Environmental Valuation & Cost-Benefit News

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Volkswagen unveiled a hatchback in Europe this week that gets even better mileage than the Prius. The VW Golf TDI Hybrid gets 69 miles per gallon in the European fuel economy test cycle, according to Volkswagen. Toyota claims 54 mpg for the Prius in the same test.

It's a concept vehicle...now, but [is] in the "near term future" for European customers, [and could eventually be sold in the U.S.] a VW spokesman said.
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A non-hybrid 2006 Volkswagen Jetta diesel sedan gets 33 mpg in combined city and highway driving, according to current EPA estimates. A 2007 Toyota Camry Hybrid, a similarly-sized car, gets just one mile per gallon more. And the Jetta diesel gets much better highway fuel economy - 38 mpg - than the Camry.
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For the U.S. passenger car market, there's an additional cost hurdle: It's harder for diesel engines to meet strict clean-air requirements here....

But with new ultra-clean diesel fuel now readily available at American gas stations and new exhaust-cleaning technology in cars, various automakers hope to introduce a new generation of clean-diesel cars here over the next couple of years.

But like hybrids, these new diesels will be more expensive than similar gas-powered cars. The mark-up may not be quite as much, though.

Volkswagen estimates that the 2009 Jetta diesel will cost about $2,000 more than the gas-powered version. Official pricing hasn't been announced yet....

Manufacturers almost always add unrelated equipment to hybrids,... but hybrids usually cost at least $2,500 more than non-hybrid versions of the same vehicle.
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Diesel engines [also] last longer than gas engines.

Hybrids, on other hand, generally do worse than other cars in resale value, according to Kelley Blue Book.

Diesel fuel generally costs less than gas [in Europe].
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If ...VW were to ramp up production, that could bring down the per-unit costs

By Peter Valdes-Dapena
FOR FULL STORY GO TO:
http://money.cnn.com/2008/03/06/autos/volkswagen_diesel_hybrid/?postversion=2008030712
CNNMoney.com
Last Updated: March 10, 2008