Volkswagen has postponed the launch of its V10 diesel Touareg until September, when low-sulfur fuel will be readily available, says Adrian Hallmark, executive vice president of Volkswagen of America. Hallmark told trade publication Automotive News that without the improved fuel, the truck spews clouds of white smoke while running. Accordingly, 640 of the vehicles have been put into storage. They were originally scheduled to be sold in June. “I got into one of the early ones and thank God I did,” Hallmark says. “I was stopped a light in the middle of a town with low wind conditions and everyone was looking at the car. I looked in the rear view mirror and all I saw was white. “The smoke filled the street,” he says. “The smoke is so bad it looks like a carbon fire.” He said the smoke is not particularly dangerous, but would obviously be unacceptable to buyers of the $60,000 SUV.
Zero obligation price quote from a trusted local dealer.
06/21, 9:21 AM
posted by:
A non E Moose
This will not help the deisel movement. I can see it now, the coming comments of why deisel should not be used because it is dirty. Yikes. Too bad the better and cleaner deisel is not available now. Those T-regs are sweet rides, and the V10 is awesome.
06/21, 9:24 AM
posted by:
AussieDan
Funny, I don’t see any of the other modern diesels around billowing white smoke….
06/21, 11:17 AM
posted by:
nokidn
Dear Aussie,
You don’t see that now because none of the cars on the roads in the US today are ready to handle the low sulfur diesel like the T-reg is and likewise others will be. The T-reg can burn the current deisel, but not well. Is it still funny?
06/21, 11:30 AM
posted by:
Scott
Look for lots more diesels once the cleaner fuel is here, I can’t wait.
06/21, 11:32 AM
posted by:
Zan
If you read the article it says that the truck billows smoke when it is not using the fuel it was design to use.
They know this and have decided not to sell the vehicle until said fuel is more readily available.
Lets bash them for being proactive, *sigh*
06/21, 12:45 PM
posted by:
1c3d0g
Damn it, they’re taking their sweet-ass time to introduce the low-sulfur Diesel…what in Christ’s name is the hold-up, huh? I’ve been hearing for years about the introduction of low-sulfur Diesel, but it seems like it’ll never happen… :-/
06/21, 2:12 PM
posted by:
gsh
cuz the petrol companies dont care?
06/21, 3:25 PM
posted by:
mdt
VWAG – bring the 5 cylinder TDI `R5′ Tuareg here. Some of us don’t want to pay $20K for the V10 engine and don’t believe the added weight, complexity, and hogginess add any value.
-mt
06/21, 3:30 PM
posted by:
The Stig
So I should stock up on high-sulphur diesel now, get a V10 Touareg later and have a smoking good time. Beautiful.
#6, the reason for the delay was Hurricane Katrina which screwed up a lot of refining capacity. The government extended the deadline to get the ULSD to market as a result.
#8 has a good idea but it’s sure not to happen any time soon.
06/21, 6:11 PM
posted by:
V'Dub
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA !!!!!
06/21, 6:46 PM
posted by:
stuart
Europe has had ultra low sulpur diesel for years and years. This is just another showing of European being given the best things before anyone else. These companies must think americans are stupid as hell
06/22, 12:48 AM
posted by:
diogo
I have seen lots of V10, V6 and R5 diesel touaregs here (Portugal, Europe) and no white smoke…
06/22, 8:24 AM
posted by:
unknown
bingo 11…they have had the low sulfur fuel for years and thats why you see so many diesels in europe…if we had the fuel here that they have, emissions wouldnt be a problem…sad because diesel engines are by far the most efficient engines we have now…hydrogen is to expensive and wasteful to be refined…the batteries in gas electric/hybrids are somewhat untested for length of life…its too bad america never caught on especially with the performance that can be had from a diesel engine…see audi’s recent Le Mans win
06/22, 9:04 AM
posted by:
Atomicbri
#12 you have not seen white smoke becuase in Portugal you all have moved ahead in life years ago and offered the low sulfer diesel. Amercians do not have this diesel yet so they say because of the hurricanes we have had. Hopefully we will here real soon so people like myself who would rather have a diesel car can enjoy those wonderful Euro-diesel motors
06/22, 5:14 PM
posted by:
Ryan
Wait, why are they waiting to “Introduce” the V10 when it was already here last year?
06/29, 12:45 AM
posted by:
Frank
14-there was no V10 in the US last year it was only in 2004 and in those models there was no particulate filter. The particulate filter traps as the name suggests and then burns the contaminates off at very high temps. The 500ppm diesel fuel here in the US gives the particulate filter lots to burn off..hence the white smoke…in Sept. ULSD will be widely available and then the V10 should have no issues.