diesel

NY to LA Biodiesel Trek Completed in Record Time

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Nik Bristow and Brian Pierce set out to drive coast-to-coast non-stop from New York City to Los Angeles on “one tank” of biodiesel fuel, but ran short due to miscalculation. Nik and Brian thought they had everything nailed down when they left NYC at 10 PM on Monday night in their 2006 Volkswagen Jetta TDI sedan. They hadn’t planned to pick up an additional 15 gallons of fuel in Flagstaff, Arizona.

Call it NY to LA on one tank and a 15 gallon refill. On a 2903 mile trip that took just one day, 14 hours and 37 minutes, setting an unofficial new record time for a coast-to-coast trip on biodiesel.

Blame the fuel shortfall on short fills and heavy feet …

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VW Jetta TDI Averaging 59+ MPG in Cross Country Trek

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How far would you drive to land in the Guinness Book of World Records?

How about 8,000 miles?

As we reported earlier this month, John and Helen Taylor are in the midst of driving through the contiguous 48 states, in the hopes of setting a new Guinness world’s record for the lowest fuel consumption on a cross-country voyage.

To date, the Taylors have averaged 59.42 miles per gallon (MPG) in their clean diesel 2009 Volkswagen Jetta TDI. The trek began on September 3rd in Chantilly, Virginia and ended its first leg in Santa Monica, California, with 5,499 miles driven in twelve days, at a cost of $362.44.

The full trip is expected to take 24 days, winding up in West Virginia.

Guinness specifies that a minimum of 15 miles must be driven in each state and that the vehicle be a stock production unit, with no modifications, whatsoever. Photographic evidence must be taken of the entire trip. This is the first time that Guinness has allowed the use of a GPS navigation unit.

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Dueling Cross Country Tours Raise Diesel’s Profile

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A pair of cheeky coast-to-coast efforts in Volkswagen Jetta TDIs will have America asking the question, “why aren’t we driving fuel efficient clean diesels?” Volkswagen and Shell are backing the efforts of John and Helen Taylor, an Australian couple billed as “two of the world’s most fuel-efficient drivers,” in a counter-clockwise 8,000 mile trek to … Read more

CNN’s Biodiesel Road Trip

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I’ve been alternatively amused and agitated by CNN’s recent biodiesel road trip. It seemed like a novel idea for the mainstream media to tackle, but wrapping it up with a sideshow twist was bound to paint things with a skeptic’s light. Did CNN intend for the voyage to run into problems? Was this just a … Read more

Diesel Mileage: 1998 – 2008

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The choices thinned for diesel owners in America in the years between 1998 and 2008, with Volkswagen and Mercedes-Benz continuing to be the only manufacturers to offer diesel passenger cars in the United States. Budget conscious Jetta, Golf, Passat, and Beetle TDI owners enjoyed excellent mileage throughout the period, benefiting from VWs commitment to the market. 1999 marked the last year for a domestic diesel SUV – with the GMC Yukon and Chevy Tahoe – until Jeep ever-so-briefly bolted a VM Motori diesel under the hood of the domestic Liberty. 1998 saw the last of the light diesel pickup trucks with the GMC and Chevy K2500 and C1500 models, as diesel-power retreated to the heavy-duty trucks. The end of this period offers hints of the clean diesel revolution, with Jeep’s introduction of the world-class six-cylinder Mercedes-Benz diesel in the Grand Cherokee CRD.

Diesel Mileage: 1998 – 2008

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