Former Veep Al Gore is in the Netherlands this week to give his Inconvenient Truth presentation a couple of times. While he's in the low-lands he is apparently being shuttled around in the latest example of fuel efficient executive transport from the folks at Audi. Mr. Gore gets to ride in the back seat of a new Audi A6 TDIe. This particular A6 variant gets propulsion from the same 2.0L diesel four cylinder used in the new VW Jetta TDI. In the A6 TDIe it's rated at 136 hp and achieves 44.38 mpg (US) on the EU test cycle. For this particular event the A6 was also being fueled with GTL from Shell. GTL is produced from natural gas and helps reduce both soot and NOx emissions although it more expensive than regular diesel fuel. Thanks to Sander for the tip!

[Source: AudiBlog.nl]

Stretching from Denver to Las Vegas, the third wave of the Audi Mileage Marathon has, I believe, the most beautiful landscape views of the 4,700 mile cross-America journey. Lucky for me, this is the leg that I'm participating in. I've been assigned an Audi A3 2.0 TDI and for the first day - Denver to Durango - my partner (Don Bufamanti of Autospies) - and I did OK, not great, on the mpg challenge. We averaged 44.4 mpg and 56 mph, which was beat by the other A3 team of Royal Ford and Lauren Fix, who managed 44.7 mpg and 59 mph. I'd like to say that our day two numbers will be better, but I fully expect them to be much worse. I came down with a terrible case of the flu (or something) in Durango and so we high-tailed to Sedona. Correction, Don drove while I slept and tried to ignore the upset feeling in my stomach. So much for getting to see the scenery. Perhaps the Sedona to Vegas leg will be where we make up some mpg. We'll get our day two numbers soon. Stay tuned.


Our travel and lodging for this media event was provided by the manufacturer.

After seven days and 2,832 miles, I'm finally back home. My week-long stint on the Audi Mileage Marathon is over and I believe I've learned a thing or two about hyper-miling. Teams running in the event were scored based on a formula that included fuel efficiency and speed. The fuel efficiency component was weighted twice as much as speed. Audi engineers included speed mainly to ensure that drivers didn't just go unnecessarily slow to maximize fuel economy. Audi officials specifically warned us at the start that this event was not about hyper-miling, but when you put several dozen journalists in cars and ask them to see who can get the best mileage ... well let's just say they are a competitive bunch.

I participated in the first two of four waves of the marathon going from New York to Chicago and then on to Denver. On the first wave, my co-driver Jason Allan and I mainly stuck to just trying to drive gently, avoiding aggressive acceleration or braking. We didn't do any drafting or early shutdown of the engine. Aside from some hilly terrain in Maryland and Pennsylvania, most of the terrain was relatively flat. Compared to what we would see in wave 2 our average speeds were a comparatively low 52.4 mph, due in large part to time driving through traffic in places like Washington, New York and Chicago as well as frequent slowing for toll booths through most of the states on route. Find out how things changed after the jump.

Over at Winding Road/Next Autos this morning they have a report that Audi officials have confirmed to Chris Paukert that the A3 TDI will debut in the US market in the fall of 2009 as a 2010 model. Chris is currently on wave 3 of the Audi Mileage Marathon, and there are a pair of A3's included in the fleet. I just contacted Audi of America's Chief Communications Officer Jeff Kuhlman who categorically denied that any decision about the A3 has been finalized. Over the past week while I was participating in the marathon, we talked extensively with Audi officials about future diesel introductions beyond the Q7 TDI that launches early next year. Speaking with both Kuhlman and EVP Audi of America, Johan de Nysschen, they both expressed enthusiasm for bringing the A3 TDI to the US market. As the companies entry model here, a high mileage TDI version would be a great fit. Since the A3 shares it's architecture with the Volkswagen Jetta/Golf using the same 2.0L clean diesel as the Jetta would be natural fit. Odds are that the A3 TDI will eventually appear on US shores, but at this point nothing is official. BTW, on wave 1 Denise McCluggage and Kate McLeod averaged 45.3 mpg at the highest average speed of the entire fleet with 54.3 mph in the A3 pictured above.

[Sources: Audi, Next Autos]

In conjunction with the Audi Mileage Marathon, the company also brought along some extra vehicles that are being used by the staff that are supporting the event. Among those are a pair of TT TDIs that were sent over but will unfortunately probably never be sold here. For those just getting caught up, the TT is Audi's junior sports car. The TT derives its architecture from the compact Volkswagen group vehicles that include the A3 and the Golf/Rabbit and Jetta. The TT originally debuted in 1998 and is now in its second generation. Since its launch, the current TT has been offered with a 2.0L 200 hp TFSI four cylinder or a 3.2L 250 hp FSI V6, with a 2.0L 272 hp TTS version also added this year.

Last spring at the Geneva Motor Show, Audi announced the TT would be available with a diesel engine for the first time. Given Audi's success with the R10 at Le Mans and in the American Le Mans Series, it's fitting and logical that the company would slide a diesel into one of its sports cars. Following our arrival at the halfway point of the marathon in Denver, we had an opportunity to jump into one of the TTs for an all too brief ride around Denver. Read on after the jump for first impressions.


Photos Copyright ©2008 Sam Abuelsamid / Weblogs, Inc.

Our travel and lodging for this media event was provided by the manufacturer.

Over dinner in Amarillo, Texas on Saturday night, we sat at a table with Audi of America EVP Johan de Nysschen and discussed a range of topics. Among them was his impressions of other manufacturers backing off on diesel plans for the U.S. market. During the course of this drive, Toyota confirmed the cancellation of its plans to add a diesel engine to its full-size trucks. Chrysler has also apparently lost confidence in US demand for diesel in light of high fuel prices.

de Nysschen seemed unconcerned about these developments. He made the point that TDI technology "is a core competency for Audi" whereas the other manufacturers are more focused on other powertrains types. While de Nysschen expressed respect for what Toyota has accomplished, he identified a different Japanese company as the one to watch. To de Nysschen, Honda is by far the most impressive of the Japanese carmakers. He emphasized that like Audi, Honda is and always has been an engineering-driven company. If an alliance were ever to happen between a Japanese and German company Honda and Audi would be the most natural fit. However, Honda has never expressed interest in such alliances and prefers to go their own way. The cultural differences between German and Japanese manufacturers also make such tie-ups unlikely. In the meantime, Audi shows no signs of slowing down its diesel push.

Our travel and lodging for this media event was provided by the manufacturer.

One of the VIPs that Audi invited to be present at the launch of the Mileage Marathon in New York on Monday was Sylvia Williams. Williams is the general manager of business development for future fuels at Shell. The main topic of interest in New York was GTL fuel. GTL is a synthetic liquid diesel fuel made from natural gas. The catalytic process used is similar to that used by companies such as Coskata that are producing cellulosic ethanol from a syngas generated from biomass. The #8 A4 that my friend Lou Ann Hammond drove from New York to Chicago started off the trip with a full tank of GTL. Unlike conventional petroleum diesel - and to a lesser extent biodiesel - GTL is completely clear, colorless and odorless. Since it contains no aromatic compounds it burns cleaner and actually produces dramatically less soot and fewer NOx emissions as well. Currently, GTL isn't available in North America but Shell sells a 10 percent GTL blend in Europe as a premium diesel under the V-Power brand because it also helps engine performance. One big advantage of GTL is that it can be used and distributed without any infrastructure or engine changes. It is however, more expensive than petroleum diesel. Check out Lou Ann's video interview after the jump.


[Source: Carlist.com]

As we roll into Dallas to conclude day 5 of the "Great American Road Trip," it is clear beyond a shadow of a doubt that modern diesel engines are very efficient while still providing excellent performance. However, the dominant back drop hanging over the plates of ribs at BB King's Blues Club Thursday night was the continuing collapse of the financial markets. As those of us sitting around the table pondered the survival of the industry that we all write about, the cars and SUVs we were driving faded to the background. Unlike some of the more exotic alternatives out there, the TDI technology used by Audi is available now with more coming to the U.S. market in the coming months.

The question is will anyone be able to buy it or any of the future powertrains? Very few people buy new cars with cash. The industry relies on being able extend credit to drivers. The key element of what is happening this week is that financial institutions have become unwilling to loan money to anyone. After loaning way too much over the last decade to people who couldn't afford to pay it back, there is now nothing going out. That creates a great deal of uncertainty in product planning. Audi made the decision to launch their new diesels in the Q7 long before this ever started and it's unclear what their future path will be. The A4, Q5 and A3 have all been talked about as potential future U.S. diesel products, but without knowing where auto sales in general are going it's hard to choose a direction. With Toyota already having canceled its planned diesel for the Tundra and rumors of other product cancellations on the horizon, the only thing we know for sure is that we know nothing.

Our travel and lodging for this media event was provided by the manufacturer.

Now that we are somewhere between Chicago and Salem, IL you might be wondering what the final tally was for the first wave of the our little cross country trek. My co-driver for the New York to Chicago run flew home last night and I'm now riding with Steve Ewing from Winding Road. Following the changeover dinner last night, the Audi staff released the points total for the trip so far and the top mileage number for any vehicle went to the A3 TDI that was in the car of the lovely and talented Denise McCluggage and Kate McLeod. They averaged 45.6 mpg and apparently weren't too concerned about hypermiling since they also had the highest average speed of 54.3 mph.

Among the A4 contingent, Yoshihiro Kimura and Michael Taylor averaged 41.4 mpg and 52.2 mph. Considering the A4 uses the same 3.0L V6 that is in the Q7 and Q5 with 240 hp and nearly 400 lb-ft of torque, that's a clear demonstration of what is possible in the real world without sacrificing performance. In the Q5s, Bertrand Bellois and Stephane Chevalier managed 36.2 mpg at 48.2 mph. Currently, though, only the Q7 TDI has been announced for U.S. sales starting early next year. Q7 #3, driven by Kelley Blue Book's Jason Allan and your humble correspondent, averaged 29.4 mpg over the four days to take the class victory. Stay tuned for wave 2.

Our travel and lodging for this media event was provided by the manufacturer.

Day two of the mileage marathon saw a significantly longer drive than the first day, combined with less traffic. Since the route was predominantly highway cruising, the diesels were truly in their element even going through the mountains of western Pennsylvania. Virtually everyone's mileage numbers went up during the run to Cleveland and judging by some of the comments on my post at Autoblog, a number of readers actually spotted our caravan on the road, particularly as we were leaving the D.C. area. Amongst the Q7s the top number jumped to 33.1 mpg while my partner and I stretched our example up to 30.2 mpg.

In the A4 group, my friend Lou Ann Hammond saw a significant jump that surprisingly might be partly attributable to her guest co-driver. On Monday Lou Ann had the highest average speed at 51 mph but the second lowest mileage in the A4 group at 34.6 mpg. Tuesday, they brought in a ringer with Audi ALMS driver Emmanuelle Pirro. Pirro explained that in endurance racing, it's critical to get the greatest number of laps between fuel stops to minimize the amount of time sitting still in the pits. With Pirro aboard, the A4's average speed climbed to 53 mph, but the mileage climbed to 41.3 mpg! The smoothness that comes from years of experience hustling cars around tracks like Le Mans and Road Atlanta clearly paid off. Driving solo, Todd Kaho got his A4 up 44.2 mpg. Among the Q5s, numbers ranged from 29.5 to 35.9 mpg while the McLeod/McCluggage team squeezed their A3 out to 50.6 mpg.

Leg 1 ends in Chicago where most of current crew will rotate out to be replaced by the next group that will head to Denver.

Our travel and lodging for this media event was provided by the manufacturer.

Audi officials have been indicating for some time that the German brand will introduce a battery electric in the coming years. Last week at the Paris Motor Show, management board member Peter Schwarzenbauer reportedly confirmed that again to Britain's AutoCar magazine. However, contrary to some previous reports that the car would be based on the new A1 mini that appeared in concept form in Paris, Schwarzenbauer said the EV would be based on the upcoming NSF (new small family) which is the basis of the series of Volkswagen up! concepts that appeared in 2007. Volkswagen will brand the production version of the up! as the Lupo and the platform will also spawn models under other VW group brands such as Seat and Skoda. Thanks to zamafir for the tip!

[Source: AutoCar]

As day 2 of the Marathon draws to a close we're approaching Cleveland. We left Capitol Hill in D.C. about seven and half hours and 400 miles ago in the Q7 TDI. The fuel gauge is showing just under half a tank of diesel left and the diesel SUV is clearly in its natural element cruising the interstates through Maryland, Pennsylvania and Ohio. Just before we left D.C. this morning we got the official results from day one and my co-driver and I averaged 28.8 mpg on the run from New York. Right now the trip computer is showing 30.5 mpg. The top Q7 on day one averaged 30.6 mpg although that driver was running solo. Moving down the size scale, the Q5s ranged from 32.3 mpg to 38.0 mpg powered by the same 3.0L V6 diesel as the Q7. Among the cars, the best A4 managed 40.6 mpg with the V6 while Denise McCluggage and Kate McLeod pushed their A3 TDI to 46.7 mpg with no attempt to hyper-mile. Tomorrow it's off to Chicago.

Our travel and lodging for this media event was provided by the manufacturer.

At the end of our first day on the road for the Audi Mileage Marathon yesterday, our destination was Washington, D.C. As we rolled into the Capitol area, the Q7 TDI's navigation system attempted to guide us to a local Shell station (Shell is one of Audi's partners on this little adventure and the official fuel supplier) on the north side of town for our first official refueling stop. Interestingly, this particular station dispenses more than just gasoline and ultra low sulfur diesel. It also happens to be the site of one of the few publicly-accessible hydrogen fueling stations in the country. Judging by the GM sign on the top of the hydrogen pump, this is likely on of the stations used for the Project Driveway fuel cell fleet test program in the DC area. Looks pretty conventional doesn't it?


Our travel and lodging for this media event was provided by the manufacturer.

SEAT has introduced its latest sedan, called Exeo, in Paris. This is the first model in years that doesn't have a name from a Spanish town but it still might seem familiar to you: it's a rebadged previous-generation Audi A4. Hey, Europeans can rebadge like the best of the Chinese, after all! Why did Seat do this? Because no resources were ready to develop an all-new sedan and the classic name for the SEAT sedan, the Toledo, was used for a complete sales disaster mini-MPV with a strange hatch based on the Altea. At least the Exeo gets the latest generation VW engines, which will be all Euro V-compliant. The diesel versions will now have common-rail diesel technology instead of pump-injectors, as seen in the 6th generation VW Golf/Rabbit and range from 120 to 170 hp. SEAT models are already on sale in Mexico and rumors have it that SEAT could be sold stateside, aiming the Latin market.



[Source: SEAT]

And we're off and crawling through the streets of mid-town Manhattan. After getting waved off by actress/model Molly Sims (who?) and Audi ALMS driver Emanuelle Pirro shortly after 9 a.m. from the Tavern on the Green in Central Park, we're now slowly making our way toward the George Washington bridge to get out of town. This is not exactly the ideal operating environment for a big SUV, or any other motor vehicle for that matter. Driving through Manhattan, you quickly realize why most New Yorkers don't bother getting behind the wheel. The Q7 TDI is remarkably quiet and exhibits no signs of being a diesel. It has none of the characteristic clatter most Americans associate with big truck diesels and actually seems quieter than the gasoline V6. Nonetheless, it's too bad that Audi is launching its U.S. diesel push with the Q7 rather than the A3 and the TT. There are a pair of A3 TDIs on the trip but, like most of the A4s and all the Q5s, they are reserved for European journalists. As I write this we're crossing the George Washington Bridge and making our way to Philadelphia for launch and on to Washington for tonight's stopover.


Our travel and lodging for this media event was provided by the manufacturer.