The passat TDI is a really nice car, accelerates quickly thanks to the wide 
149 ft/lbs Q curve.  And yes it gets 45 mpg.  That alone would save 
$800-900/yr in gas expenses (i feed my van 89 octane and drive about 25 
kmi/yr).  VW has a booklet about the TDI and yes it has a computer 
controlled fuel injection system (but no ignition :-).  After warming up, 
the car was much smoother and quieter than other diesels I have been in 
(rabbits, benz).  Later this year VW is going to introduce TDI golf and 
jetta models in the US.  The golf is to get 49 mpg and reportedly 
accelerates better 0-30 than the GTI.
 ----------
|From: "vanagon@lenti.med.umn.edu"@PMDF@PAXMB1
|To: porter fred; "vanagon@lenti.med.umn.edu"@PMDF@PAXMB1
|Subject: Re: TDI Eurovan
|Date: Tuesday, June 04, 1996 2:57PM
|
|<<File Attachment: 00000000.TXT>>
|In a message dated 96-06-04 10:40:11 EDT, you write:
|
|> All diesels are
|>direct injection,  the fuel is injected into the individual cylinders by a
|>single (noisey) injector located roughly where a spark plug would be 
placed
|>(1 per cylinder) if the engine were gasoline powered.  My point is this,
|>what does direct injection mean?  Quite bluntly, I think that it is 
nothing
|>but add-hype.
|
|  Direct injection refers to engines in which the combustion chamber is not
|divided.  In a majority of passenger car diesel engines, there is a 
separate
|prechamber that the fuel is injected into; i.e. not directly above the
|piston.  This system is well suited to smaller high-speed engines because 
it
|helps control noise and allows for a better control of emissions.  With
|direct injection, as used on larger truck engines and stationary industrial
|motors, the emissions problem usually wasn't an issue because of the near
|constant RPM these engines would run at.  From what I've read, the DI 
process
|is also more efficient and cheaper to make.  The downside is an increase in
|the typical diesel rattle.
|  What has made DI more suitable for passenger cars is the same thing that
|makes modern gasoline engines a pain to work on -- computers.  Diesel 
engines
|now have electronic fuel injection, oxygen sensors, and catalytic 
convertors.
| I personally plan to take a look at the new Passat TDI, probably today or
|tomorrow.  The performance isn't much different than my old 320i, and the
|prospect of 45mpg on the long trek to work does have its advantages...
|
|Ryan
|