Archive News
Blue is the new Green for VW Passat
Date Published: 27-May-2010
Is Blue the new Green? Volkswagen’s BlueMotion technology has become somewhat of an industry standard in a short period of time.
Already it has been introduced into the Polo, Golf and the Passat. BlueMotion technology includes: retuned engines, a Start/Stop function, an on-dash gear shift indicator, battery regeneration under braking, low rolling resistance tyres and some body add-ons and changes to reduce drag all with the goal of reducing CO2 emissions and lowering fuel consumption in these eco-conscious and cost-cutting times. And, you get a discreet BlueMotion badge that tells the World and fellow road users that you are a caring motorist.
There are three models in the Passat range that feature BlueMotion technology. You can have a 1.4-litre TSI 122 bhp, a 1.6-TDI 105 bhp and a 2.0-litre 140 bhp, all with manual gearboxes and all promising the same refinement and comfort as the standard Passat equivalent.
You can also get the Passat with 6- and 7-speed DSG automatic transmission depending on the model you choose. But it is for the cars environmental claims that the BlueMotion range is mostly marketed and it is against those and the cost of delivering those credits that we must look at the Passat BlueMotion.
To put the cart before the horse here, the results are impressive. The figures do hold up to all intents with the fuel consumption after a week in the 1.6-litre TDI coming in at a healthy 5.4L/100kms. Volkswagen do claim that this car can deliver 4.9L/100kms so any observer of such claims from any car maker will tell you that that constitutes an excellent return.
Talking to others in the office here about the Passat BlueMotion, all mention the fuel consumption first and all returned similar figures and that kind of consistency across a eclectic bunch of pilots like the Fleet Transport test drivers suggests that Volkswagen have their figures nailed.
The only true measurement of any car from an ownership view point and a cost of ownership perspective is that it delivers what the manufacturer promises. Or, that over-used phrase that ‘it does what it says on the tin’.
From the fuel economy angle Volkswagen’s claims are as good as their word. Official CO2 emissions are 118g/km which puts the Passat BlueMotion firmly in the Band-A tax bracket and an annual Road Tax bill of €104. The technology also ensures that the engine is Euro 5 compliant.
On the road, there are some obvious differences that way the Passat BlueMotion performs compared to a regular specified Passat 1.6. You will notice little around town to tell them apart. However, if you try to follow the instructions of the gear shift indicator all the time, you will drive yourself insane although it will make a big difference to the fuel economy.
But, take it from me it is not worth it. Out on the open road you will detect the results of the detuning of the engine. Acceleration from 0 to 100kms is 12.4 seconds with maximum torque of 250Nm between 1,500 and 2,500 rpm.
There’s little need to remind you that the BlueMotion Passat carries all the structural, safety and aesthetic traits present in all Passat models. In the BlueMotion the Start/Stop function works exactly the same way as other systems of this type operate with the engine cutting out if you stop in traffic and engage neutral, restarting again as soon as you press the clutch. You know it’s active when the Start/Stop symbol is shown on the multifunction computer display.
The battery regeneration allows the battery to be charged by recovering energy under braking and the low rolling resistance tyres help the drag co-efficient. There are some who say that grip is reduced with these tyres. Logic would conclude that this should be the case. However, both Volkswagen and the tyre manufacturers don’t believe they do. There was no noticeable evidence of lesser grip during my week with the car although the weather that week was generally dry.
Gerry’s Rating 7.5/10
People’s living conditions less than 100 years ago were frightening. We have come a long way. We talk about water charges today, but back then the local District Councils were erecting pumps for local communities and the lovely town of Mountbellew, according to Council minutes, had open sewers,” says Galway County Council archivist Patria McWalter.
Patria believes we “need to take pride in our history, and we should take the same pride in our historical records as we do in our built heritage”. When you see the wealth of material in her care, this belief makes sense.
She is in charge of caring for the rich collection of administrative records owned by Galway County Council and says “these records are as much part of our history as the Rock of Cashel is. They document our lives and our ancestors’ lives. And nobody can plan for the future unless you learn from the past, what worked and what didn’t”.
Archivists and librarians are often unfairly regarded as being dry, academic types, but that’s certainly not true of Patria. Her enthusiasm is infectious as she turns the pages of several minute books from Galway’s Rural District Councils, all of them at least 100 years old.
Part of her role involved cataloguing all the records of the Councils – Ballinasloe, Clifden, Galway, Gort, Loughrea, Mountbellew, Portumna and Tuam. These records mostly consisted of minutes of various meetings.
When she was cataloguing them she realised their worth to local historians and researchers, so she decided to compile a guide to their content. The result is For the Record: The Archives of Galway’s Rural District Councils, which will be a valuable asset to anybody with an interest in history.
Many representatives on these Councils were local personalities and several were arrested during the political upheaval of the era, she explains.
And, ushering in a new era in history, women were allowed to sit on these Rural District Councils – at the time they were not allowed to sit on County Councils.
All of this information is included in Patria’s introductory essay to the attractively produced A4 size guide, which gives a glimpse into how these Rural Councils operated and the way political thinking changed in Ireland during a short 26-year period. In the early 1900s, these Councils supported Home Rule, but by 1920, they were calling for full independence and refusing to recognise the British administration.
“I love the tone,” says Patria of the minutes from meetings. “The language was very emotive.”
That was certainly true of the Gort Rural District Council. At a meeting in 1907, following riots in Dublin at the premiere of JM Synge’s play, The Playboy of the Western World the councillors’ response was vehement. They recorded their decision to “protest most emphatically against the libellous comedy, The Playboy of the Western World, that was belched forth during the past week in the Abbey Theatre, Dublin, under the fostering care of Lady Gregory and Mr Yeats. We congratulate the good people of Dublin in howling down the gross buffoonery and immoral suggestions that are scattered throughout this scandalous performance.
For more from the archives see this week’s Tribunes here
Date Published: 23-Jan-2013
SLIGO 0-9
GALWAY 1-4
FRANK FARRAGHER IN ENNISCRONE
GALWAY’S first serious examination of the 2013 season rather disturbingly ended with a rating well below the 40% pass mark at the idyllic, if rather Siberian, seaside setting of Enniscrone on Sunday last.
The defeat cost Galway a place in the FBD League Final against Leitrim and also put a fair dent on their confidence shield for the bigger tests that lie ahead in February.
There was no fluke element in this success by an understrength Sligo side and by the time Leitrim referee, Frank Flynn, sounded the final whistle, there wasn’t a perished soul in the crowd of about 500 who could question the justice of the outcome.
It is only pre-season and last Sunday’s blast of dry polar winds did remind everyone that this is far from summer football, but make no mistake about it, the match did lay down some very worrying markers for Galway following a couple of victories over below par third level college teams.
Galway did start the game quite positively, leading by four points at the end of a first quarter when they missed as much more, but when Sligo stepped up the tempo of the game in the 10 minutes before half-time, the maroon resistance crumbled with frightening rapidity.
Some of the statistics of the match make for grim perusal. Over the course of the hour, Galway only scored two points from play and they went through a 52 minute period of the match, without raising a white flag – admittedly a late rally did bring them close to a draw but that would have been very rough justice on Sligo.
Sligo were backable at 9/4 coming into this match, the odds being stretched with the ‘missing list’ on Kevin Walsh’s team sheet – Adrian Marren, Stephen Coen, Tony Taylor, Ross Donovan, David Kelly, David Maye, Johnny Davey and Eamon O’Hara, were all marked absent for a variety of reasons.
Walsh has his Sligo side well schooled in the high intensity, close quarters type of football, and the harder Galway tried to go through the short game channels, the more the home side bottled them up.
Galway badly needed to find some variety in their attacking strategy and maybe there is a lot to be said for the traditional Meath style of giving long, quick ball to a full forward line with a big target man on the edge of the square – given Paul Conroy’s prowess close to goal last season, maybe it is time to ‘settle’ on a few basics.
Defensively, Galway were reasonably solid with Gary Sice at centre back probably their best player – he was one of the few men in maroon to deliver decent long ball deep into the attacking zone – while Finian Hanley, Conor Costello and Gary O’Donnell also kept things tight.
For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.
Date Published: 23-Jan-2013
images/files/images/x3_Courthouse.jpg
Families queue up for school’s offer of free house
West has lower cancer survival rates than rest
Galway minors continue to lay waste to all opponents
Gardaí and IFA issue a joint appeal on summer road safety
Marathon Man plans to call a halt – but not before he hits 160 races
