is more expensive than regular gasoline, premium is more expensive than diesel. But in ALL (except two) other EU countries diesel is cheaper then gasoline: Italy, Netherlands, Belgium, France, Germany, Portugal, Austria, Denmark, Finland, Norway, Czech Republic, Poland, etc. Only in Sweden and Portugal it’s about the same price, but premium gas is more expensive. Look it up. Yes, I have been to Europe, born and raised there and currently spend 40% of my time there. Yes, Europe is old, as a student I lived in a building from 1301! But old does not mean dirty. I’m talking about the soot that sticks on the buildings, that has nothing to do with the age of the buildings. Just compare France (very high percentage of diesel vehicles) to Germany (lower percentage of diesel vehicles). As a frequent visitor to both countries I can tell you the difference is very apparent. Until recently I worked as a design engineer for VAG in Germany, I had many different company loaner cars, mainly Audis. So I know the TDIs and TSIs very well. Your statement about the diesel particle filter is just plain false. Go stand behind a brand new VAG TDI when it takes off fast at a stoplight, you’ll see and smell the soot. Of course there has been a huge reduction of soot and other harmful fine particles with the particle filter, but there’s still more of that stuff coming out of a diesel tailpipe than a gasoline tailpipe. There has been only one statement like you made and that was for the Porsche 911 Turbo. Porsche claimed that the engine and catalytic converters were so advanced that while driving in one of the dirtiest cities in the world, Mexico-City, the air would come out the tailpipe cleaner then it went in the engine. Of course the 911 Turbo is a gasoline engine… I love the technology and power deliverance of the TDI, it’s a great engine. And it has a lot of advantages over some (older) gasoline engines (better MPG and torque), mainly because of the use of a turbo, remember diesels only became popular for the average public since the turbo diesel was introduced for passenger cars. But now with the turbo gasoline engines going mainstream like the TSI (VAG), EcoBoost (Ford), etc. (Saab has been doing this for 30 years, GM copied that technology from them) the advantages of diesel engines are getting smaller. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t want to bash diesel cars and say that they are bad cars, not at all, they are great (I just had a 335d coupe as a loaner for 2 months, awesome car) I’m just saying that from an economic, environmental and oil-dependency point of view a modern gasoline engine is the better choice, especially for the US. Also you should realize that demand is something that is 90% of the time created by someone, often a business. Why Audi (and BMW) instigates this demand in the US is because they have a significant lead on their US and Asian competitors in the luxury car diesel segment. I suggest next time YOU do some research first before you accuse someone of making rash statements ;-)

Audi wants diesel option in most of its U.S. lineup by 2015 The reason why so many Europeans drive diesels is because a liter diesel in Europe is way cheaper then a liter gasoline! The European governments subsidize businesses by taxing diesel less then gasoline. For example in the Netherlands a liter gasoline costs 1.42 Euro of which 0.7196 is tax, a liter diesel costs 1.13 Euro of which just 0.4164 is tax! Regular European citizens more and more started driving diesels as well to save some money....and see what happened to the big European cities, look at the buildings, they have become black! As a European living in the US I can tell you the air quality in the big European cities is way worse then the air quality in the big American cities! Europe should change their taxation on fuels! Tax diesel at least the same as gasoline, more fair would be a higher tax, since diesel cars use up more crude oil then gasoline cars and diesel cars are far worse for air quality! So Americans, please do NOT buy a diesel car!

The Stig strikes out on his own Good riddance! I heard this guy wasn't the Stig all the time...so I guess, Clarkson, May and Hamster still have another tame racing driver hidden away somewhere...the real Stig?!? ;-)

2012 Saab 9-4X caught in pre-production trim Badge engineered Cadillac SRX made in Mexico. A relic from Saab's GM days...

Peugeot HR1 Concept bows in Paris Cool 50's a-pillars!

Audi quattro concept surprises in Paris [video] Nice! Besides that it looks like the original Quattro, it also reminds me of the original über-cool Lancia Delta Integrale...Audi's big rival in rally back in the day.

Saab and BMW agree to share engines - report A 222hp BMW engine...I guess that's BMW's long awaited turbo 4 cylinder gasoline engine. That's a smart move for Saab, not so much for BMW. That will mean the new 9-3 will have the same engine as the new 3-series, both scheduled for 2012. Why would BMW supply a direct competitor with their engines?!? The engines are one of BMW's unique selling points... I thought Saab and BMW would cooperate only on the Mini platform and engine. Which would make sense since BMW already cooperated with Mercedes and PSA for various Mini parts. Hmm...let's see how this all will work out...

Further BMW X4 details surface This mule is very likely NOT a X4 mule, but a 3er GT mule. The 3er GT will be based on either the 5er or new 3er (2012) platform. A 3er GT makes much sense. Compaired tho the 3er sedan and touring it wil have a higher instep, practical loading and look more sporty and classy then a Touring...babyboomers and GenX'ers will love it. The 5er GT is selling pretty good especially in Europe. BMW officially admitted making a mistake with the US launch of the 5er GT, launching with the 550i GT instead of (or also with) the 535i GT. Producing a X4 aka 'baby X6' would be a pretty dumb move by BMW. According to various sources, BMW more or less unoficially admitted the X6 isn't as big a success (understatement) as BMW expected it to be. The X6 also isn't BMW dealerships favorite model...let alone what the critics are saying. Quote of Pulitzer prize winning automotive journalist Dan Neil: "The BMW X6 makes as much sense as a laminated pizza". Brilliant!

Fiat 500 Ferrari Dealers Edition with 268 PS by Pogea Racing Wow...how did they get that additional 100+ hp???

2011 Mercedes-Benz CL facelift revealed - public debut at Goodwood FOS 2010 [video] More like Audi lights...IMHO car companies should stop using the leftover X-mas decorations to 'style' their cars...