My MPG was going down slightly about a year after I bought my 2006 Beetle PD BEW TDI DSG auto tranny used with 45,000. So at about 60,000, it was getting about 37 mpg. After completing the 100,000 service at 74,400 miles which included the timing belt, water pump, thermostat, belt tensioner, idler pulley, fuel filter plus tranny service; I am now getting 44.5 mpg back and forth to work with the AC on. Pretty good for a 2006 PD with DSG. I'll do a brake job this weekend pending the weather. My only complaint is the price of diesel in New York state. Too much taxes on the gallon of diesel! And bio-diesel cost the same but is offered in only a few locations ie Syracuse. So much for NY wanting to go green. Besides, except for mid-summer, upstate NY is too darn cold for bio-diesel.
Anyone ever think that the federal government could sell off thousands of acres of barren land to oil companies to pay down the debt? Go out west, the feds call barren rocks and sand National Forest. Drill baby, drill! My only caveat, American oil should be consumed by Americans and not sold on the international market. How much Alaskan oil went to the lower 48?
I'm a strong supporter of diesel powered vehicles especially if the petro industry could come up with an alternative non-fossil fuel, better performance/higher cetane, mass produced and less expensive to produce than fossil fuel.
I hear VW is working on a small diesel/hybrid that gets 70-100 mpg. It can be done.
bigochief