Sick of hearing all the hybrid hype? Well, we already know how the Mechanic feels, and now we have a pretty good idea what Martin Winterkorn, chairman of Volkswagen, thinks about the emerging technology. In the final presentation at Volkswagen's pre-show premiere party, Winterkorn not only introduced Volkswagen's cleanest Passat diesel ever, he delivered a few choice words about the competition.
"Why drive a hybrid when you can have a clean diesel now?" he asked rhetorically. He went on to call diesel "a reliable and affordable alternative" to hybrids and noted that although hybrids might imply high technology, "we set the pace when it comes to technology." You hear that, GM and Toyota? -- Ed Hellwig, Lead Senior Editor, Inside Line
firstwagon says:
07:38 AM, 10/ 2/08
You can't say one is better then the other without knowing how it will be used. If you spend most of your time in stop and go city driving, a hybrid easily beats a diesel.
However if you do a lot more hwy then a diesel may be a better choice.
ateixeira says:
01:57 PM, 10/ 2/08
Get the clean diesels here first. The prior generation of diesels are not nearly as good - the Touareg V10 TDI is one of the EPA's worst.