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Drivers compete in the SSCA Pro Racing Jetta TDI Cup driver selection.
(Credit: Volkswagen)First things first: racing cars of any sort is an expensive, time-consuming sport. Many drivers begin their training when they outgrow their Big Wheels (although a previous CNET post shows that size doesn't matter when it comes to Big Wheel racing), but just because you weren't born into a racing family or started karting when you were 6 doesn't mean it's too late to become a professional race car driver.
Volkswagen has teamed up with iRacing.com Motorsport Simulations to develop an online racing simulator video game of its SCCA Pro Racing Jetta TDI Cup series. The video game--set to release in September--will help train current Jetta TDI Cup drivers, and it will also help Volkswagen recruit new drivers, opening up the sport to any gamer with a PC, pedal and steering wheel, and Internet connection.
The winner of the 2009 online Jetta TDI Cup series will earn a spot in the 2010 driver selection event and compete for the chance to receive a fully funded ride in the 2010 SCCA Pro Racing Jetta TDI Cup series driving the iRacing.com car, according to a VW press release. Details of the online series have not been released.
iRacing.com is a membership-based online service that simulates driving in more than a dozen series. It offers realistic digital versions of real-world racecars on millimeter-accurate virtual versions of physical race tracks. Players compete against each other online, and members include Dale Earnhardt Jr., Justin Wilson, Alex Gurney and A.J. Allmendinger, enabling gamers to hone their skills against real-world champions.
Click the image to view the full 2009 Volkwagen Jetta TDI review.
(Credit: Antuan Goodwin/CNET)If we were rating the Volkswagen Jetta TDI purely on the merit of its engine, it would be a shoe-in for our Editors' Choice award.
With great torque, fuel economy, and clean emissions, the 2-liter turbocharged diesel engine represents a fantastic blend of fun and frugal. We could go on talking about how much we love this engine.
Unfortunately, we don't drive engines; we drive cars.
The Jetta TDI must be looked at as a whole vehicle, and viewed as such the Jetta just doesn't shine. The cabin doesn't look like it was designed, so much as calculated. The lackluster cabin tech package is punctuated by an even more mediocre stereo.
Our biggest complaint about the Jetta TDI is that it doesn't really take any chances and, to the exception of that jewel of an engine, doesn't really excel.
The Smart ForTwo is one of five finalists for the LA Auto Show's Green Car of the Year.
(Credit: Daimler/Smart)Five finalists were announced for the 2008 LA Auto Show's Green Car of the Year award. Only one of them can be crowned king, but which will it be?
There are a broad range of green technologies represented in this year's field: clean diesels, gasoline-electric hybrids, and a tiny, thrifty gasoline engine.
Will the winner be the Volkswagen Jetta TDI, which we've heard so much about over the past few months? Perhaps it will be the newly announced BMW 335d, with its 50-state-compliant clean diesel? Representing gas-electric hybrids are the Saturn Vue 2 Mode Hybrid and the Ford Fusion Hybrid, with their all-electric low-speed modes. Tossed into the mix is the Smart ForTwo, a car that takes the less-is-more approach to reducing emissions and consumption by shrinking the car and the engine.
At this point, it's anyone's guess who the winner will be. Check out our gallery of the finalists for the LA Auto Show 2008 Green Car of the Year and stay tuned for our coverage of the 2008 LA Auto Show for the crowning of this year's winner.
John and Helen Taylor, world record holders
(Credit: Volkswagen of America)Twenty days, 48 states, and 9,419 miles after leaving Bluefield, Va., John and Helen Taylor arrived in West Virginia as Guinness World Record holders for fuel economy around the country. The Volkswagen- and Shell Oil-sponsored trip was completed in a showroom stock 2009 Volkswagen Jetta TDI and 11.04 tanks of Ultra Low Sulfur Diesel. The hypermiling couple finished with an official 58.82 U.S. mpg, which averages out to 6.9 cents per mile.
The Taylors credit smooth driving and proper vehicle maintenance, amongst other techniques, for their record-setting fuel economy.
Edited: Thanks to our astute readers for pointing out a miscalculation in the cost per mile.
2009 Volkswagen Jetta TDI Sedan
(Credit: Carey Russ)If you think diesels are slow, noisy, and smelly, or that they're only for trucks, trains, and ships, think again. Or better yet, wake up and join the 21st century.
Volkswagen's 2009 Jetta TDI, available now, is the first clean-diesel vehicle to be offered in all 50 states. To underscore that, VW introduced it to the automotive press in Santa Monica, Calif., with a drive route that included the Pacific Coast Highway, some of SoCal's finest canyon roads, and even a little freeway driving.
As Norbert Krause, director of VW's Environmental Engineering Office, put it so aptly in his part of the morning presentation, "this is not your grandfather's diesel." I got into one of the few stick shift examples in the morning, and twisted the key. No clatter, no smoke, very little noise. A little diesel sound from outside, but luxury car quiet from inside the cabin. An auspicious beginning.
Light clutch, good shift linkage, slip it in gear, and get on the road. Doesn't sound like a diesel. And acceleration is just fine, thank you, with strong torque from about 1,800rpm. Playing a bit with different gears, the engine's sweet spot seems to be around 3,000rpm, and it pulls, strongly, to about 4,500rpm, at which point power drops enough to discourage acquaintance with the rev limiter. According to the specifications, the car has 140 horsepower at 4,000rpm, with 236 foot-pounds of torque from 1,750rpm through 2,500rpm.
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