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Five cars enter, one car leaves. Well, actually all five cars get to leave, but only one with the title.
(Credit: CNET)Every year, for the past four years, Green Car Journal picks its Green Car of the Year at the LA Auto Show. Well, the LA Show will be here before you know it, so it's time to start thinking about this year's contestants, which have been narrowed down to five finalists.
The finalists include the Audi A3 TDI, the Honda Insight, the Mercury Milan Hybrid, the Toyota Prius, and the Volkswagen Golf TDI. That's two VW turbodiesels and a trio of hybrids; or four small hatchbacks and a small sedan. No matter how you look at it, there's not too much variation this year. However, three of the vehicles have taken our Editors' Choice award at different times this year and two of them have already done battle in a CNET Prizefight, so it will be interesting to see which is chosen as the overall winner.
A panel of jurors (which includes notables such as Jay Leno, Jean-Michel Cousteau, Carroll Shelby, Matt Petersen of Global Green USA and the Sierra Club's Carl Pope) will have to pick one of these vehicles to be crowned the fifth annual Green Car of the Year--which, by the way, is a very different thing from Greenest Car of the Year. There's apparently a bit more that goes into the choosing than just raw fuel economy and emissions numbers.
Last year, it was the Volkswagen Jetta TDI that walked rolled off with the 2009 crown by winning over the judges with its real-world performance and relatively low price. The year before that, it was the Chevy Tahoe Hybrid which was a really big hybrid that didn't return really big mpgs, but still managed to improve fuel economy by a massive 25-percent over the conventional model. Looking way back to the 2007 and 2006 winners, we can see that the Toyota Camry Hybrid and the Mercury Mariner Hybrid have also seen time in the winners' circle.
Editor's note: Polling is closed, the judges have voted, and the results are in. The 2010 Green Car of the Year award has gone to...
If you thought the VW Golf GTI was small before, wait until you check out the GTI Project.
(Credit: Volkswagen)Volkswagen takes its fun, compact GTI and makes it even smaller in the new GTI Project Web game.
In the GTI Project, you find yourself behind the wheel of a Volkwagen GTI that's been reduced to the size of a slot car. VW's engineers demonstrate some of the GTI's performance prowess, then put you in control as you race around the track toward low lap times. Navigating the track is a single button affair. You control only the throttle in an attempt to go as quickly as possible without spinning off of the course.
Using only the throttle, drivers must go quickly without spinning off of the track.
(Credit: Volkswagen)There are neat touches, such as the giant engineer who puts the car back on course if you should fail, or the worldwide leaderboard that lets drivers see how they measure up globally.
As Web games go, the GTI Project is pretty simple, but it's definitely a great way to kill an hour. Check it out at http://www.theGTIproject.com.
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Wheego Wheels )
The Wheego Whip, another Neighborhood Electric Vehicle, is expected to hit the streets in May, according to Engadget. That is, if Wheego Wheels can find dealers to sell these low-speed, souped-up golf carts. (I'm not just being mean; company founder Mike McQuary purchased a golf cart company and used its product as a base for the Whip).
Wheego, a division of Ruff & Tuff Electric Vehicles (seriously, that's the parent company name), is taking applications to form a network of 50 dealers. That's a strong goal in a weak economy for a new car that has limited use and range, and not much of a marketing plan.
... Read moreVolkswagen unveiled the next generation GTI, which we'll see next year, at the 2008 Paris auto show.
After having images of the 2009 Golf Mk VI leak to the Net ahead of the official Wednesday reveal, Volkswagen has gone ahead and released the details surrounding the new Golf, which will launch in Europe in October.
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Volkswagen)
Among the details outlined in the press release are side mirrors that are aerodynamically designed to get less dirty and reduce wind noise; but we're not interested in side mirrors. We want the tech!
Firstly, VW has replaced its conventional automatic option with its dual-clutched DSG transmission in all but the most basic trim levels. The DSG will be either a 6- or 7-speed unit, depending on the engine with which it's paired. Altogether removing the conventional automatic from the better equipped Golf models is a bold move by VW, but I think it's a good one.
As expected, VW has lowered fuel consumption (by up to 28 percent) using a lineup of new turbocharged and/or supercharged diesel (DSI) and gasoline (TSI) engines. According to VW, in its thriftiest DSI/DSG trim, the new Golf will get up to 52 mpg. That puts the 2009 Golf into hybrid territory, but isn't surprising based on what we've seen in the Jetta TDI.
Volkswagen also announced new tech for the 2009 Golf in the form of safety features. Automatic distance control, adaptive chassis control, and park steering assist sound like options for a much higher-end vehicle than the entry-level Golf. In fact, they are features that trickled down to the Golf from the up-market Passat CC. Rounding out the safety tech features are a new stability control system, seven airbags (including a knee airbag) and special head restraint that snaps forward during an accident to prevent whiplash.
2009 VW Golf Mk VI
(Credit: Volkswagen)Official images of the 2009 Volkswagen Golf Mk VI have leaked to the Net, and it looks like the new VW Golf will look a lot like the old VW Golf. Surprise!
VW has made incremental styling changes, such as the replacement of the current Golf's "goatee," with a face that's similar to (but less sporty than) the world market VW Sirocco. But the overall look is still more "facelift" than "new model."
The 2009 Golf's powertrain options are still subject to speculation, but the general consensus is that VW will offer a range of turbocharged gasoline and diesel direct-injected motors and that VW's DSG transmission will be somewhere in the mix. More specific details will undoubtedly be revealed when VW officially unveils the 2009 Golf on Wednesday.
In the meantime, enjoy the images after the break.... Read more
These are better than any cat video you may have seen.
The German Car Blog noticed this new series of videos on Volkswagen's Swedish site for the Golf that features a menagerie of characters, each introducing a different Golf model.
The "Golf Auditions" include a naked naturalist explaining the Golf's different green fuel options, a female bodybuilder mime who likes the Golf R32, and a cross-dresser showing off the Cross Golf. The site also has a spot for would-be Golf owners to create videos for selling their old car.
Don't worry if your Swedish is rusty--the videos are subtitled in English.
No word yet from Volkswagen on whether a U.S. version is in the works.
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Volkswagen)
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SkyMall)
Let's say you want to impress your golfing buddies but are afraid of accidentally doing bodily harm to them with a mini-Hummer. There's another way to state your machismo, with the "Berline Cadillac Escalade Golf Cart."
It's actually a little cheaper than the Hummer too--if $13,995 can be called cheap at any juncture, that is, for a golf cart. That buys you "a hand-laid fiberglass body, marine-grade vinyl seats, custom paint and chrome mirrors," according to Uncrate, though a custom hard top will cost more.
The Escalade cart is electric despite its SUV appearance, so it's a fair compromise without going the full solar-powered route. And you won't make a complete fool of yourself tooling around in one, as long as you stay on the golf course.
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