Finally a VW Topic!

[Ecky]

Good looking car.

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

Spotted this Volkswagen Virtus, local sedan derivative of the current generation of the Polo, the first one I saw in my hometown taxi livery.

Originally Posted by Fingie

most CNG-cars run badly on gas when cold but IDK, at least a tiny tank should be there somewhere to start it on gas first

I'm more used to CNG-converted cars, which retain their original fuel tank, and it's often recommended to start on gasoline and leave it reach its operating temperature before switching fuels even though CNG could be supposed to lead to an easier cold start because it's already injected in vapour phase. A few cars fitted with a CNG system from the factory (or from a certified installer through dealer order) such as a local version of the Opel Astra B released in 2006 were set to start on CNG.

[freebeard]

Of course I can't find the picture today, but the WWII Beetle natural gas conversions had a bottle that stuck through the firewall into the back seat.

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

Fusca Itamar, I guess most of you already know they were known here as such because their short production run ('93-'96) was started due to a request of the late Itamar Franco while he was the president of Brazil.



Friendly fire was provided by the Gol 1000, with a Ford-sourced (those were the AutoLatina days), Renault-designed engine.

Originally Posted by freebeard

Of course I can't find the picture today, but the WWII Beetle natural gas conversions had a bottle that stuck through the firewall into the back seat.

CNG back then was IIRC more usual in Italy than anywhere else.

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

'59



Terral, a Brazilian buggy

[freebeard]

I looked through Jason Torchinsky's back pages:


https://jalopnik.com/its-time-to-lea...ool-1828503655

The Polauto is a fascinating car because it literally could not have existed anywhere else in the world or at any other time. Only Brazil’s very specific set of restrictions would have made the idea of re-bodying a compact family car into a double-cab pickup truck make sense. But it did, and people actually used (and still seem to use) these as you’d use any pickup truck.

https://jalopnik.com/you-probably-ca...uck-1793530776

Similar South African concepts.


https://jalopnik.com/brazil-once-mad...ats-1772369018

A Passat Vista Cruiser!

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

The Polauto used to be made in Porto Alegre. I still used to see a white one once in a while in my neighborhood. When it comes to Passats, the B1 wagon was never officially available here, then a handful of dealers offered their own conversions. The closest to a B1 wagon I've ever seen is that Diesel-powered Passat converted into a truck with a camper shell and a rear seat.

[euromodder]

Originally Posted by cRiPpLe_rOoStEr

I could have never guessed it was a dedicated-CNG. Doesn't it have at least some small jug for a small amount of gasoline to enable a limp-home mode or to find a CNG station?

It does have a 10L fuel tank under the rear seats - the black blob aside the CNG tank.

Starts on gasoline after filling up with CNG
(while it tests the variable CNG energy content)

[Xist]

https://jalopnik.com/the-new-bumbleb...-he-1826574522

[euromodder]

Originally Posted by cRiPpLe_rOoStEr

I'm more used to CNG-converted cars, which retain their original fuel tank, and it's often recommended to start on gasoline and leave it reach its operating temperature before switching fuels even though CNG could be supposed to lead to an easier cold start because it's already injected in vapour phase. A few cars fitted with a CNG system from the factory (or from a certified installer through dealer order) such as a local version of the Opel Astra B released in 2006 were set to start on CNG.

I've never seen my CNG VW up start on gasoline due to cold weather - it's supposed to do so below either -5 or -10°C , but it never did.

Starts and runs smoothly, well, for a 3 cylinder engine, even when starting from cold in cold weather.


Only time it ever started on gasoline - aside from right after filling up- has been when it had stood at an airport car park for 3 weeks, quit instantly on CNG, restarted roughly on gasoline , yet it was 25°C !