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BioDiesel Update: 33mpg on 100% vegetables (no petroleum)

A few people have asked me how the VW New Beetle (does anyone call it that, or just a “bug”?) is running on BioDiesel since my last post. I am happy to report that even though we drive it as if it were a sports car, since our other car is a Volvo wagon, it still gets 33 miles per gallon of vegetable oil.

 

I highly recommend it!

Published Wednesday, January 26, 2005 6:50 PM by bgroth
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Comments

Wednesday, January 26, 2005 7:43 PM by Rushi Desai

# re: BioDiesel Update: 33mpg on 100% vegetables (no petroleum)

What does biodiesel cost and how easily is it available?
Wednesday, January 26, 2005 8:31 PM by Brian Groth

# re: BioDiesel Update: 33mpg on 100% vegetables (no petroleum)

We have to pay between 3 and 4 dollars per gallon for the biodiesel. We view it as voting with our wallet.
Wednesday, January 26, 2005 9:09 PM by Andrew van der Stock

# re: BioDiesel Update: 33mpg on 100% vegetables (no petroleum)

Have you found forums.newbeetle.org yet? recommended.

Andrew
Thursday, January 27, 2005 3:44 PM by skialta

# re: BioDiesel Update: 33mpg on 100% vegetables (no petroleum)

Cool, on a MPG dollar cost, your doing better than a V8 SUV. Is the exhaust any differnet? Does your dog lick the tail pipe?
Friday, January 28, 2005 12:25 PM by Rees Piper

# re: BioDiesel Update: 33mpg on 100% vegetables (no petroleum)

As a VW guy, i do refer to them as 'New Beetles'. Technically, the only thing that should be called a 'bug' is the original design, and depending how anal you are, only those made in W Germany. (The others would be Mexican Bugs (even though they look the same, they are different). Vintage VW drivers don't consider the new in the same realm as the old, and i would venture that this is common for all cars that have had the name recycled and applied to a new and improved version (ie: the Mustang).
Friday, January 28, 2005 3:26 PM by Brian Groth

# re: BioDiesel Update: 33mpg on 100% vegetables (no petroleum)

It does smell a little different, but the dog doesn't lick the tailpipe, nor do I.
I agree that it isn't a classic "bug", after all, it does has more than 40hp.
Sunday, January 30, 2005 4:21 PM by Andrew van der Stock

# re: BioDiesel Update: 33mpg on 100% vegetables (no petroleum)

Actually, the air cooled Beetles were never known as the "Bug" by VW, so it's not correct to "correct" someone who wants to use this nomenclature with their car.

They were known as the "Coupe", Type 1, or Beetle. Later variants were known as the Super Beetle and 1303 Super Beetle (L Bug in common parlance, but still not by VW).

Later Super Beetles with the 1600 DP made 67 hp out of the box, not 40 hp. Some of my members have Pobjoy 1916 cc air cooled engines which produce well over 150 hp.

There are so many places the old Beetle was produced that it's hard to say which is the One True Beetle. If you're into original, the small window Oval with the W decklid and semaphores (pre 1958) is the One True Beetle, and everything after that is an abomination. Obviously, this is a very silly view.

As a guy who runs a very busy VW enthusiast web site (2000 members and counting) I find the members who make snide remarks about watercooled VW's, Mexican Beetles, Brazilian bits, and so on, aren't true VW afficionados. They're not even well informed. If it's got a VW badge on it, it's a VW. Enjoy your car for what it is and let others enjoy their car.

Andrew
Monday, January 31, 2005 8:55 AM by Rees Piper

# re: BioDiesel Update: 33mpg on 100% vegetables (no petroleum)

yes, you can refer to your car as anything you want, but if you tell someone (vw air, vw water, bmw, ford, hyundai, or whatever driver) that you have a 'bug', they will think, 99.99% of the time at least, that you drive a beetle, coupe, deluxe sedan, type 1, kafer or whatever 'official' volkswagen brochure name floats your boat. as happy as we want the vw world to be, there are definite dividing lines in company history. pre war, post war british, heinz nordoff, etc, that place different eras of cars in different categories. (wow! i guess that would explain why they have different judging classes at car shows, ie: ovals, 59-67, watercoolers, early bus, late model bus, and so on and so on. facinating.) i don't look down on watercoolers, nor did i ever suggest that i did. wait, i did have a 'fox' and it was a POS so yes, i do look down on those. i also do not consider cars made after '58 an abomination. i do think they are different, and should be viewed as such, made by vw or not. i like everything vw and always will, new or old. i enjoy my car and would never discourage others from enjoying their car (unless it's a fox which i already explained). and yes, the one true beetle is the KDF, but what do i know. i'm just a silly, uninformed vw enthusiast wannabe.
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