diesels

2013 Volkswagen Beetle TDI to bow at Chicago Auto Show

So you like the new Volkswagen Beetle, but you wish it were a bit more fuel efficient?

If so, you should stay tuned to next week's Chicago Auto Show because that's where VW will be debuting its new 2013 Beetle TDI.

As the name suggests, this new Beetle variant will be powered by one of Volkswagen's TDI engines--and no, unfortunately it's not that TDI engine. The Beetle TDI's power train is essentially a cut-and-paste of the engine that lives beneath the bonnet of the 2012 Golf TDI and 2012 Jetta TDI. The much-loved 2.0-liter … Read more

U.K.-market Audi BiTDI engine adds extra turbo, oddly placed speaker

Pop quiz, tough guy: How do you make VW/Audi's direct-injected, turbodiesel engines better? If you answered "add another turbo," then congratulations. You're now ready to work for Audi's R&D department!

Okay, so I'm sure that Audi's engineers are a bit more qualified than that, but "adding another turbo" is exactly what they did with the advent of the new BiTDI 3.0 V-6 engine. The new engine, which will find its way under the hood of diesel-powered A6 and A7 Sportback models in the U.K. market, features … Read more

A new DRM-free experiment: 'Diesel Sweeties'

Rock band Nine Inch Nails tried it. Comedian Louis C.K. tried it. Now Web comic "Diesel Sweeties" is trying it: DRM-free content.

Starting last week, cartoonist Richard Stevens III released a free PDF of "Pocket Sweeties," his first book from the comic, on the occasion of his 35th birthday. The result is a PDF that's not locked within the digital rights management wrapper that constrains the typical e-book.

The 2003 book features some of the comic strips' earliest episodes, mixing up the themes of robots and romance and rendered with Stevens' carefully constructed coarsely … Read more

2012 Mercedes-Benz ML350 Bluetec: To Los Angeles, and almost back

We made it about halfway back from Los Angeles before the fuel light came on.

It was CNET's annual road trip to the 2012 Los Angeles Auto Show, and the 2012 Mercedes-Benz ML350 Bluetec we had chosen for the drive had already traveled the 380 miles between San Francisco and Los Angeles once. Short of it getting much better fuel economy in real world driving than the EPA estimates, we knew it wouldn't make it all the way back.

But it was still worth the attempt.

On our freeway run, 70-ish mph up the middle of California on … Read more

CNET Roadside Assistance 033: Your thoughts on self-driving cars (podcast)

This week, we check out your thoughts on self-driving cars, why humans can't drive well in the best of conditions, the ultimate car security system, and the price of diesel is tough all over.

Subscribe with iTunes (audio) Subscribe with iTunes (video) Subscribe with RSS (audio) Subscribe with RSS (video) EPISODE 033 SHOW NOTES

CNET Roadside Assistance 032: We catch hell over the Mustang Boss 302 (podcast)

Antuan catches hell for his review of the Mustang Boss 302, we tell you where to get Satellite Radio 2.0, and we ponder potential problems with direct injection engines.

Subscribe with iTunes (audio) Subscribe with iTunes (video) Subscribe with RSS (audio) Subscribe with RSS (video) EPISODE 032 SHOW NOTES

• Are there problems with direct injection?

• The CNET review of the Mustang Boss 302 that's dividing drivers

• Satellite radio 2.0 features

• CNET's LOLCars gallery!

Volvo making diesel-electric plug-in wagon for Europe

Volvo has announced it will begin sales of its diesel-electric hybrid plug-in V60 model for the European market next year.

Last year I drove the electric version of the Volvo C30, which showed an unexpectedly advanced level of power train development from the Swedish automaker. Production for that vehicle has not been announced yet, but the electric drive technology is being applied to a new hybrid version of the V60 wagon launching next year.

Volvo did not release full specifications for the hybrid V60, but revealed some intriguing details.… Read more

GM opens new state-of-the-art diesel engine plant in Rayong, Thailand

General Motors just opened a new $200 million, diesel engine plant in Rayong, Thailand.

The new engine plant, which is adjacent to the GM's vehicle manufacturing plant, will employ 500 workers and have the capability to manufacture about 120,000 engines per year.

GM expects to source $94 million worth of Thai-built components for the production of engines at its Rayong facility by 2012, the company said in a press release.

The first engines to be manufactured at the facility are for the new Chevy Colorado pickup. GM revealed the Colorado Show pickup at the Bangkok International Motor Show … Read more

Chevy Cruze diesel comes to U.S. in 2013

Chevy announced today that it will bring a diesel variant of its Cruze sedan to the U.S. in 2013. Currently, the base model comes with a 1.8-liter four cylinder, and higher trim versions come with a turbocharged 1.4-liter engine.

A special version, the Cruze Eco, is tuned and lightened to achieve 42 mpg on the highway.

GM currently sells a diesel version of the Cruze in other parts of the world. It uses a turbocharged 2-liter engine producing 161 horsepower and 266 pound-feet of torque. To bring this diesel engine to the U.S., Chevrolet would most … Read more

Argentina to Alaska in a VW TDI

As a number of Audi TDI LeMans cars get ready to take on the Nurburgring 24-hour race this weekend, another driver has more-ambitious plans. Rainer Zietlow leads a team planning to drive a Volkswagen Touareg TDI from Argentina to Alaska, a journey of 16,000 miles, in 14 days.

The trip will start on June 29 in Ushuaia, Argentina. Fans can follow the progress of the trip on an interactive map on the team's Web site. Four drivers will take five hour shifts, going non-stop, expecting to end up at Deadhorse, Alaska on July 13.

The trip is timed … Read more