Top deals on CNET here
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.
A promotional video from Volkswagen shows that a TDI will start even when frozen in ice.
(Credit: Volkswagen)New particle trapping technology and significantly lower sulfur diesel fuel has opened the door for more diesel-powered vehicles to be sold in all 50 states. But the increase in engine cleanliness hasn't translated into increased diesel vehicle sales the way German automakers wanted.
The problem? Consumer perception hasn't caught up with engineering advances.
To combat the dated stigma that diesels are dirty, slow, expensive, and won't start in the cold, VW has launched TDI Truth & Dare, a new Web site that aims to debunk these myths.
The videos may provide a bit of entertaining education, but is that going to be enough to convert the masses? While diesels get better fuel economy than conventional gasoline-powered vehicles, the fuel savings haven't really been realized in terms of dollars because of a spike in diesel prices in 2007 and 2008 and low gasoline fuel prices in recent month.
But at least the site will make finding a diesel fueling station that much easier. TDI Truth & Dare provides the locations of more than 60,000 diesel fueling stations, along with a calculator for how much money a driver could save if he or she drove a VW diesel.
And no new Web site is complete without at least one social media component. For the TDI faithful, there's the Tank Wars competition--a Facebook-based mpg challenge for Volkswagen TDI drivers to reach or surpass the Guinness World Record of 58 miles per gallon set in September 2008 by a Volkswagen Jetta TDI driven by John and Helen Taylor.
No information was released on the prize, should anyone beat the record. But at least competition won't be too stiff. As of now, there's only one competitor.
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.
... Read moreAfter 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.
(Credit:
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.
According to information found on popular Volkswagen enthusiast site, VW Vortex, Volkswagen of America has announced that owners of the Jetta TDI sedan and SportWagen will be eligible for a $1,300 federal income tax credit. This announcement is affirmed by the Internal Revenue Service, which has issued a certification letter that defines the credit more specifically as the Advanced Lean Burn Technology Motor Vehicle income tax credit.
(Credit:
VW of America)
Factoring in this new tax credit, the clean diesel Jetta is only about $700 more expensive than the gasoline version. While this is good news for VW, it's not like they need any help selling the Jetta TDI. With reports of hybrid-esque fuel economy, the TDI model has been predicted to sell like hotcakes despite the fact that diesel fuel is hovering at around $5 per gallon.
The 2009 VW Jetta TDI goes on sale in late August 2008.
- prev
- 1
- next
