An eagle-eyed reader was minding his own business when he happened to spot a Volkswagen Scirocco in San Francisco, which is interesting in itself because the revived model is not available in the United States. Even more interesting was the fact that the car prominently displayed a TDI badge on its flanks, meaning that there is an oil-burner underhood. So, what does all of this mean? Probably nothing. As we mentioned when we wrote about a recent Volvo C30 diesel which was spotted in Arizona, many manufacturers, including those originally from Europe, choose to test their fleet of cars in the hot climate of the Southwestern U.S. Note that the Scirocco picture plainly shows that the car is registered with Arizona license plates. So, as much as we would love to see Volkswagen bring its sporty hatchback over to our shores -- and especially with the TDI engine option -- this particular car isn't really proof of such. We can still dream, though. Thanks for the tip, Jerry!

For the fifth year in a row, Volkswagen has honored some of its employees for their environmental efforts. The top award went to Pablo Romero Zalba from VW's plant in Pamplona, Spain for coming up with a way to use the residual adhesive left over in the barrels that are received at the assembly plant. The change helped reduce hazardous waste disposal and material usage at the plant.

One of the problems that are encountered in factories is scrap parts. Often components don't pass inspection and must be thrown away. Another award went to Holger Jerzewski who developed a method to treat rejected connecting rods so that can be re-worked and put to use. Other awards went to people who worked on hardening furnaces and in various product categories. Engineers who developed the new natural gas-fueled Passat and the BlueMotion TDI models were also recognized. The VW press release is after the jump.

[Source: Volkswagen]

Diesel fans that have been waiting patiently for the 2009 Volkswagen Jetta TDI will now finally have some relief. Two months after dealers began receiving their demonstrator models, regular customer units are now available and dealers can now start customer deliveries. Volkswagen is charging a $2,000 premium over the base 2.5L gas engine for the fifty-state legal diesel but the Jetta TDI is eligible for a $1,300 federal alternative fuels tax credit. The EPA has rated the Jetta at 29/40 mpg with the 6-speed DSG transmission but drivers of older Jettas have long reported that the EPA estimates for diesels underestimate real world performance. We hope to provide our own evaluation on a regular production unit soon.

[Source: Volkswagen]

Although the current signature for the "greener" VW Golfs is BlueMotion, there have been at least two models in the Golf's past that should be considered green for their time. German's Auto-News has published a complete report about special-edition Golfs and there are two green variants: One is an ancestor of BlueMotion itself and the second one is an EV.

Back in the early '80s, VAG-group cars had a formula to save gasoline which was called "E" and was used for large cars such as the VW Passat or the Audi 100. The trick was a button on the steering wheel that turned off the engine at traffic lights. The engine came back to life when engaging first gear. Sound familiar? Basically, this is what modern Stop/Start systems perform automatically. However, the 1981 Golf E with a stick shift of 3+E gears, could only save fuel with improved aerodynamics on the A-pillars, narrower tires and a fuel economy display that also suggested when to switch gears. The engines? A whopping 50hp gasoline or a 54hp atmospheric diesel.

Regarding EVs, Volkswagen introduced an all-electric Golf in 1995. Called the "City Stromer" (City Electric), it really showed the effects of the 16 massive (and, at 480kg, heavy) lead-acid batteries that fed the 24hp motor: 0 to 100 km/h (62mph) took 27 seconds. After some additional research, we found that this Golf could only carry 4 people, used a SIEMENS three-phase alternating current synchronous motor with permanent magnet excitation which was water cooled. Performance is far from a Tesla Roadster's: maximum speed of 100 km/h, and a range of 70 km in summer and 40 in winter. But it had brake energy recovery, and those numbers aren't too terrible, right? We even found a video of this one after the jump (in Czech).

[Source: Auto-News]

We have heard all about these European hypermilers who manage to churn out 45-50mpg U.S. in production cars, usually with high-technology turbocharged diesels. However, British TV station Channel 4's motoring website 4Car has carried out real-world fuel economy tests on eight low-emissions cars (5 diesels, 2 gasoline and one hybrid) and has found out that they didn't meet the official mileage and CO₂ emission figures. Although the EU driving cycle is more theoretical than real-world driving, the difference is quite stunning. For instance, the worst offender was the Ford Focus Econetic, which got 11mpg Imperial (9mpg U. S. or almost 1l/100 km) worse in the Channel 4 tests than the official numbers whould have us believe. Moreover, higher fuel usage means that these cars pollute more than expected, and means they should fall in a different Vehicle Excess Duty (Road Tax) band and the driver should pay a higher rate. Follow us after the jump for the complete list and their press release which explains their evaluating method.

[Source: 4Car]

Yesterday a National Hydrogen Road Tour kicked off in Portland ME. A motley collection of ten hydrogen fueled vehicles from a variety of manufacturers will be making their way from Maine to California over the next two weeks. The cars including the VW Tiguan HyMotion along with cars from BMW, Honda, Toyota, GM and others will be making 31 stops in 19 states along the way. Not all of the vehicles will be driven the entire route. General Motors for example will bring out its Project Driveway Fuel cell Equinox in the cities where that program is running, New York, Washington and Los Angeles. BMW will be using the mono-fuel (hydrogen only) version of the Hydrogen7 and is planning to cover the entire route. The tour is being sponsored by the California Fuel Cell Partnership, the Departments of Energy and Transportation and the National Hydrogen Association to promote hydrogen as a way to promote hydrogen's potential as a fuel. VW's John Tillman is writing a tour blog as they cross the country in the Tiguan. The VW press release is after the jump.

[Source: Volkswagen]

Click above for a high-res gallery of the ML320 BLUETEC

We already knew that purchasers of VW's new clean diesel-powered Jetta for 2009 would be eligible for a tax credit of $1,300, and now more models from Germany get the same treatment from the Internal Revenue Service. All Mercedes-Benz models equipped with the BLUETEC emissions treatment technology will get a rebate. The 2009 GL320, R320 and ML320 BLUETEC are expected to go on sale beginning in October of this year, which should give prospective buyers plenty of time to get ready to prepare for the savings on their taxes. Each of the vehicles will get a different rebate ranging from $900 for the ML to $1,800 for the GL due to the process the IRS uses to determine how much fuel will be saved by the vehicle. As with other similar systems, each manufacturer is limited to 60,000 units sold before the rebates come to an end.


[Source: Automotive News - sub. req'd]

Click above for complete gallery

The Beijing Olympics will have a complete fleet of 5,000 "green cars" by Volkswagen, which is an official sponsor. The chosen models are the Magotan 2.0 TDI (6.2 l/100) and Magotan BlueMotion (5.1 l/100), the Sagitar 1.4 TSI (6.4 l/100), the Touran EcoFuel (bifuel CNG/gasoline) and the Tiguan 2.0 TDI (6.9 l/100). The Magotan is a locally-produced version of the VW Passat and the Sagitar is the name used to identify the Jetta. The Olympic cars carry a special car design, which features Olympic tradition with symbols that represent the concepts of "mobility", "wind" and "street" combined.


[Source: Auto News]

Click on the new Golf for a high-res gallery

The sixth generation Volkswagen Golf won't be shown publicly until October's Paris Motor Show. However, VW has just officially released the photos we already saw a couple of days ago along with a slew of details on its new mainstream model. Along with the usual array of refinements that come with almost every new generation of a car, the Golf gets technology like adaptive cruise control, adaptive chassis control and parking assist systems. How many of these will make it to the US market Rabbit are unknown. But that's not why you read ABG.

With the new generation all diesel powered Golfs now get common rail fuel injection like that used on the new US Jetta TDI launching next month. Eventually the Golf will have a range of TDI diesels from 90-170 hp. At launch a pair of 2.0L units with 110 hp and 140 hp will be available. All the new Golf TDIs get particulate filters to eliminate virtually all of the soot emissions. The 110 hp engine improves from 46.1 mpg (US) to 52.3 mpg (US) on the EU combined cycle and is rated at 119 g/km of CO₂ emissions. The 140 hp diesel gets a 48 mpg (US) rating. The direct injected gas engines are also more efficient with power ratings from 80 to 160 hp. Aside from the lowest end models any of the engines can be had with either a manual or a DSG dual clutch transmission which now replaces conventional automatic transmissions across the board. In the top end model a 150 hp 2.0L engine with automatic is replaced by a 160 hp TSI (turbo and supercharged, and direct injected) 1.4L that combined with a 7-speed DSG yields 28 percent less fuel consumption. The full press release is after the jump.


[Source: Volkswagen]

Click above for complete gallery.

Although it is supposed to be introduced on Wednesday, the photos of the sixth generation of the Golf are now available online. The official introduction of the car is still set for October 2nd in Paris. This new generation gets the Scirocco frontal treatment although it's more an evolution than a revolution from the current model. Why is this interesting? VW is phasing out the last of their older TDI technology to become HDIs, and both the Polo and the Golf (Rabbit as it's known in the U. S.) will be the first models to get these diesels. Until now, VW's older diesels used pump injectors, but they're switching to common-rail technology, as the rest of competitors (namely the PSA HDI diesels and the Opel/Fiat CDTIs). The Golf is also expected to get a brand-new 1.6-liter TDi that will lower consumption and improve emissions, to get under the magical 120 g/km figure.


[Source: Le Blog Auto]

Hybrid owners aren't the only ones eligible for tax breaks. Buyers of Volkswagen's new diesel powered Jettas will be able to recoup $1,300 of the purchase price from our friends at the IRS. The Internal Revenue Service has decreed that the Jetta TDI qualifies for the Advanced Lean Burn Technology Motor Vehicle income tax credit. That means that a diesel Jetta will cost about $700 more than a regular gas Jetta. By now most Volkswagen dealers across North America should have a Jetta TDI demonstrator on the lot. Deliveries to customers should start around the end of August or early September. During the media drive of Mercedes' new Bluetec diesel SUVs recently, company officials expressed hope that those vehicles would also qualify for the tax credit. Thanks to Connor for the tip!

[Source: VWvortex]

We've heard rumors that Volkswagen would be going against the concept up!'s rear-engine and rear-wheel drive architecture, and it now appears that those earlier rumblings are indeed true. That's a big knock against the retro-theme that attracted many to the concept in the first place. After all, countless numbers of individuals were first introduced to the VW brand via the iconic Beetle, which, of course, had it's engine hanging off the rear and driving those wheels. VW CEO Martin Winterkorn says, "Our engineers favored a rear engine and fought until the end for that solution." Those dang accountants ruined the fun again.

A front-wheel drive architecture will undoubtedly lower the cost of the vehicle's development as it will allow for a much larger use of already-designed parts and will surely let VW use architecture from its Lupo small car. Still, that platform-sharing doesn't seem to be speeding up the development too much as it is now five full months behind schedule.

Hatchback, minivan and sedan versions of the platform are expected to begin sales in Europe in 2011, a full two years after rivals such as the Fiat Topolino and Toyota's iQ model are to go on sale. We have hopes that the up! will make it stateside, though the new FWD format surely makes them considerably less compelling to many eyes, ours included.


[Source: Automotive News – Sub. Req.]

Last week, Volkswagen of America announced it would build it's first US factory since it's Pennsylvania factory closed in 1984 in Chattanooga Tennessee. The new plant will build a new mid-sized replacement for the Passat. What CEO Stefan Jacoby didn't announce was where powertrains will come from. The new car will be available with gasoline, diesel and hybrid power-plants. The power-train is one of the most expensive components in the vehicle so getting the most out of building cars in the dollar zone means building them here as well. The gasoline engines will likely be sourced from the Puebla Mexico factory that also supplies the assembly plant there. The Mexican factory doesn't currently produce transmissions. VW is apparently waiting on Audi's decision on a US factory before finalizing plans for new engine and transmission plants. Audi and VW share powertrains, so the two brands will likely want to build in a location convenient to both assembly plants. If VW does decide to build hybrid transmissions in North America they may even end up exporting some of those back to Europe as well.

[Source: Automotive News - sub. req'd]

While Volkswagen may be offering their first electric car as early as 2010 and are already imagining their 2028 electric offerings, the company's chief research officer, Juergen Leohold, doesn't see an explosion in the numbers of electro-mobiles on the road any time soon. In fact, by the time 2028 rolls around, he only expects them to make up only 10 per cent of that future fleet. What does he see as the big hold up? Batteries. According to the German boffin, lithium ion batteries may have already come a long way but they still lack in energy density and production capacity. Their current cost is also seen as prohibitively high. To top all that, he doesn't think it will ever top the internal combustion engine when it comes applications like long-haul trucks. Way to buzzkill, dude.

All that is not to say he is not a fan of the technology. Au contraire, mes frères. He expects VW to start off with small city cars, not unlike the Up! pictured above, but then use the electric drivetrain in larger, family size models. He says, "We have an ambition to electrify more than just the really small cars, but also our main model series, the Golf," Ah, that's more like it!

[Source: Deutsche Welle]

Volkswagen has committed to building a family of small cars based on the up! concepts that debuted at auto shows in fall 2007. What they haven't yet committed to is a location for building those cars. Right now the leading contender in Europe appears to be the Skoda factory in Vrchlabi, Czech Republic. The up! based cars will be sold in several styles and under several VW Group brands. The basic version is intended as a city car that offers more utility than competitors like the Smart ForTwo. VW wants the up! to be able to accomodate four adults comfortably when needed although it will primarily be used for two occupants. With two people aboard, the up will still offer plenty of room for luggage for a trip or groceries. Because of the entry level segment the up! will compete in, VW needs a low cost source for the car, which is why the Skoda plant is currently favored.

[Source: Ward's Auto World]