Andreas_D
Registered User
- Joined
- Feb 15, 2010
- Messages
- 26
- Reaction score
- 0
- Points
- 1
- Location
- San Franciso, USA
- Website
- www.driving-vacation.com
Luxembourg is smaller than the State of Rhode Island, yet it has three official languages: French, German, and Luxembourgish. It also has the highest density of global financial institutions and foreign government officials. Despite the fact it is one of the smallest nations in Europe, this country has amazing landscapes. The tiny center, Luxembourg City, sits on a plateau surrounded by deep lush gorges, and the rest of the country features forested hills and vast valleys. All of these attributes make Luxembourg a perfect long weekend getaway. ng chic and trendy restaurants, coffee shops, galleries, and boutiques. This is now a lifestyle hangout where you can find Balinese and Burmese teak furniture, European painting, Italian espresso, American breakfast, and Asian designer clothing. The founding team members of Audi Club Singapore suggested this place to meet...
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To accentuate our exploration, we got an eco car that drinks gasoline in the manner cactus drinks water, and yet it was still capable to instill tingling sensations in our weekend driving vacation. We rented an A4 Avant TDI from Europecar rental car company at Frankfurt Airport. As soon as we reached the Autobahn heading towards Luxembourg, I knew immediately that this A4 was not our fathersâ clunky diesel car. The quiet engine at idle, the deep sporty growl when the accelerator was pressed, the exhilarating feeling as we passed others on autobahn made us forgot that this 2.0 liter TDI engine has only 136 hp but rousing 236 lb-ft...
Photo gallery
After a few hours of rest, we started our exploration. For architecture students, Kirchberg is probably the best place to study the latest trend of eco friendly modern architectures.The purposeful and sophisticated urban planning with the emphasis on providing a sustainable living reminded me of the similar eco initiatives that Audi has pioneered for many years. The sportiness of this A4 may be easily recognizable. But its efficiency becomes evident upon driving it. It is not one or two things that Audi does to improve the efficiency of its cars, but rather an array of research and development in various areas covering aerodynamic, power plant, electrical system, body and mechanical construction, and manufacturing process and recyclability. It is worth noting that Audi is ahead of regulatory requirements with its recycling program...
Photo gallery
This A4 has only less than 0.28 coefficient of drag (Cd). The Audi AG Wind Tunnel Center in Ingolstadt has a lot to do with this impressive Cd. Here, in a facility covering 10,000 meter square and housing three giant wind tunnels, car models are evaluated and tuned for minimal drag. Hot spots under car models, along roof lines, and at corners are eliminated. Less resistance means less energy is required and less CO2 produces. According to EU standard cycle, the decrease of 0.04 Cd reduces the CO2 emission by 3 grams per kilometers...
Photo gallery
The eco features of this A4 that we experienced a lot during our Old Town exploration were the Start-Stop system and Energy Recovery System. A fast and smooth Start-Stop system shuts off the engine when the car is at standstill and the clutch is pressed. In less than a split of a second after I relaxed my left foot to release the clutch, the engine started again ready for my next command. The system worked so fast and so reliably, even in the hilly part of Luxembourg, as if it read my mind. In the extreme cold weather temperature, the Start-Stop system remains inactive till the engine reaches the optimal operating temperature to reduce the unnecessary CO2 emission. The system lowers fuel consumption by 0.2 liter per 100 km and reduces the CO2 emission by 5 grams per kilometer...
Photo gallery
Luxembourg is a home to about 130 Châteaux. Some are fortified castles, others are lavish mansions. So, our weekend getaway would not be complete without visiting one of them. We entered Vianden into our A4 navigation system and let the car guided us to the famous and large medieval Château de Vianden. On the way to the Château, we had some fun with the efficiency program. This program shows all consumption-relevant data and actively provides recommendation on the ideal moment to change gear. Coupled with a TDI engine that produced abundant 236 lb-ft torque at as low as 1400 rpm, the gear change recommendation will maintain the most optimum engine speed over various driving conditions. This way the fuel consumption can be minimized by up to 30 percent depending on the driving style...
Photo gallery
In 2008, Audi performed a study on sold vehicles with LED lights. Since A4 LED DRL consumes only 15 watts, this translates to 0.2 liter per 100 km and 4 grams fewer CO2 emission per kilometer per car. Using the 2008 sales figure and average driving number based on dealer service records, ten million of fuels were saved and 25,000 tones of fewer CO2 emission was produced in one year. Since then, LED lights are extensively use not only for DRL but also for taillights, headlights, and interior lighting. Additionally, LED has a virtually unlimited life cycle. It can be turned on and off up to ten times faster than regular bulb. And this hundreds of millisecond advantage of seeing LED brake lights sooner in emergency situation can actually save lives and reduce trauma...
Photo gallery
As soon as we left the highly populated areas, the view opened up and we were greeted by autumn foliage colors covering the vast rolling hills. At this moment, there was nothing better to do than absorbing the mesmerizing continuous frames of perfect postcards. After passing a few more small towns, we finally arrived at Viandenâs main street, Grand Rue. This street climbs up a forested steep hills from the tiny bridge over River Our at the city center. We eagerly drove up this street following the sign for Château de Vianden. Mightily sits on a high ground, the eleventh century castle of Vianden glowed in the dusk. The mixture of Romanesque, Gothic, and Renaissance features of this castle made this castle a perfect place to have a Halloween party. Many kids and their parents dressed in scary, funny, and medieval customs were dancing in a very large, tall, and airy hall at the heart of the castle. Walking around the castle ground, we soaked the fairy-tale panoramic view of dark deep blue sky, orange band of sunset on the horizon, and rolling lush hills highlighted by lights from small towns below. It was a great place to end our weekend getaway...
Photo gallery
Read more...
Photo gallery
To accentuate our exploration, we got an eco car that drinks gasoline in the manner cactus drinks water, and yet it was still capable to instill tingling sensations in our weekend driving vacation. We rented an A4 Avant TDI from Europecar rental car company at Frankfurt Airport. As soon as we reached the Autobahn heading towards Luxembourg, I knew immediately that this A4 was not our fathersâ clunky diesel car. The quiet engine at idle, the deep sporty growl when the accelerator was pressed, the exhilarating feeling as we passed others on autobahn made us forgot that this 2.0 liter TDI engine has only 136 hp but rousing 236 lb-ft...
Photo gallery
After a few hours of rest, we started our exploration. For architecture students, Kirchberg is probably the best place to study the latest trend of eco friendly modern architectures.The purposeful and sophisticated urban planning with the emphasis on providing a sustainable living reminded me of the similar eco initiatives that Audi has pioneered for many years. The sportiness of this A4 may be easily recognizable. But its efficiency becomes evident upon driving it. It is not one or two things that Audi does to improve the efficiency of its cars, but rather an array of research and development in various areas covering aerodynamic, power plant, electrical system, body and mechanical construction, and manufacturing process and recyclability. It is worth noting that Audi is ahead of regulatory requirements with its recycling program...
Photo gallery
This A4 has only less than 0.28 coefficient of drag (Cd). The Audi AG Wind Tunnel Center in Ingolstadt has a lot to do with this impressive Cd. Here, in a facility covering 10,000 meter square and housing three giant wind tunnels, car models are evaluated and tuned for minimal drag. Hot spots under car models, along roof lines, and at corners are eliminated. Less resistance means less energy is required and less CO2 produces. According to EU standard cycle, the decrease of 0.04 Cd reduces the CO2 emission by 3 grams per kilometers...
Photo gallery
The eco features of this A4 that we experienced a lot during our Old Town exploration were the Start-Stop system and Energy Recovery System. A fast and smooth Start-Stop system shuts off the engine when the car is at standstill and the clutch is pressed. In less than a split of a second after I relaxed my left foot to release the clutch, the engine started again ready for my next command. The system worked so fast and so reliably, even in the hilly part of Luxembourg, as if it read my mind. In the extreme cold weather temperature, the Start-Stop system remains inactive till the engine reaches the optimal operating temperature to reduce the unnecessary CO2 emission. The system lowers fuel consumption by 0.2 liter per 100 km and reduces the CO2 emission by 5 grams per kilometer...
Photo gallery
Luxembourg is a home to about 130 Châteaux. Some are fortified castles, others are lavish mansions. So, our weekend getaway would not be complete without visiting one of them. We entered Vianden into our A4 navigation system and let the car guided us to the famous and large medieval Château de Vianden. On the way to the Château, we had some fun with the efficiency program. This program shows all consumption-relevant data and actively provides recommendation on the ideal moment to change gear. Coupled with a TDI engine that produced abundant 236 lb-ft torque at as low as 1400 rpm, the gear change recommendation will maintain the most optimum engine speed over various driving conditions. This way the fuel consumption can be minimized by up to 30 percent depending on the driving style...
Photo gallery
In 2008, Audi performed a study on sold vehicles with LED lights. Since A4 LED DRL consumes only 15 watts, this translates to 0.2 liter per 100 km and 4 grams fewer CO2 emission per kilometer per car. Using the 2008 sales figure and average driving number based on dealer service records, ten million of fuels were saved and 25,000 tones of fewer CO2 emission was produced in one year. Since then, LED lights are extensively use not only for DRL but also for taillights, headlights, and interior lighting. Additionally, LED has a virtually unlimited life cycle. It can be turned on and off up to ten times faster than regular bulb. And this hundreds of millisecond advantage of seeing LED brake lights sooner in emergency situation can actually save lives and reduce trauma...
Photo gallery
As soon as we left the highly populated areas, the view opened up and we were greeted by autumn foliage colors covering the vast rolling hills. At this moment, there was nothing better to do than absorbing the mesmerizing continuous frames of perfect postcards. After passing a few more small towns, we finally arrived at Viandenâs main street, Grand Rue. This street climbs up a forested steep hills from the tiny bridge over River Our at the city center. We eagerly drove up this street following the sign for Château de Vianden. Mightily sits on a high ground, the eleventh century castle of Vianden glowed in the dusk. The mixture of Romanesque, Gothic, and Renaissance features of this castle made this castle a perfect place to have a Halloween party. Many kids and their parents dressed in scary, funny, and medieval customs were dancing in a very large, tall, and airy hall at the heart of the castle. Walking around the castle ground, we soaked the fairy-tale panoramic view of dark deep blue sky, orange band of sunset on the horizon, and rolling lush hills highlighted by lights from small towns below. It was a great place to end our weekend getaway...
Photo gallery
Read more...
