Filed under: Diesel, Volkswagen, Chicago Auto Show
Chicago 2008: VW Jetta CleanTDI to start hitting dealers in June
The long wait for the new fifty-state legal VW Jetta CleanTDI is almost over. After a delay from the original March launch date to finish certification, the first batch of 1,000 diesel Jettas will arrive at dealers in the US and Canada in June. You won't be able to actually buy one at that point because each dealer will only get one car. The cars will be used as demonstrators for test drives through the summer to re-introduce potential buyers to the new powertrain. In late August, VW will start shipping cars to dealers in earnest for sale to any and all. No pricing yet but VW has previously indicated that the diesel would run about $2,000 extra just like the previous-generation model.
[Source: Diesel Forecast]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
D. See 4:54PM (2/07/2008)
Is the CleanTDI urea-based?
Great to see VW bringing back diesels. I had a '99 New Beetle TDI which had a GREAT motor, but the rest of the car broke way too often.
If VW can fix the issues with their electronic gremlins, constantly-burning-out headlight bulbs, poor switchgear, and various creaks & rattles, I'll be the first one to the door for a new TDI.
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ivo 5:20PM (2/07/2008)
D.See -> from your posts, you also want to buy immediately! a Toyota, Volvo and Ford diesel.
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rgseidl 5:33PM (2/07/2008)
@ D.See -
the Jetta TDI features a relatively small engine (2.5L displacement) for which a lean NOx trap is more economical than an SCR system (urea injection). Both approaches are effective and by now sufficiently mature to apply in the exhaust systems of T2B5 diesels.
Note that LNTs do not require maintaining an additive tank. However, they are extremely sensitive to catalyst poisoning by sulfur. Do not fill up with anything but ULSD or whichever biodiesel blend the manufacturer has approved - in particular, you MUST avoid low sulfur diesel (500ppm). By law, any pump still dispensing this inferior grade must now be clearly marked with a sticker.
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Jimmy 5:56PM (2/07/2008)
rgseidl: engine has 2.0-liter displacement
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AZEqualizer 7:18PM (2/07/2008)
What a waste of time.... build em and ship them in VW... you have admitted that it is the most searched for vehicle on your web site and most requested vehicle that the dealers are getting calls on- by people from the US ... they don't want them reintroduced they want to buy them. You want to surpass Toyota in Sales? This isn't the way.
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Bill 7:36PM (2/07/2008)
These will all sell out well before the end of the year.
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Ryan 10:21PM (2/07/2008)
who the F*&^ needs to be reintroduced to this car?? we've wanted this thing the whole time. just look at the damn resale prices for used jettas golfs and beetles. it's damn outragous. (I'd feel better about that if I owned one.) Bring us compact diesles damnit! NOW!
the crappy thing is the stealerships will probably mark these up even more than the $2k bump.
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Rich 6:45AM (2/08/2008)
The game dealers seem to be playing is that the car you happen to want is always for some reason in short supply. So there is no price break because of demand. What a racket! Deliberately play this game to keep dealers from slashing prices.
Too bad for them - I don't play games. Lower the price or I drive something else. Or better yet I barely drive at all now. I've structured my life so now I'm only driving < 5k miles per year.
Bottom line: they lose and I win.
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Jim 7:12AM (2/08/2008)
"the crappy thing is the stealerships will probably mark these up even more than the $2k bump."
Ain't that the truth. Good luck getting one until early '09, or be ready to stand in line. My brother's '99 TDI Jetta is worth nearly as much now as it was when he bought it used in '02, five years ago.
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Chris 7:49AM (2/08/2008)
Stick the damn diesel in the covertible please! Damn if the one thing I can't stand about current hybrids and upcoming diesels is that none of them involve a fun car!
Anyone have the mileage figures for this car? Let alone expected pricing? I already average 35mpg in my 07 Civic Ex.... so for me to move another vehicle, especially diesel, its going to have to top that and then some since diesel is already more expensive than premium; which I don't use
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rgseidl 10:24AM (2/08/2008)
I'm guessing the whole "re-introduction" ploy has less to do with production capacity than with a desire to validate the pricing strategy. That lean NOx trap is seriously expensive - lots of precious metals - yet VW is talking about keeping the MRSP diesel markup at $2k regardless. On past experience with three-way catalysts, DPFs etc., consumers do want clean exhaust gases. They just don't want to pay much for the feature.
Giving the LNT away for free would not be good for VW's profits, especially if the exchange rate is already very unfavorable. Therefore, they create a bogus product shortage that lets their US dealers avoid deep discounts. If customer demand for small diesels turns out to be really high, VW will jack up the MRSP and produce more of them.
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John Harlan 10:25AM (2/08/2008)
These cars will get good milage, but a slight increase in the demand for diesel fuel will result in an increase in the price of diesel compared to gasoline/ethanol, so the cost savings will be mitigated by supply and demand. Also there is relatively more carbon in diesel than there is in gasoline so more CO2 is produced per gallon than in burning gas.
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Bill 10:48AM (2/08/2008)
It will be a long time before diesel adoption in passenger vehicles has any significant impact on diesel demand - commercial vehicles drive diesel consumption here in the U.S.
And although diesel has slightly more carbon than gasoline, the diesel cycle itself is MUCH more efficient than Otto/Atkinson cycles.
So you'd have to measure the CO2 output for both the diesel and gasoline version of the same vehicle to know.
Personally, I doubt those U.S. consumers clamoring for 50 state diesels care about CO2 so much as MPG.
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Zigster 11:15AM (2/08/2008)
"The game dealers seem to be playing is that the car you happen to want is always for some reason in short supply."
i think vw has one of the highest unsold inventories in the us, but none of that is diesel. So this is not really an artificial situation.
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Karkus 12:36PM (2/08/2008)
Yep, you can expect to pay above MSRP for the new TDIs for a while. This happens anytime a hot new car comes out (Miata), especially one for in which there is new technology for which it takes a while to get the production scaled up (Prius batteries).
Car companies are designed to MAKE MONEY, not save the earth. So VW is doing it right (regardless of whether the strategy is intentional or not). Drum up enthusiasm, then introduce a limited quantity to drive up prices and profits.
But really, VW should be able to charge a little more for this car. It looks like a utilitarian high MPG vehicle that will save you lots in the long term (assuming they don't have the traditional VW problems).
Besides, they will only crank up production for the US if they can make money. With the falling US dollar and expensive emissions requirements, that will be tough - unless they can generate lots of interest and sell it for a little more.
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dean 3:48PM (2/08/2008)
Chris-
mileage should be similar to the 06 Jetta diesel. Many people AVERAGE 45 mpg. It looks like you do a lot of freeway driving (Civic gets 35mpg freeway), so you could consistently hit 50+ mpg with the Jetta diesel, possibly more with the Rabbit.
And I agree, if they stuck diesels in "fun" cars (put a diesel in a GTI), it would help get rid of the mindset that diesels are slow. Idea: GTI-D. 2 liter, 200 hp, 280 lb-ft, sporty suspension. I'd get that over a GTI in a heart-beat, and it would still get 30+ mpg city.
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Patrick 4:15PM (2/08/2008)
Chris,
The VW website under the Sportwagen section is currently claiming EPA highway estimates of mid-50s and city estimates of mid-40s.
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O 4:54PM (2/08/2008)
@John: the carbon content of diesel on per gallon basis is a bit more, but the efficiency of diesel engine is bigger factor. The proper comparison is CO2 emitted per mile which automatically corrects for heat content. Compare diesel to gas this way and there is often a big difference in the two.
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A 2:16PM (2/10/2008)
Hwy MPG will be at or near 60 MPG. This is the main reason for the delay. Think of the advertising once this hits...The VW engineers are tweeking to attain highest possible EPA rating and also to make sure the cars are 100% quality-wise. VW is on the verge of a major comeback in the US including a US plant. This and the many diesel models coming will be the backbone of the comeback strategy.
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Karkus 11:35AM (2/11/2008)
60 MPG hwy ???? NOT. Maybe if you live in England, but certainly not in US gallons (which are 20% smaller).
In the UK test, a 2.0 Jetta DSG TDI with DPF gets 56.5 Imperial Gallon MPG.
http://www.vcacarfueldata.org.uk/search/
That's 47 MPG US, then subtract a few MPGs for the tougher US test, and maybe add a few back for "tweaking", and I still don't see how it will exceed 50 MPG highway.
Still, that will make it a great road trip/highway commuting car.
Also, it's pretty well known that VW is delaying their TDIs for emissions control reasons, not "tweaking" or quality assurance.
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