VW Says Passat TDI Set World Record Fuel Economy Across 48 States at 77.99 MPG

Volkswagen informed us today that a Passat TDI Clean Diesel set a new Guinness World Record for the “lowest fuel consumption - 48 U.S. states for a non-hybrid car” category returning 77.99 mpg US, which is equal to 3.01 l/100 km.

Ze Germans state that the diesel-powered Passat managed to beat the previous record for a car with a conventional powertrain by more than 10 mpg (0.45 l/100 km), while also breaking the hybrid vehicle record of 64.6 mpg (3.64 l/100 km).

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VW Celebrates Production of 250,000th Passat at Chattanooga Plant

A year after it announced the making of the 100,000th Passat in Chattanooga, Volkswagen today said it has produced the 250,000th Passat in its only U.S. plant. The milestone car carries Night Blue paint and has black leather interior. It is powered by VW’s so-called "clean-diesel" TDI engine and features navigation, a sunroof, 18-inch alloy wheels and the Volkswagen Fender premium audio system. Read more »

VW Adds New 1.4-liter TSI and R-Line Trim to Passat's UK Lineup

Car buyers in the UK interested in Volkswagen's Passat sedan and Estate models can now add a new trim level named "R-Line" and a new and more-efficient 1.4-litre TSI petrol engine to their available choices.

The new 1.4-liter turbocharged and supercharged four-cylinder petrol unit delivers 160PS or 158bhp and it replaces the 1.8-liter TSI 160 PS / 158bhp unit offering lower CO2 emissions at 144g/km and better fuel economy at 45.6mpg UK combined for the six-speed manual gearbox versions (there's also a 7-speed DSG).

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VW Has Us…Sold with This Image of the New Passat Wolfsburg Edition

The internet is as much as a visual medium as it is a textual one, and this applies even more so when you're referring to a new product – what's the use in announcing it without showing it?

Obviously, Volkswagen knows better, which is probably why it accompanied the announcement on the new U.S. market 2013 Passat Wolfsburg Edition with a single picture that only shows the special edition's logo.

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VW Fires 500 Workers at Chattanooga as it Overestimated Passat Sales

Volkswagen has just announced that it is terminating 500 contracts at its assembly plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee, according to an Autonews report. The reasons quoted are overly-optimistic expectations when the plant was first opened and the fact that they were already running overcapacity, making 170,000 cars per year – 20,000 over the original plan. Read more »

VW Recalling 384,000 Cars in China for Faulty DSG Transmissions, May Cost Over $600 Million

Volkswagen will recall 384,181 vehicles sold in China to fix a gearbox problem about which the automaker has taken some heat within the last 12 months. The recall was announced by China’s quality watchdog, the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine, with VW confirming it in an email statement. Read more »

NAIAS 2013: VW's New Passat Performance Concept is Anything But That...

When you hear the words "Performance Concept", you expect to see a high-powered model with looks to match its name, yet Volkswagen's U.S.-market Passat-based study doesn't satisfy in any of these aspects.

Sure, the German brand's new EA888 1.8-liter turbocharged produces an impressive output of 247-horses (250PS) for its displacement, but these days you can get a Honda Accord V6 with 278-horsepower – and the Japanese carmaker doesn't place a performance badge on it…

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This is Volkswagen's Detroit Show Passat Performance Concept with 247hp

Volkswagen is injecting some sportiness to its North American market Passat with the world premiere of a performance concept at next week's Detroit auto show.

Dubbed the "Passat Performance Concept", the German carmaker says the study gives us a sneak-peek at an upcoming sport variant of its mid-size model, which in 2012, recorded its best sales year ever in the States with 117,023 units.

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You Cant's Tell, But this VW Passat CC has 495-Horses Running Under its Hood

The most powerful production version of the Passat CC or its facelift iteration (renamed to CC) that is offered by Volkswagen, is the V6 model motivated by a 3.6-liter unit rated at 280hp in North America and 295hp (300PS) in Europe.

If you want more oomph, the only option you have is to check out at what the aftermarket industry has to offer.

One of the tuners that has come up with a power package for the Passat CC and specifically, for the range-topping VR6 4Motion (all-wheel drive) model, is Germany's MR Car Design.

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C&D Puts the VW Passat Against Newcomers Ford Fusion, Honda Accord and Nissan Altima

It's the most popular passenger car segment in the U.S.A. with well over 1 million annual sales and four representatives in 2011's list of the 10 bestselling models overall, including the Toyota Camry that finished 3rd behind the Ford F-Series and Chevy Silverado trucks, followed by the Nissan Altima (4th overall), Ford Fusion (6th) and Honda Accord (9th).

We are talking of course about the mid-size category, which is the subject of Car & Driver's (C&D) magazine latest comparison test.

The publication took its previous winner, the North American market VW Passat (not to be confused with the Passat sold in other regions) that beat the Toyota Camry and Hyundai Sonata, and compared it against three newcomers, the 2013 versions of the Ford Fusion (to be sold in Europe as the new Mondeo), Honda Accord and Nissan Altima.

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Buyers Disagree with Consumer Reports Recommendations, Civic, Passat Sales Soar

You may recall Honda’s 2012 Civic comprehensively hammered last year by Consumer Reports. The publication's verdict was such a big blow that Honda decided to speed-up its next redesign and its CEO took responsibility for its poor performance.

One would expect its sales to slump; but instead, they have gotten through the roof. Civic deliveries have increased this year by 40 percent through September, to 234,029 units and Honda’s compact car is on course to regain the segment crown in the U.S. after finishing third last year behind the Toyota Corolla and Chevrolet Cruze.

This brings up an interesting question: how much does automotive experts’ testing weigh on buyers’ decision when the time comes to buy a new car?

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VW Launches Second Generation of Santana Sedan in China After 30 Years!

In most markets, the lifespan of a new model is about six to eight years - give or take, with a facelift scheduled somewhere in the middle. China, on the other hand, is not your usual car market; or at least it wasn’t for quite a long time.

That’s why the Volkswagen Santana, which was based on the second generation of the Passat, code-named B2, and was launched in the Chinese market in 1982, soldiered on for three decades!

During that period, it sold nearly four million units, which made it one of the most popular cars in the country.

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VW Officials Like the Idea of a Jetta Alltrack for North America and Other Markets

Over the past few weeks, we have read many reports and rumors about possible new additions to Volkswagen's range including a mid-size SUV positioned between the Tiguan and the Touareg and a compact CC sports sedan based on the next Jetta, which may or may not come to the U.S.

Now we hear that the German brand's officials are considering yet another new model to enhance Volkswagen's presence in the crossover segment based on the future Jetta SportWagen (estate).

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Volkswagen Builds 100,000th North American Passat at Chattanooga Plant

Only nine months after the North American Passat went on sale in the U.S., Volkswagen is celebrating its first important milestone with the production of the 100,000th car at its new $1 billion Chattanooga factory. Read more »

Volkswagen Passat TDI Travels 1,626 Miles on a Single Tank of Fuel, Sets New World Record

The Volkswagen brand has done it again breaking its own record for the longest distanced travelled on a single tank of fuel, this time with the U.S. built 2012 Passat TDI SE sedan equipped with a six-speed manual gearbox.

John and Helen Taylor managed to drive the diesel-powered Passat for an impressive 1626.1 miles (2,617 kilometers) through nine states on one tank of fuel improving the previous record held by a VW Passat 1.6 BlueMotion diesel (1526.6 miles) in Europe by 99.5 miles (160.1 kilometers).

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Volkswagen Promotes Jetta's Solid Door Thunk and Passat's Safety Credentials in New Ads

At some point or another, most German automakers have advertised the fact that their vehicles' doors close with a solid "thump" as a sign of quality engineering – which through the years may or may not be accompanied by numerous other sounds such as falling windows, but that is another story.

Volkswagen is the latest company to promote this aspect through a humorous commercial for its Jetta compact sedan in the States.

The German carmaker also released a separate ad to highlight the U.S.-made 2012 Passat's safety ratings from the IIHS, called 'Crash' featuring a young man who just smashed his father's car. You can watch both ads in the videos after the break.

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New Volkswagen Passat Sedan and Estate R-Line Models Launched in Europe

Alongside the thoroughbred "R" models, Volkswagen also offers an independent trim level called "R-Line" that is all show but no go. The latest model series to get the R-Line treatment is the European market version of the facelifted Passat.

The R-line versions of the Passat sedan and Estate are positioned between the mid-level ‘Comfortline’ and the top ‘Highline’ versions.

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Volkswagen U.S.A. Wants to Know What You Think About the Alltrack

Volkswagen continues to solicit ideas and views from the American public about the European Passat-based Alltrack concept it exhibited at this month's 2012 New York Auto Show.

This time, the German brand has released a new video with Serban Boldea, Product Manager for Volkswagen, walking around the Alltrack and asking viewers to tell the company what they would like to see on the tall estate model if it were to be offered in the United States.

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Volkswagen Recalls 2012 Passat TDI Over Fuel Leak Risk and 2012 Routan Because Wheel May Separate

The National Highway Traffic Safety Association (NHTSA) announced on its website that Volkswagen is recalling two models for different reasons in the United States.

More specifically, the Germany automaker is recalling 153 diesel-powered 2012 Passat sedans built from January 18, 2011, through June 1, 2011, because the diesel fuel filter element may not have been sealed correctly.

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Volkswagen to Test the Waters with Alltrack Estate at the New York Auto Show

What we came to know as the Passat Alltrack last year when Volkswagen revealed the high-riding estate at the Tokyo Motor Show before launching it in Europe this past February, will be displayed as the Alltrack Concept at this week's New York Auto Show.

The Alltrack is based on the facelifted version of the European market Passat Estate, and not the North American model built at VW's manufacturing facility in Chattanooga.

The German firm makes it pretty clear that the Alltrack is just a showcar for now to gauge market reaction to a potential future model similar in size that "combines offroad ability with wagon versatility".

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