New VW TDI Commercial disses PRIUS

Thought this was a good come back....to bad it wasn't a REAL commerical on air.

 

I've been called a "fag" for driving a Prius a couple times. Some idiot at a Phillies game on Friday was screaming about "how can anyone can drive such an ugly car!!" (I don't know how anyone can live in a city and drive a pickup truck, but whatever he probably has a tiny unit). You have to have a bit of a thick skin to drive this car, especially with gas prices shooting up again.

Besides, the commercial is funny.

 

You think THAT's a good come back?
Obviously you haven't spent enough time scanning through our VERY own mileage thread . . . in particular, the stickey titled,
"I BEAT THE EPA ... POST 'EM HERE"

We of PC blow 'em all away ... actions speek louder than honda & Ford, & TDI blow hards, as you can see from many of our own posters ... too bad we changed servers, as we lost pages & pages of pic's just like these:




























So ... did I make my point? Well in case some need a ton of bricks dropping on your head ... WHO CARES if a TDI record is 58 or 72 or whether a Honda can get in the 70's or whether a Ford hybrid can make it into the 40's. A SH1p load of us are doing WAY better than they are ... and we're doing it more consistently. Let 'em have their day in the sun. Generally, no one's going to win over a Honda nut, or a TDI nut, or a Ford fan ... by over stating the obvious. We needn't say a thing.

.

 

why would we care what methods of advertisement they had used
if we know the truth?

is it better to drive a clean a quiet near ZEV or a car whose engine uses over a century old technology, a car that spews shi$$Y and stinky diesel fumes and that sounds so annoying?

I drove (and worked on) all kinds of cars, from a 500 cc FIAT to a Laborghini countach on which i had rebuilt the engine.
They were all fun/cool/impressive in what the intended purpose they had to fulfill, but when i bought my Prius and i stopped at first traffic light i was screaming how much i was laughing.

I just could not believe how cool it was to wait at the traffic light
with ICE off and AC occasionally cycling on and off on electric power while all other idiots were wasting the energy and polluting the environment.

Beat that you stinky diesel!

 

It's amazing to me that people say things like this out of the blue. Never experienced anything like that in any car before. (Not that I haven't had altercations--typically over dipsticks on cel phones, etc.) That would be one of those "Let's pull over and discuss it..." invitations. The cowards will never take you up on one of those. They are afraid of mussing their mullets apparently.

Typical come back is "How can anyone ride such an ugly wife/girlfriend/sister/cousin/mother/sasquatch?"

 

All that being said, who is likely to be up for a challenge starting near Dulles Airport over Labor Day weekend?

 

You guys are a harsh crowd. Most of the TDI crowd will at least recognize that a prius will beat out a tdi in city driving any day of the week.

And regarding the TDI's being slow, the 2009+ vehicles cannot be compared to the older models. They have a new engine that makes 40% more HP than the older ones. So a TDI vs. Prius race would be much closer than in the past.

There was even more vw propaganda regarding that:
youtube.com/watch?v=kqfsLcSUIJo

And for the record I signed up here on priuschat 3 years ago because more people here are serious about fuel economy than in the TDI crowd. I would bet the average prius owner does far better mileage wise on average than the typical TDI owner.

 

Aha, so this is the commecial folks have been talking about ....

'Guiness record 58 MPG ....'

And the common folks eat it up 'wow, better MPG's than a Prius'

I believe their EPA's are 30 city / 41 hwy

and I saw Diesel #2 priced just above Premium today.

I'd borrow one for the twisties though.

 

I'm not trying to be harsh, I'm just pissed off at all the Jetta owners I've met.

Every Jetta owner I know has constantly thrown out "It gets 40mpg" as if that is all it ever gets; and as if every Jetta gets that; in reality, at least according to the EPA, its only the 1.9-2.0 liter ones that get 40mpg (up to 41mpg actually) and they only get that on the highway. The same Jetta that gets 41mpg gets 30mpg in the city. The lowest I've ever been in my Prius is 32mpg; there was one time I got 26mpg, but that was with LOTS of "force charging" where I basically revved the engine hard while at a standstill, either to charge the battery or to generate cabin heat.

I like the Jetta. It looks ok, it rides ok, and the A/C is amazing, which means a lot to me; and its fuel economy is not shabby by far. If more people drove Jettas, it would be better for America.

Jettas have an advantage over the Prius in that you can generate Diesel from pretty much anything; I can never, and will never argue against this point, and its a pretty cool thing.

If the new Jettas have much better performance, then the Prius will be left in the dust by the majority of car buyers; already, a lot of people say the Jetta is "fun to drive"; if it had more power, more people will be persuaded. Personally, I have never had "fun" while driving, but I have had comfort; and I am more comfy in a Prius due in large part to its ability to shut off the engine at times.

When I was shopping for a new car before getting my Prius, I was looking at several vehicles, but was unaware of the VW Jetta. Had I been aware, I still would have bought the Prius, because it does nifty things that only hybrids can do. My favorite: when idling, the A/C on the Prius stays on for quite a while (up to 30 minutes at the coldest setting) with the engine off. Also good is optional EV mode driving.

I still recognize the Jetta as more mainstream though. However, at the same time, I also like to refute any mistruths about either vehicle.

 

Doesn't it make so much sense not to burn gas when not needed? Like when stopped, braking, downhill, creeping, rolling in the lot ....

I don't know how many times over the Gen3 will outsell Jetta TDI's, but it will be a lot (maybe 10 to 1?)

 

That wasn't my experience when I was around tdiclub for a couple of months. That was a couple of years ago though, so maybe things have changed. Ironically enough, when you have head to head reviews (i.e. reviews that run the same type of highway route, you see little difference between the highway mpg between the TDI and the Prius.)

2004 Comparison:
Prius -- 52/50
Jetta GLS TDI--- 33/42

2008 Comparison:
2008 Prius -- 44.7/44.8
2009 Jetta TDI --- 32/45.4

Neither can the 2010 prius be compared to older models, considering the increase in HP, speed, and FE to Gen 1 and Gen 2. The 09 TDI vs 10 Prius head to head comparisons under the same conditions will come soon enough I imagine and until then older comparisons or one driver to another are likely to be apples to oranges.

Good to hear, the more people interested in FE the better! I saw the difference in fuel economy emphasis too, I was kinda surprised about the lack of fuel economy being a concern on tdiclub (except for the monthly mpg competition). I must admit though that the focus on PC isn't as strong across the board as it used to be, but still probably much more than the typical automotive fan site I bet.

 

Keep in mind that pretty much every fuel injected car injects no fuel while braking(in gear), or rolling downhill(in gear).

I agree it totally makes sense though. If my jetta could pull that off reliably on top of being a TDI, I would love to have it. I'd also love if the aerodynamics of my jetta could approach that of the prius. If I could have touched a hybrid for the price I paid for my used TDI 5 years ago when I bought it, I might be driving a different car today. But we can't have everything. So I am stuck with mid 30's fuel economy around town, but pull a respectable low 50's on the highway. Lifetime average of 46mpg.

Prius is the only vehicle I have been pushing for my family to get though. Reliability + their mostly city driving wins out.

 

Yes! Lol! When I found that out about the Prius, I was like, "Why don't they [cars] all do this???!??"

I think ALL vehicles should be hybrids because of that....the cool thing is, the way Toyota has implemented it, there would be NO NEGATIVES.

People could still rev up their engine at a red light - just press the accelerator pedal. Nothing new there!

If all cars could have engine-off idles with A/C running too then less fuel would be burned, stress levels would go down, noise would go down, emissions would go down, comfort would increase...

Nothing negative would happen in the performance world - you can still rev up your engine, and with the engine off, there is no way the other guy can't hear you when you talk sh** to him! Plus, that whole thing about "electric motors add massive torque and aid acceleration as well as increasing fuel economy" (pretty big concern when you are using expensive racing fuel).

___

I am curious to see how the new Jetta with a more powerful engine will fare against a Prius with a more powerful engine (and better fuel economy, and more space, and, as always, way more cool technology). The rest of this year will be very interesting!

 

True. I can't remember if they were any kinds of hybrid, whether full or mild, but I recall reading that a lot of, I think Chevrolet vehicles, have been fitted such that the engine turns off when at a red light, then can be re-ignited within 500ms when the accelerator is pressed. That is an improvement that I can totally get behind, but my concern is that they almost certainly still re-ignite the engine when A/C is turned on, and that's why I think all cars should be hybrids, even if it just means the car has a second battery that is twice as big as a 12 volt.

Indeed. I was lucky to get mine as a salvage - some might say that wasn't lucky, but I drive carefully anyway and the Prius has so far impressed me immensely with the number of accidents I have successfully pulled out of, whereas with the Jeep I had before, I'm sure I would have had a collision in those same situations. Having said that though, the more people driving a vehicle, the faster a used market opens up, and the price comes down, making that vehicle more accessible. Theres always an early-adopters tax...

I do the same with my family. My parents drive a Ford Taurus. Its not a bad car. I tell them about my Prius though and they are pretty sure that the next car they get will be a Prius.

I hope that at some point VW makes a hybrid Jetta. Can you imagine? You could have a two liter engine with the performance of a 3.5 liter. Fuel economy would be sick. Comfort would be high. It would be fantastic.

 

The last time I filled my Beetle TDI, diesel was about $0.30 less per gallon then regular unleaded.

 

I had a nice long post but since I'm new I can't post links.

Go to youtube and plug in 42+MPG YES WE CAN

watch the time lapse of a 126HP/wheel (modified with software only) Jetta TDI driving 75MPH for 675 miles before refueling.

When your Prius does this, as that is my footage, it would meet my needs. It did not. It is a city car and I am a country boy. I work with prius owners and it costs them more to drive to work along the same route than it does me, it's only saving grace is it's a hatchback (and I thank it for making them popular in this country). Battery replacements @ 43,000 miles/year would be very expensive even DIY, I can go 400k miles with timing belt changes for the cost of one battery in the 300,000 mile range (if they survive that long to start with, and that is hard to predict).

The Jetta 5th generation also has a far better interior. I'm over 250LB and 6'3" and I can cross my legs in the passenger seat of my Jetta, in the 2nd Gen Prius we took to lunch last week I had at best 1" of room from my knee to the glovebox... and we couldn't open it (and needed to). I had to get out of the car for the driver to get his parking permit.

They meet different needs. I require a 600-700 mile range (I can, and have, gone over 750 miles on a single tank of 100% NC made Biodiesel, and did so for over 60,000 miles). My entire goal is to go to the fueling depot as little as possible. I also like to take onramps at 60MPH, and you can't begin to compare the turning radius of the two vehicles.

In short, the prius is great if you don't like driving and just want an econobox. In all honesty you'd do better in an Insight, first or second generation, if you really wanted fuel economy -- the first gen was known for exceeding 100MPG just by tailgating SUVs. I'm also a die hard for a manual transmission, which ironcially the Civic Hybrid and Insight offered (and the Insight was exclusive to the manual until 2004 when the first Auto was released, maby it was 2003).

The Prius to me is a vehicle that is more a status symbol. It cannot use any form of renewable fuel other than E10 (what kind of economy hit does it take? Most cars drop economy up to 20%, I know my 2.0L VW Beetle did). If I run B100, my car not only smells like a kitchen, it has a lower overall CO2 output than the prius in a 3000 mile driving span (did the hard math when I drove it to Texas instead of flying, making a point about carbon footprints-- I averaged 49.6MPG that trip if you were curious).

The TDI is more of a normal car, hands down. It is simple, has a nice interior (I never liked the 4th gen to be clear about that) and it has less parts to break. In 88k miles I had an airbag fault (my dad's fault, I was surprised the warranty covered it) and apparently the increase in HP and Torque that my car makes with it's simple reflash of the ECU has broken a motor mount bolt's locking point on the alternator bracket (maby $200 to fix?)...

I would say that VW used cheap parts and that is why the mount fixed. But really I blame the 240ft/lb dyno-rated torque my motor makes... at 2100rpm.... for being the culprit, as well as my lead foot.

38mpg is my worst economy, 52mpg is my best. I'm happy to be in the middle. the tank gives me a 550 (min) to 760 (max) range. I needed, and make use, of that. If the prius had a bigger tank, and better seats, and more interior space, and while we're at it a manual transmission, it would have been alright.

However it was not. I'm not sure any of you would do better in a TDI; however I know none of the Hybrid owners I work with (like 8) really keep track fo the economy of their car. All of them say they bought it because it says they care about the environment.

Funny, I say that when I fill my car up on a mix of NC Soy bean oil/recycled chicken fat biodiesel made in state with in state products from a series of cooperatives. I help both my economy and my envrionment, and frankly the car seems to love it. Now 2009's can't do that, I have a 2006, but that just shows that manufacturers will do whatever it takes to "meet enviornmental requirements" while ignoring the obvious solutions like waste stream biomass diesel fuels (which have been around since 1883).

So, to each their own. I will say nothing in this thread has really changed my opinion of the Pious crowd. I'm sure my somewhat harsh tone is a turn off to you too, but you cannot deny that 675 miles is an impressive feat for a 8-valve, 4-cylendar, 126-hp, 240ft-lb torque vehicle based off mid-90s technologies.

 

ecodweeb where did you get your facts from (troll alert). Replace the battery @ 43,000 miles, not. It's more like 200k or more the traction battery is guaranteed for 150k miles. The general maintenance on a diesel costs much more than that of a Prius. Plus on the new diesels you have a tank of urea (Wth!) to make it meet the clean air standards. Since you can't see the forest for the trees just don't buy a Prius.

 

I'm a land manager and I work outdoors on preserves mending fences (6'-8' T-posts, 1000' rolls of barbed-wire), installing bird boxes, carry equipment and tables to hosting nature tours, and carrying all sorts of landscape crap in the Prius. Your position of the Prius being a city car and the Jetta being better for "a county boy" is hogwash.

Care to list some figures for milage, fuel costs, and MPG for the different vehicles you are comparing?

You lost me here. You were not clear enough. What battery changes? What cost are you associating with the prius battery change? I sure hope it is not over $3000 because batteries can be purchased new for approx. $2500. Have you calculated in all the other maintenance costs associated with transmission and turbos?

The 2010 Prius is larger than the previous models but even then some people are just bigger than they are supposed to be so the Prius wouldn't be a good match for them.... My best friend is 6'5 280lbs so I know what a big guy looks like in a Prius.

I'm calling BS on the account of your ignorance. Don't enjoy driving? Come on now, my last 3 cars were likely faster than anything you've ever owned yet I enjoy driving the Prius just as much as I did the others or in some cases even more. Enjoyment can come in many different forms. The guy with switches in his old school Impala drives slow, turns "tight ones" and enjoys his/her car just as much as the typical Porsche jockey or 4x4 off-road enthusiast or the prius hypermiler. Just as there are many forms of religion or kool-aid flavors there are many ways to enjoy a car...

No, the Prius is practicle for most drivers. Biodiesel is not a common commodity in most places in the U.S. so running on 100% biodiesel would require the owner to A. be lucky enough to live near a filling station that has it. B. create their own biodiesel. Neith is very practical by scale. The Prius can be a status symbol for some, just like owning a Ford, Chevy, Dodge, or BMW is for some people. Most Prius owners I hang out with don't view it as one. They view it as a sensible alternative for the time being.

That is chump change TQ, the mount should not have broken. I've never broken a motor mount with well over 700ft.lbs of TQ and neither do many of my diesel friends with 1500ft.lb TQ in their trucks.

Again, we are not talking scale here. We do not produce enough biodiesel for very many people to utilize it as a main fuel source and especially not for long term gains due to eventual fossil fuel shortages and rising prices. You are is doing nothing to push us towards a more sustainable future (electric) although it is utilizing an alternative fuel source which is awesome! It just does not apply to large scale changes, it only helps with diversifying our fuel sources which is still a good thing. Out of curiousity, have you ever done the calculations for other emissions besides CO2 for your vehicle and fuel choice? I'm more concerned with PM, VOC, NOx, SOx, etc. than I am CO2 only.

It's not really. I mean would you gloat if you had a 30 gallon capacity fuel tank and could drive 1200 miles per/tank?

I'm sorry but your overall response is pretty weak. Your car apparently fits your needs but many of your other assumptions are based on personal preference (manual tranny, large fuel tank, comfy seats?) or are just not correct when applied to scale.

 

ecodweeb is an example of why many of us can't stand the TDI crowd, they are full of crap: 43,000 mile battery replacement??? Hey, stupid troll, first of all it's a lie, second of all that would still be under warranty.

Wow, if I'm taking a "20%" hit for E10 and getting 54+ mpg at present, then my real mileage is around 65 mpg.

You can pretty much take this guy's post with a grain of salt.

 

I don't think they said battery changes @ 43,000 miles. They said they drive 43,000 miles per year, and that the battery changes would add up. However as we all know, this is still hogwash.