[Dutch]

So my local Best Buy has some slots near the store with signs that say for "fuel-efficient" vehicles.

I park the Volt there next to some guy idling in a Diesel VW (Hot day, he's just trying to stay cool), but the guy rolls down his window and says "hey..that's for for "fuel-efficient" vehicles".

Not being sure he's serious or joking I say "so okay, what kind of mileage do you get?" He says "oh, about 39mpg".

I laugh and say "well I'm good then since I get about 115mpg...when I actually use gas". He looks surprised and a little angry and says "bull****", I'm like "no really I'll show you the dash display". So he gets out and I fire up the volt to show him a display that actually currently says 124mpg. LOL.

Now he's into that mode where he's got to find some aspect of his car that is better than mine so here we go with the usual...

• But you can't really take that on the highway [yes I really can and it's great]
• But you can't drive long distances [I can drive anywhere any other car can]

and on and on. This guy is starting to actually get angry so trying to be diplomatic I compliment his car's nice paint job and how clean he keeps it and say "well I'll probably have to pay a lot someday if I have to replace the battery pack". That seems to satisfy him that his car is "better".

Still, I wait until he leaves to go into the store because, you know, some people are weird enough to key a car over a conversation like that

 

[El Dobro]

Maybe if you asked him how the TDI recall was coming along he would have quieted down.

 

[glidercz]

Funny...I actually sold my TDI back to VW and used the proceeds to buy my 2017 Volt.

 

[wizard_of-ahs]

Yea, you can't fix stupid

 

[Slotracer577]

I sold two tdi's back since they offered good money. Now have a Bolt and Volt. Still think the tdi was better for road trips, but for around town and local trips the Bolt has been great. Did 215 miles last week from cos to Denver and back only used 46kwh.

 

[srmarti]

I might have just said, "That's why I parked here" and kept on walking. Or if in a different mood "How efficient is it to just sit there idling?"

I haven't run into anybody actively trying to tell me what's wrong with my car or what it won't do. Usually it's more of a "how do you like it and how does it work?" encounter. Then I'll frankly explain what they want to know.

How stupid do you have to be to tell the owner what the range is or whether or not it can keep up on the highway? I try not to argue with stupid.

 

[Andy00778]

Ya VW still getting caught cheating on other things so I guess you can't fix stupid applies to them.

 

[llninja]

Yea, you can't fix stupid

But you can certainly enjoy the inner laugh in your head. In today's day and age, buying a Prius hybrid or a TDI is no longer smart. People holding on to nearly a decade old adage are paying for it in fuel.

 

[Loboc]

Next year when I get plates it's gonna say "80 MPG". I only get double the mpg of Mr. VW.

 

[radx4]

To be fair, there are a lot of VW vehicles that are on the LEED list for "efficient vehicles":

Year	GBClass	Make	Model	M/M/Specs	EmisStd	City	Hiwy	Green Score
2017	03_COM	VOLKSWAGEN	BEETLE	    1.8L 4, auto stk	 Tier 3 Bin 30 /  PZEV	24	33	47
2017	03_COM	VOLKSWAGEN	BEETLE CONVERTIBLE	    1.8L 4, auto stk	 Tier 3 Bin 30 /  PZEV	24	33	47
2017	03_COM	VOLKSWAGEN	BEETLE DUNE	    1.8L 4, auto stk	 Tier 3 Bin 30 /  PZEV	24	31	46
2017	03_COM	VOLKSWAGEN	BEETLE DUNE CONVERTIBLE	    1.8L 4, auto stk	 Tier 3 Bin 30 /  PZEV	24	31	46
2017	03_COM	VOLKSWAGEN	GOLF	    1.8L 4, manual	 Tier 3 Bin 30 /  PZEV	25	36	49
2017	03_COM	VOLKSWAGEN	GOLF	    1.8L 4, auto stk	 Tier 3 Bin 30 /  PZEV	25	35	48
2017	03_COM	VOLKSWAGEN	GTI	    2.0L 4, manual	 Tier 3 Bin 30 /  PZEV	24	34	47
2017	03_COM	VOLKSWAGEN	GTI	    2.0L 4, auto	 Tier 3 Bin 30 /  PZEV	24	32	47
2017	03_COM	VOLKSWAGEN	JETTA	    1.4L 4, manual	 Tier 3 Bin 125 /  LEV-II ULEV	28	40	51
2017	03_COM	VOLKSWAGEN	JETTA	    1.4L 4, auto stk	 Tier 3 Bin 70 /  LEV-III ULEV70	28	38	50
2017	03_COM	VOLKSWAGEN	JETTA	    1.8L 4, auto stk	 Tier 3 Bin 30 /  PZEV	25	35	48
2017	03_COM	VOLKSWAGEN	JETTA	    2.0L 4, auto	 Tier 3 Bin 30 /  PZEV	24	33	47
2017	03_COM	VOLKSWAGEN	JETTA	    2.0L 4, manual	 Tier 3 Bin 30 /  PZEV	23	33	46

 

[wordptom]

Ah, but how do we define a "fuel-efficient" electric vehicle? >4 miles/kWh? >5 miles/kWh?

 

[Steverino]

"Fuel Efficient" means nothing. Compared to what?

 

[Sean-a-Tron]

I probably would've said. "Don't worry, it's a hybrid". That likely would've quieted him, even though the Volt is much more than 'just a hybrid'.

 

[Shivetya]

I owned two TDIs and would buy another. VW makes good cars and both were completely reliable. (2010 Golf TDI and 2013 Beetle Convertible TDI).

Now to get a diesel my options have opened to include GM who seems to spreading them across the line and Mazda who may not need to after the engine breakthrough; effectively a gasoline engine that operates like a diesel.

 

[DonC]

Maybe if you asked him how the TDI recall was coming along he would have quieted down.

+1. Made me laugh. So funny. But probably not advisable under the circumstances.

 

[Upper5Percent]

So my local Best Buy has some slots near the store with signs that say for "fuel-efficient" vehicles.

I park the Volt there next to some guy idling in a Diesel VW (Hot day, he's just trying to stay cool), but the guy rolls down his window and says "hey..that's for for "fuel-efficient" vehicles".

Not being sure he's serious or joking I say "so okay, what kind of mileage do you get?" He says "oh, about 39mpg".

I laugh and say "well I'm good then since I get about 115mpg...when I actually use gas". He looks surprised and a little angry and says "bull****", I'm like "no really I'll show you the dash display". So he gets out and I fire up the volt to show him a display that actually currently says 124mpg. LOL.

Now he's into that mode where he's got to find some aspect of his car that is better than mine so here we go with the usual...

• But you can't really take that on the highway [yes I really can and it's great]
• But you can't drive long distances [I can drive anywhere any other car can]

and on and on. This guy is starting to actually get angry so trying to be diplomatic I compliment his car's nice paint job and how clean he keeps it and say "well I'll probably have to pay a lot someday if I have to replace the battery pack". That seems to satisfy him that his car is "better".

Still, I wait until he leaves to go into the store because, you know, some people are weird enough to key a car over a conversation like that

What would have got your car keyed is if you had said..."I thought all these Cheating Diesels were recalled"...

 

[El Dobro]

I owned two TDIs and would buy another. VW makes good cars and both were completely reliable. (2010 Golf TDI and 2013 Beetle Convertible TDI).

I owned two TDIs myself, a 2006 and an '09 Jetta. Each one individually had been back to the dealer more than any car I've ever owned. The absolute worse cars I've ever owned and that includes my Fiats!

 

[Coppersnowboarder]

NOW, I know why my car was keyed before I bought it.

 

[Dutch]

The thing is I can't really say exactly -why- I was worried about that guy doing something like that, but I've learned to trust my instincts because he was way too invested in having "the better car".

 

[El Dobro]

The thing is I can't really say exactly -why- I was worried about that guy doing something like that, but I've learned to trust my instincts because he was way too invested in having "the better car".

It was that kind of attitude on the TDI Forums that made me look at alternatives.