passat

2012 Green Car of the Year finalists named

The 2012 Ford Focus Electric, 2012 Honda Civic Natural Gas, 2012 Mitsubishi i, 2012 Toyota Prius v, and 2012 Volkswagen Passat TDI are all finalists for 2012 Green Car of the Year, Green Car Journal announced today in a press release.

The winner will be announced during a press conference at a Los Angeles Auto Show press day on November 17. This marks the seventh consecutive year the award has been given out.

Green Car Journal editors considered dozens of models that were designed to reduce their environmental impact and be more energy-efficient. According to the press release, the cars … Read more

VW partners with Lucasfilm for Super Bowl ad

Volkswagen announced today it's bought two Super Bowl ad spots for its 2012 Beetle and Passat, and has partnered with Lucasfilm to promote the Passat.

The two 30-second spots will appear during the second and fourth quarters of Super Bowl XLV, according to VW.

"Accompanied by John Williams' iconic 'The Imperial March,' the [Passat] spot features the most infamous villain in the galaxy, a pint-sized Darth Vader who uses the Force when he discovers the all-new 2012 Passat in the driveway," according to Volkswagen.

The other ad for the 2012 Beetle will notably not show the car, … Read more

VW's new midsize sedan is updated Passat, adds TDI option

Volkswagen dropped the cloth on its new midsize sedan, and although its new in body it retains the same old Passat nameplate.

The 2012 Volkswagen Passat was developed specifically for the North American market, which means it's proportions are bigger and fatter. Riding on a longer wheelbase, its overall length has grown from from 187.6 to 191.7 inches. The longer wheelbase opens up more legroom in the second row and puts the family sedan it more in line with its competitors.

Buyers will have three engines to choose from, starting with the standard 170-hp 2.5-liter five … Read more

VW's BlueMotion wins green award

The 2010 World Green Car of the Year award has not gone to one model but to three--all featuring a system of efficiency technologies.

Volkswagen was given the award Thursday morning at the 2010 New York International Auto Show for its BlueMotion technology available on three VW models: the Golf, Passat, and Polo.

The BlueMotion brand label is given to VW cars that add efficiency technology to a model's engine, transmission, braking system, and aerodynamics among other parts. The combination creates the lowest CO2-emitting version of each car. BlueMotion purports to improve a car's existing combustible engine, whether … Read more

BorgWarner Turbo Technology gives CNG-Powered cars a boost

BorgWarner will supply turbochargers for the Opel 1.6-liter compressed natural gas (CNG) engine and the VW 1.4-liter TSI EcoFuel engine.

CNG engines produce about 70 percent less nitrous oxide than diesel engines and about 25 percent less carbon dioxide than gasoline engines, but are slower to accelerate than the fossil fuel counterparts.

To lower weight and guarantee a fast response on the Opel Zafira ecoFlex Turbo, BorgWarner worked with Opel to optimize the water-cooled turbocharger. The engine delivers powerful performance, accelerating from 0 to 62 mph (100 km/hr) in 11.5 seconds.

BorgWarner also worked with Volkswagen … Read more

Driverless car also parks itself

If you're a person who would gladly relinquish the task of parking your car to a computer, there may be a Volkswagen in your future.

Last weekend, Volkswagen Group of America and Stanford University's School of Engineering hosted a dedication ceremony on the Stanford campus for the new Volkswagen Automotive Innovation Laboratory (VAIL) that included the "first ever" autonomous parking demonstration by a driverless car.

The car, a VW Passat called Junior, was developed jointly by VW and Stanford and is the same one that finished second in the 2007 DARPA Urban Challenge. Driverless cars have … Read more