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From VWVortex.com: NCC & NCS Concept Cars (Jetta?)

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Golf TDI finalist for 2010 Green Car of the Year

Volkswagen's All-New Golf TDI Named Finalist for 2010 Green Car of the Year

HERNDON, Va., Oct. 8 /PRNewswire/ -- Volkswagen of America announced today its all-new Golf TDI has been selected by the Green Car Journal as a 2010 Green Car of the Year(® )finalist.( )The Green Car of the Year will be awarded during a press conference during this year's Los Angeles Auto Show Press Days, December 3, 2009.

"We're extremely pleased to have our Golf TDI nominated as one of the top five finalists for the 2010 Green Car of the Year," said Mark Barnes, Chief Operating Officer, Volkswagen of America. "Since our clean diesel TDI vehicles, like the Golf TDI, deliver more than a thirty percent increase in fuel economy, emit approximately twenty-five percent less harmful greenhouse gas emissions and provide a significant increase in torque we strongly believe they represent an excellent alternative fuel vehicle that provides our customers with the best of both worlds -- tremendous fuel efficiency combined with a dynamic driving experience," added Barnes.

The Golf TDI features the same efficient and fun-to-drive 2.0-liter four cylinder clean diesel engine that is found in the highly acclaimed Jetta TDI, which currently holds a world record for averaging 67.9 miles-per-gallon when it was driven the 48 contiguous states in 19 days. The Environmental Protection Agency estimates the Golf TDI at an economical 30 mpg City, and 42 mpg Highway. The Golf TDI is 50-state compliant and meets the most stringent emissions standards of California.

The Golf TDI starts at $21,990, and with its affordable price point, refined ride and handling, tremendous fuel economy, and greatly reduced greenhouse gas emissions the Golf TDI proves to be a very competent eco-friendly vehicle.

Demonstrating not only the fuel efficiency of today's clean diesels, but also their ability to greatly lower our country's dependence on foreign oil EPA research has concluded that if diesels were to power one third of all light duty vehicles in the United States, the shift would save approximately 1.4 million barrels of oil a day -- equal to the daily shipments from Saudi Arabia to the U.S.

Volkswagen of America, Inc.

Founded in 1955, Volkswagen of America, Inc. is headquartered in Herndon, Virginia. It is a subsidiary of Volkswagen AG, headquartered in Wolfsburg, Germany. Volkswagen is one of the world's largest producers of passenger cars and Europe's largest automaker. Volkswagen sells the New Beetle, New Beetle convertible, Golf, GTI, Jetta, Jetta SportWagen, Eos, CC, Passat, Passat wagon, Tiguan, Touareg, and Routan through approximately 600 independent U.S. dealers. All 2010 Volkswagens come standard-equipped with Electronic Stabilization Program. This is important because the National Highway and Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has called ESC the most effective new vehicle safety technology since the safety belt. Visit Volkswagen of America online at vw.com or www.media.vw.com to learn more.

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VW Jetta TDI Quailifies for $1,300 Tax Credit

Volkswagen's Clean Diesels eligible for alternative motor vehicle Federal Tax Credit
July 29, 2008
Buyers of Volkswagen Jetta TDI vehicles eligible for a $1300 Federal Tax Credit

HERNDON, Va.?Volkswagen of America, Inc. today announced that buyers of the Jetta TDI sedan and SportWagen are eligible for a $1,300 Federal Income Tax Credit. The Internal Revenue Service has issued a certification letter affirming that the vehicles qualify for the Advanced Lean Burn Technology Motor Vehicle income tax credit.

"The $1,300 tax credit provides an even greater value to the upcoming Jetta TDI sedan and SportWagen," said Mark Barnes, COO, Volkswagen of America, Inc. "Our clean diesel vehicles offer consumers the fuel efficiency that they're looking for while providing power, utility, performance, safety and excellent value."

Jetta TDI sedan and SportWagen showcase the best of both worlds, an alternative fuel vehicle with no compromises. Fuel efficiency, performance and convenience come standard with the 50-state compliant Jetta TDI sedan and SportWagen models, which meet the most stringent emissions standards in California. Vehicles are currently available to test drive at local Volkswagen dealers, both models will be available for sale this August.

While the Environmental Protection Agency estimates the Jetta TDI at an economical 29 mpg city and 40 mpg highway, Volkswagen went a step further to show real world fuel economy of the Jetta TDI. Leading third-party certifier, AMCI, tested the Jetta TDI and found it performed 24 percent better in real world conditions, achieving 38 mpg in the city and 44 mpg on the highway.*

The Jetta TDI models come standard with Volkswagen's Prevent and Preserve Safety System, consisting of numerous standard safety features. Both the Jetta TDI sedan and SportWagen include six airbags, with optional rear side airbags, and like all 2009 model year Volkswagens, Jetta TDIs also feature standard Electronic Stabilization Program (ESP) for added safety.

Also standard for 2009 is Volkswagen's Carefree Maintenance Program, with this program there are no charges for the scheduled maintenance described in the vehicle's maintenance booklet for the length of the New Vehicle Limited Warranty?three years or 36,000 miles, whichever occurs first.

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2010 Volkswagen GTI named Automobile of the Year!

2010 Automobile of the Year: 2010 Volkswagen GTI

Tuesday, November 10, 2009 | Automobile Magazine | Joe DeMatio | Word Count (1051)

Yes, the VW GTI is our Automobile of the Year. Again. The last-generation car got the nod only three years ago and now its successor, the sixth-generation GTI, walks away with the trophy as well. How is it that, for the first time since we started naming an Automobile of the Year exactly twenty years ago, we have deemed a single make and model vehicle worthy of our top award not once, but twice? It's very simple. Because the Volkswagen GTI continues to burn the affordable-enthusiast-car flame like no other vehicle in the world. Because the new, Mark 6 GTI, although only a mild update to the Mark 5 GTI, made a good thing even better. Because, as we pointed out in our February 2007 issue, the GTI is "the right car for our times. Hell, it's the right car for any time." And because, as we also stated three years ago, "what the world really needs now is not cars that are fast, but cars that are practical, fuel-efficient, and fast." Not to mention affordable and fun. The 2010 VW GTI is all this, and more.

We've said it before, but it's worth repeating: It's one thing for an automaker to create a car for fifty, or seventy-five, or a hundred thousand dollars or more that gets our pulses racing. Cars that cost that much certainly better be exciting to drive, rewarding to own, and well-built, with quality interiors. But it's another thing entirely, a real achievement, when an automaker creates a car that starts at only $24,239 - well within the reach of most new-car buyers - that is, as our West Coast editor, Jason Cammisa, says, "just as much fun to drive and with just as much street cred as cars costing three times as much." Volkswagen alone has managed to do this, with varying degrees of success, longer than any other automaker: the first GTI reached the U.S. in 1983 and single-handedly created the whole "pocket rocket" genre. Lots of other cars, most recently two successive generations of the Mazdaspeed 3, have attempted to replicate the GTI formula, but none have quite cracked the code.

The key to that code, of course, is the blend of athleticism, practicality, and performance that was the basis of the original GTI and which was resurrected so well in the Mark 5 edition. In 2007, we grooved to the remarkable 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine and even went so far as to say that we might take the dual-clutch DSG transmission over the standard six-speed manual. Both gearbox choices have carried over to the 2010 car, but it's a little-known fact that the 2.0T engine was, as of mid-2008, new. Code-named EA888, it's still a 2.0-liter turbo four, and it still makes 200 hp and 207 lb-ft of torque in the GTI, but it reflects a ground-up redesign of VW's four-cylinder engine and offers as its biggest benefit improved fuel economy. The 2007 GTI with DSG was rated at 22/29 mpg by the EPA, while the 2010 GTI DSG jumps to 24/32 mpg. Underneath its attractive new sheetmetal, the GTI is pretty much the same car as it was before, but a bigger rear antiroll bar effectively eradicates the car's understeer on the racetrack. VW also added so-called XDS programming to the stability control system to mimic a limited-slip differential, helping the GTI put its power down more efficiently. And as good as the GTI is on the road, with crisp steering, a supercommunicative chassis, and a firm but well-damped ride, on the track the car is a revelation. During our Automobile of the Year and All-Stars evaluation drive program, we drove a rich selection of the hottest new cars for 2010 during a day at GingerMan Raceway in southwest Michigan, including a Chevrolet Camaro SS, a Ford Mustang GT, a Porsche Panamera S, a Jaguar XFR, a BMW Z4, and a Porsche Cayman S. As exhilarating as they all were, the GTI was not in the least bit out of its league as it jostled among them on GingerMan's entertaining road course. Check out the logbook commentary from pit lane: "Remarkably competent on the track," said tech editor Don Sherman. "Superb handling and good feedback," seconded road test coordinator Mike Ofiara, who has a Mark 3 and a Mark 5 GTI at home. "Oodles of fun," enthused contributor Preston Lerner, adding, "front-wheel drive never seemed to be an issue." Copy editor Rusty Blackwell ordained it "the best slicer and dicer on the market today," while editor-in-chief Jean Jennings succinctly called it "a superb little rocket." Before we hit the track, Cammisa bemoaned the fact that stability control cannot be fully switched off, but even he admitted, at the end of the day, that "it's really a nonissue, as it still lets you get away with murder."

The GTI also distinguishes itself from other pretenders to the pocket-rocket throne with its interior, which we already admired in the Mark 5, especially the retro plaid upholstery (happily, it carries over to the Mark 6, and leather is optional). "The interior of the Mark 6," enthused Cammisa, "is a huge improvement on something that really didn't need much help to begin with." Luxury doesn't come at the expense of function, though: "I love the firmly bolstered seats, the flat-bottomed steering wheel with red stitching and aluminum accents, the driving position, and the great outward visibility," noted senior editor Joe Lorio. "And the back seats are spacious, with room for a six-footer to sit behind a six-foot driver."

Pocket rockets like the GTI have a reputation of being cars for callow young men, and indeed we have a few of those on our staff. But what's cool about the 2010 VW GTI is its universal appeal. From our editors who were not yet born when the GTI debuted in 1983, to those of us in our forties, to septuagenarian design editor Robert Cumberford, who calls the GTI "a perpetual good-value proposition for performance and practicality," we all like and admire the GTI and would happily have one in our own garages.

At a time when the world's economy is in shambles and fuel consumption and CO2 emissions are on everyone's minds, there remains only one car that ticks all the enthusiast boxes without setting off a single wretched-excess alarm. That's the Volkswagen GTI, and that's why it is, once again, Automobile Magazine's Automobile of the Year.

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News and Events

From VWVortex.com: NCC & NCS Concept Cars (Jetta?): Read the Article........
Golf TDI finalist for 2010 Green Car of the Year: Volkswagen's All-New Golf TDI Named Finalist for 2010 Green Car of the Year HERNDON, Va., Oct. ...
VW Jetta TDI Quailifies for $1,300 Tax Credit: Volkswagen's Clean Diesels eligible for alternative motor vehicle Federal Tax Credit July 29, 2008 Buyers ...
2010 Volkswagen GTI named Automobile of the Year!: 2010 Automobile of the Year: 2010 Volkswagen GTI Tuesday, November 10, 2009 | Automobile Magazine | Joe ...

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