Passat Performance Concept Reveals Four-Cylinder Future
Volkswagen calls the white Passat that debuted at the 2013 North American International Auto Show the “Performance Concept”, but besides some new LED décor at the front and rear of the car, this isn’t much of a concept car.
In fact, the Passat Performance Concept isn’t even much of a performance variant. As Jalopnik notes, “Volkswagen even makes a production version of the Passat, the R-Line, that looks more interesting [than] this concept car.”
Though poorly named, the Passat Performance Concept does show a new direction in performance for the model line. Under the hood sits a 1.8-liter four-cylinder turbocharged engine pushing 250-horsepower through a six-speed automatic transmission. No, the little four-cylinder engine isn’t as powerful as the burly 280-horsepower 3.6-liter V6 engine offered in the 2013 Passat V6, but it is a significant upgrade from the Passat’s base five-cylinder engine.
As Volkswagen even points out, the 1.8-liter turbo engine in the Passat Performance Concept is “already available—and popular—among the European and Asian markets.”
Chalk the Passat Performance Concept as a preview of forthcoming product rather than a traditional concept car, as it seems clear Volkswagen is eager to offer its North American customer base this gem of a four-cylinder engine. There’s no telling if the visual differences, big 19-inch wheels, or even if the Passat Performance Concept’s 250-horsepower engine will actually make it to future Passat models, but it does seem likely that future Volkswagen Passat’s in North America may once again wear the “1.8T” badge.
Image credit: Volkswagen
Volkswagen Reports Best Sales Year Since 1973
Volkswagen’s plans for global market domination continue to come closer to fruition as the company’s 2012 U.S. sales report is the best reported by the manufacturer since 1973.
After 28 months of continuous growth, Volkswagen delivered 438,133 models to American households throughout 2011. That’s twice as many as the brand reported in 2009. Though almost all Volkswagen models saw an increase in sales for 2012, the Chattanooga, Tenn. built Passat, and Volkswagen’s array of TDI models provided a significant sales boost for the brand.
The Passat, in particular, reported a 413.7 percent sales increase for the year 2012. The Chattanooga plant that builds the Passat is noteworthy for employing Volkswagen’s Think Blue philosophy of implementing lower production costs while consuming less energy, and was the first car factory to receive a platinum certification by the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED).
Meanwhile nearly 1 in 5 of Volkswagen’s sold in 2012 were equipped with a diesel engine. Most Volkswagen models come with the company’s well regarded 2.0-liter four-cylinder diesel engine with 140 horsepower and 236 lb-ft of torque; however, diesel consumers interested in Volkswagen’s Touareg SUV will find a 3.0-liter V6 diesel engine under the hood putting out 240 horsepower and 406 lb-ft of torque.
American consumers understand the value of high quality at a low price, and no other brand exemplifies this combination better than Volkswagen. Equipped with a standard 3-year/36,000-mile warranty and free maintenance for the same period of time, stop by Bud Brown Volkswagen today to take a look at the entire Volkswagen lineup including the award-winning Passat and fuel efficient TDI diesel models.
Photo Credit: Volkswagen
Volkswagen Jetta Hybrid Rated at 42 MPG City and 48 MPG Highway
If the 2013 Volkswagen Jetta TDI’s already astonishing EPA fuel economy figures of 30 mpg city and 42 mpg highway are simply too low for your tastes, than the all-new 2013 Jetta Hybrid may be more to your liking.
EPA-rated at 42 mpg city and 48 mpg highway, the Jetta Hybrid marks the second high mileage option in the Jetta lineup for fuel economy obsessed consumers to consider. Armed with 170 horsepower and 184 lb-ft of torque – a gain of 30 horsepower but a loss of 52 lb-ft of torque compared to the TDI – the Jetta Hybrid pairs a 1.4-liter turbocharged gasoline engine with an electric motor in order to provide the car with both speed and efficiency.
Like the sporty GLI, the Jetta Hybrid uses a multilink rear suspension system to give the Hybrid the sporty driving experience Jetta owners expect. This sophisticated rear suspension also better adapts to the additional weight of the hybrid system’s battery pack. Sporting distinctive bodywork, the Hybrid’s coefficient of drag has been lowered from the standard Jetta’s already impressive 0.30 to a wind-cheating 0.28.
Though the Jetta Hybrid does maintain the accommodating interior dimensions of the standard Jetta, it does give up a few cubic feet of space in the trunk in order to make room for the hybrid system’s batteries.
Starting at $24,995, the 2013 Jetta Hybrid packs a standard 7-Speed DSG transmission, Bluetooth streaming, dual-zone climate control, and 15-inch alloy wheels.
With two high-mileage options in the Jetta lineup, buyers can decide in what way they prefer to break the 40 mpg barrier. If plentiful trunk space and gobs of torque fit your needs, the TDI will serve you well; however, if extra horsepower and advanced technology are more to your liking, be sure to take a look at the all-new Jetta Hybrid. Either way, you can’t go wrong. Come to Bud Brown VW to learn more about the 2013 Jetta, including the fuel-efficient TDI and Hybrid models.
Photo Credit: Volkswagen
Volkswagen: Made in the USA
Volkswagen may be a German car company, but its latest factory in Chattanooga, Tennessee is more than just a plant building cars in North America; it’s a plant building cars for North America.
As the home of the Volkswagen Passat, Volkswagen set about to make a factory designed to build a vehicle specifically made for the North American market. While the European market is also offered a Passat, the North American model is both larger and more spacious than its European counterpart.
Offering two different Passat’s for two different markets was done by Volkswagen for two reasons: to offer a better product to North American consumers, and to increase Volkswagen sales as it attempts to become the world’s number one carmaker by 2018.
Since 2009 Volkswagen sales have doubled, helped in part by the Passat’s that roll off of the line in Chattanooga, Tennessee. After Volkswagen invested of $1 billion in the Chattanooga plant, the company was able to offer 3,300 American workers jobs on the factory floor.
Just as important, Volkswagen was able to create an environmentally conscious plant that uses LED lights to save electricity, and implements a special roof design to collect rainwater, which is then used to cool the plants welding robots.
The Chattanooga plant follows Volkswagen’s Think Blue philosophy of implementing lower production costs while consuming less energy, and it is the first car factory to receive a platinum certification by the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED).
To learn more about Volkswagen’s Chattanooga, Tennessee factory watch the videos below, and to see the built in North America Volkswagen Passat stop by Bud Brown Volkswagen today.
Golf and GTI earn 10Best honors from Car and Driver
Volkswagen may be preparing to replace the beloved Mark 6 Golf in 2014 with the all-new Mark 7 model, but that doesn’t mean the current Golf is dated in any way. In fact it continues to lead the compact car class, and Car and Driver is fully aware of this.
To the editors at Car and Driver, the Golf offers “nearly perfect fundamentals in base form, thrift in its TDI (turbo-diesel) variant, and an obscenely high fun-per-dollar ratio from the GTI, the Golf upends the underachiever’s excuse that you can’t please all of the people all of the time.”
All the above reasons are why the Golf and its GTI sibling were awarded a spot on Car and Driver’s annual 10Best list.
Of course the Golf’s greatness is really no secret, as any owner will tell you that the Golf offers the quality and craftsmanship of an Audi at a Honda Civic price. Still, it’s nice to see that even near the end of its lifecycle, the Golf still manages to be recognized as one of the best vehicle’s your money can buy.
To see the rest of Car and Driver’s 10Best list go to caranddriver.com, and to learn more about the Golf and GTI stop by Bud Brown Volkswagen today.
Photo courtesy: Volkswagen
Volkswagen Super Beetle Concept Debuts at SEMA
With the Beetle’s 75th birthday nearing, the popular Volkswagen enthusiast site
VWvortex celebrated the model’s milestone by debuting the Super Beetle concept at the Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) show in Las Vegas.
Based off of the all-new Volkswagen Beetle, the Super Beetle concept goes where
no Beetle since the New Beetle RSi has gone before. That model was a European-only affair with a six-cylinder engine squeezed in its tiny engine bay. With power routed to all four wheels, the RSi was a Beetle priced uncomfortably close to six figures.
The Super Beetle concept uses the 2.0T four-cylinder engine available in the Beetle
Turbo, though an APR Stage IV GTX turbo kit as well as various other
upgrades, including an upgraded ECU, boost horsepower from the Beetle Turbo’s
already impressive 200 horsepower to an out of this world 500 horsepower.
To accommodate the horsepower gain, VWvortex took a page from the New Beetle
RSi’s playbook by adding a rear differential so that power can be distributed both fore and aft.
Of course, the VWvortex Volkswagen Super Beetle is merely a SEMA show concept.
Even after winning SEMA’s Gran Turismo Best European Import Award buyers
shouldn’t hold their breath when it comes to seeing the Super Beetle making it to
Volkswagen showrooms. Despite this fact, the VWvortex Super Beetle’s existence should inspire Beetle owners to personalize, customize and tune their own vehicles in their own unique way.
Image credit: Volkswagen
2013 Volkswagen Beetle Convertible Debuts
Convertibles and winter generally don’t mix, unless you happen to live in a place like Southern California. No surprise then that Volkswagen is choosing to debut the all-new 2013 Beetle Convertible at the Los Angeles Auto Show before the car comes to showrooms at the end of the year.
Unlike many manufacturers, Volkswagen is eschewing a folding hard top in favor of a soft top that when lowered looks much like the previous New Beetle Convertible and the original Beetle Convertible before it.
Lowering the soft top takes only a little over ten seconds at the touch of a button; however, unlike previous Beetle droptops, the top stacks into its own compartment rather than on top of the rear decklid. This allows the 2013 Beetle Convertible to maintain the classic top-down looks of previous Beetles, without those models compromising rear visibility.
Inside things look familiar to the coupe. In fact, the Beetle Convertible maintains its coupe counterparts features from the body-color dash trim to the split-folding rear seats that allow for greater interior versatility.
The Automatic Rollover Support System is exclusive to the new Beetle Convertible, though. The system consists of two roll bars hidden behind the rear seat that are set to deploy and provide protection in the event of a rollover accident.
Three engines will be offered in the 2013 Beetle Convertible. The base engine continues to be the familiar 170-horsepower 2.5-liter five-cylinder engine. Those looking for more performance can move up to the 2.0T turbocharged four-cylinder engine with 200-horsepower.
Finally, consumers interested in fuel-efficiency can combine the classic looks of the Beetle Convertible with Volkswagen’s acclaimed 2.0-liter TDI diesel engine. All three engines can be had with a six-speed manual transmission or six-speed automatic. The 2.0T and TDI engines use Volkswagen’s quick-shifting dual-clutch DSG transmission, while the five-cylinder uses a standard automatic with a torque converter.
Photo credit: Volkswagen
