VW Polo coming to US

Oh, and while I'm on the subject, the VW Polo is slated to come to the US too.

http://www.autoblog.com/2009/01/16/confirmed-vw-polo-coming-to-the-u-s/

Neat. Hope they include a TDI option.

Fiat 500 coming to US via Chrysler

Very cool. Hundreds of pounds lighter than Miata or Mini.

http://www.autoblog.com/2009/01/26/fiat-chrysler-partnership-will-bring-7-new-models-to-u-s/

End of an era

The Ford F-series pickup truck, which has been the best-selling vehicle in the United States for 26 years, was outsold by four fuel-efficient Japanese sedans in May.

NY Times

Axon

The maker's of Britain's Axon tout the car can get over 80 miles per gallon, has lower carbon emissions and a cheaper price tag than Toyota's Prius.

Marketplace

This is with a regular gasoline engine, no hybrid technology. The trick is the auto body, made of carbon fiber and half the weight of a normal car.

Mazda 2

If VW never brings the Polo to the US, I could be consoled with a Mazda 2.

And with diesel? Sweet!

Misinformed craze for hybrids

Hybrids like the Toyota Prius are selling like mad, but they are a stop-gap measure at best and the "misinformed craze" for them may delay sustainable technologies like hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, French researchers say.

Gas-electric vehicles are not environmentally sustainable, yet automakers like Toyota and General Motors are pouring tens of millions of dollars into them in no small part because consumers are convinced they are, Jean-Jacques Chanaron and Julius Teske write in "Hybrid Vehicles: A Temporary Step."

Wired

New American VW minivan

OK, I'm not the target audience for minivans (I hate them), but still.

Volkswagen has two interesting minivans in Europe: the Touran and the Sharan:



The Touran actually looks half decent. At least it looks like a Volkswagen! But what does America get? The Routan.


Looks like a Chrysler? You don't say. It is. Blah.

I guess we can't expect much more given the weak dollar. (It's much cheaper to build a model in America for sale in America.) But still.

VW Up!

Volkwagen may be working on an electric or hybrid version of its Up! concept car. Check out the Los Angeles Auto Show in November. (Wired)

VW Dieselution

Volkswagen of America, Inc. is launching the Dieselution Tour, a mobile marketing exhibit, to educate the media and the public on advances in clean diesel technology and alternative fuels.

[...]

The Dieselution Tour will also feature the 2009 Jetta TDI, Volkswagen’s new, 50-state clean diesel offering. The vehicle is scheduled to go on sale in the U.S. in spring of 2008. Also on display, a 3.0-liter V6 TDI Touareg, the Polo Blue Motion and the oldest Volkswagen diesel in America, a 1977 Rabbit. (VW Vortex)

What a bunch of teases. They won't sell the Polo in the US but they'll display it? Pffft.

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UPDATE

Oh, since everyone knows I'm into carbon offsets, I suppose I should include this.

Signifying Volkswagen’s environmental concern, the Dieselution Tour will be certified as CarbonFree by Carbonfund.org. Volkswagen and Carbonfund.org recently announced a partnership to offset one year of carbon emission from each new Volkswagen sold in the U.S. from September, 2007 through January 2, 2008. In return, Volkswagen is working with Carbonfund.org to reforest land in the Lower Mississippi Alluvial Valley (LMAV) in northern Louisiana, a wetland ecosystem that had been largely converted to farmland.

Ah well. I guess, whatever one thinks about purchasing carbon offsets, reforesting land is not a bad thing.

Oldest VW diesel

Volkswagen of America, Inc. announced that, as part of its diesel heritage search, it has located the oldest operating Volkswagen diesel vehicle in America, a 1977 Rabbit owned by Clint Wilson of Tehachapi, Calif.

[...]

In recognition [...], Volkswagen has provided Wilson with a new Touareg V10 TDI to drive for six-months. (VW Vortex)

Wow, that'll be a change. 50 horsepower to 310? Granted, the Touareg is a wee bit heavier, but still.

Street smart tour

Speaking of smarts, the "street smart" tour schedule has been posted!

New Lupo?

Two items about VW's next generation of the Lupo: a rendering of what the 2010 model might look like and the rumor that

the new entry level car VW is working on may be more like the original Beetle than the Lupo that it was supposed to replace. The baby VeeDub could turn out to have it's engine sitting on top of the rear axle much like the Smart ForTwo and come in Beetle-esque and sedan body styles.

Yeah, a bit contradictory, but they're both fun.

Scion xB

News about the next generation Scion xB comes from the New York auto show.

At the request of current xB owners, the next generation xB dimensions grow significantly in comparison to the current model. [...] xB owners asked for a more powerful engine. (Autoblog)

My question is, who are these owners? If they wanted a bigger car with a more powerful engine, why didn't they avail themselves of other cars on the market that fit the bill? Silly me, I thought the smallness of the first generation model was part of its charm.

Ah well, at least there's the smart in 2008.

Most efficient form of transportation

If you are looking for the most efficient form transportation propelled by an internal combustion engine, you won't find it at a Toyota or Honda dealership. Or any other car dealer for that matter. In a study funded by the American Bus Association, it was found that the most fuel efficient transportation in the United States was by motorcoach. Based on mileage and passengers in 2004, highway buses achieved an average of 148.4 passenger miles per gallon. That's more than double achieved by intercity trains which achieved 74.1 passenger miles per gallon. Airlines managed 40.9 passenger miles per gallon, while cars came in last at 35.4 mpg.

AutoblogGreen

Cleaner diesel is here

Just wanted to make a man-on-the-street report that I had my first encounter with ultra-low sulfur diesel this week, filling up my TDI's tank on a road trip to Santa Fe. As I noted before, this only means about 10% cleaner emissions for us current diesels, but newer diesels will be able to reduce emissions 90-some percent.

I did hear that current diesels could be retrofitted to have the same reduction. If anyone knows the specifics of retrofitting a VW, let me know!

US Aygo in 2008?

Edmunds thinks the US might get the next generation Toyota Aygo, which is even smaller than their Yaris. Cool!

Nissan Versa review

The NY Times reviews the 2007 Nissan Versa. It likes it well enough, but still likes the Honda Fit better. In any case, having another small car option for Americans is good news.

Are Americans, who have long embraced a bigger-is-better approach to their personal transportation, ready to hug these smaller, friendlier cars?

The prospects seem pretty good, according to J. D. Power & Associates, the market-research company. “It’s irrefutable that the segment is doing well,” said Tom Libby, senior director for industry analysis at an affiliate, the Power Information Network. For instance, sales of compact basic cars — which include, among others, the Aveo, Fit, Versa and Yaris — jumped 118 percent last month compared with August 2005.

The Smart is go

The Wall Street Journal thinks that DaimlerChrysler is going to announce this week that Smarts will be available for sale in the US in 2007.

It will be sold in major metropolitan centers on the East and West coasts where sales of small, imported cars are strongest.

No word on whether the diesel version, which is sold in Canada, will be available here. I want a subcompact diesel.

Update #1:

DaimlerChrysler, which shelved an earlier plan to bring its Smart minicar brand to the United States, plans to announce Wednesday that it will introduce the tiny two-seat vehicle to the American market early in 2008

[...]

DaimlerChrysler plans to aim the Smart at drivers in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle and other cities.

[...]

The DaimlerChrysler executive, however, did not disclose the car's fuel efficiency. On its Web site in Britain, a Smart coupe is listed as getting 46 miles a gallon in the city and 69 miles a gallon on the highway.

DaimlerChrysler offers a diesel engine in Europe, but it will offer only a gasoline engine in the United States. (NY Times)

Ultra-low sulfur diesel

Last Thursday, June 1, was the first step towards having cleaner diesel in the US. ULSD is now hitting the refineries and should be available to consumers in October. While current diesel engines will see a reduction in emissions (10%?), the real gain, a 90% reduction in emissions, will come when the next generation of diesel engines become available in the US.

It's about time that the US became serious about cleaner diesel. Why has it taken so long? The trucking industry. They wanted cheaper diesel. Well, I want a diesel that doesn't spew soot in the air and is a viable, more efficient alternative to gasoline. So there!

In the meantime, we may see less diesel cars available. VW is dropping its TDIs until 2008. And Chrysler has just announced that it is dropping the Jeep Liberty diesel. But expect to see a lot more diesel cars made available once our diesel matches Europe's. Car companies have known for a while how to make cleaner diesel engines, they've not been able to implement them in the US due to our dirty diesel.

No Dodge Polo

Yes, VW will be building a new small car for Dodge to sell in the US. Alas, my Polo hopes have been dashed.

Since the Polo was deemed to small for America's super-sized tastes, Volkswagen is considering other possible platforms, with the last generation Jetta's currently residing at the top of the list. (Autoblog)

Ack, only Dodge/Americans would call the Jetta a small car.