Re: German Hybrid Vehicles ??


DLGlos wrote:

> Actually, a totally valid point. That said, check todays
> headlines...in particular the one about Porsche buying a 20% stake in
> VW. Among other things, they mentioned joint development of hybrids.

But it is not a done deal yet. On the other side, Porsche suggests,
that they want to protect current technical cooperation. Porsche
Cayenne is essentially a Tuareg with a touch from porsche engineers.
The car bodies even are built in the same factory in Slovakia, but
Porsche does the final assembly steps itself.

> Sad in a way. I prefer to see the troubled VW focus its attention on
> further perfecting its already excellent diesel technology and not get
> waysided by the hybrid fad.

I would say, VW is big enough to work on both. And the biggest part of
engineering is taking place at the suppliers, such as Bosch.

If Porsche speaks about joint development (read - "add some additional
money"), then I think it will be a plus. And if the module "X" is
bugfree enough to be used in a mega expensive porsche, it will be good
enough to be used in VW. Maybe without some more advanced features,
maybe not so powerful, maybe from cheaper materials, but they will
certainly invest some time/money to understand what they are doing.

> balance out. They also used a low dollar cost for fuel. But the point
> remains, in real world situations, a diesel makes more sense, for more
> people, than a hybrid.

Why this or that? Why not both? Ok, Honda and Toyota clearly missed the
diesel train, perhaps due to a primary focus on the USA market. So,
here you are: a petrol prius and petrol honda hybrid. But it does not
necessary mean, that a diesel hybrid would be impossible.

> As an engineer, I'm all for new technology, but lets make sure its
> good, not just sexy.

Try telling this to the marketing guys :) And the show is actually run
by them nowadays (and beancounters of course) :((

.

Relevant Pages