61.9 miles per gallon. That’s the number to keep in mind. The upcoming Volkswagen Golf BlueMotion (i.e. the diesel) will get you 61.9 miles to the gallon on the highway. Given that the latest Golf isn’t exactly light (it is a German car after all), and it’s loaded with all sorts of weight increasing safety features like air bags and door beams, that’s a really impressive figure.

Sure, it would be wonderful if carmakers could get off the dime and start rolling out series hybrid Volts and cars like that, let alone full-blown electric vehicles that are practical. But even if they do a NASA moon shot level of commitment, those are going to be a few years off. So for the foreseeable future, cars like the Golf BlueMotion looks to be a buyers best bet, economy-wise.

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Gale Banks might not be a name that everyone on the street might know, but if you know about diesels, or more specifically high output high performance diesels, then you know about Gales Banks. As far as I know, Banks still holds multiple diesel records at the Bonneville Salt Flats. He has been squeezing more and more performance out of oil burning engines longer than most diesel fans have been alive. And now, it would seem, he has turned his attention towards the Volkswagen’s Jetta TDI. This could get very interesting in a lot of ways.

This is a bit of a departure for Banks. In addition to regular runs on The Salt, his main line of work is working aftermarket tricks on the biggest diesel pickups available in the U.S. and big rig semi-trucks.

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Blings:

• The exterior, though simple is quite attractive.
• The interior dashboard is simple and elegant
• Seats are excellent, especially the 2nd row seats
• Handling and ride quality are good and an improvement over its Chrysler cousins
• Good power and fuel economy

Dings:

• All the knobs and electronics are Chrysler quality and not up to VW standards
• Chrysler’s “stow and go” and “swivel and go” seating options are not available
• Sliding doors are a bit noisy when opening and closing.
• There are odd, as in huge storage compartments found in the floor and on the ceiling of the Routan
• It doesn’t differentiate itself enough from the Chrysler.
• Pricing rebates and deals of VW will not be as aggressive as Chrysler’s
• It was named by the same group that gave us the Phaeton and Passat

Introduction
When a family has more than two kids in this country they tend to stray away from the VW mark. Even VW loyalists are lost to the clutches of Honda, Toyota and Chrysler minivans. The convenience of the power sliding doors is alluring and the potential of transporting part of the soccer team or the extended family is inviting.

VW felt they had to offer a minivan in their line-up so they partnered with Chrysler for the task. Designing and building their own van did not support the economics and timing, so Volkswagen worked with Chrysler to create their version of the Chrysler Town and Country or Dodge Caravan.

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If the rumors hold true, and Volkswagen does indeed bring their Polo here to the U.S. just what sort of car will we get? More importantly, just what sort of car could we make it into (I’m looking at you, Euro tuners)? The Polo is a small-ish hatchback that’s is below the current Golf, size-wise (or about where the Golf was one or two generations ago).

That’s a good place to start, because smaller usually means better performance. And even better, the Polo is not new, just new to these shores. It’s been around Europe for quite some time, so what happens if a respected Euro-tuner, let’s say ABT, the guys that do heavy mods to Audis as well as race them in the DTM series, were to get their hands on the current gen Polo?

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More news from the upcoming Frankfurt Auto Show about the bound for the United States Polo from Volkswagen. The Polo, or some version of it, has been around Europe for quite some time. VW never brought it to North America because they felt it was “too small” for us. That might have been true, but times have changed and so has the Polo. The upcoming version is now about the size of the Golf from a few generations ago, and VW is supposedly bringing it to U.S.

Which is good on a number of levels. It should be small, tossable, fun to drive and economical to operate. It could also fill a nice niche for first time car buyers, and for those that use their car primarily for commuting or city driving, the Polo seems like a natural. And if VW is smart enough to bring the TDi diesel variant here, the gas mileage looks to be stunning.

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By Alex Kramer

Pros:

• 236 lb ft of torque!!
• Smooth shifting 6 speed manual transmission
• Perfectly tuned chassis and suspension
• Outstanding fuel efficiency

Cons:

• Squeal-happy tires
• Spartan interior

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Wait, did I read that right? Nearly fifty-five miles per gallon? Shoot, that’s impressive. The new, and hopefully coming to America soon VW Golf Plus BlueMotion Diesel gets 54.7 miles per gallon. An astounding, and very useful number to be sure. And with as well screwed together a ride as a VW Golf is, and with all the nifty comfort and convenience features it has, this could turn into one helluva great commuter car. Or a road trip car for that matter. With those kinds of MPG figures, you could probably make it from Los Angeles to Las Vegas on one tank (as an example).

Now, do bare in mind that this is the European model (the British model, actually), and at the moment there are no firm plans to bring the car here, but c’mon VW, you’d be dumb not to. As it sits in the U.K., prices start at £17,570 for the Golf Plus BlueMotion S, and go all the way up to £18,920 for the SE, which is the equivalent of $28,841.86 to $31,057.94. No, not cheap, but then again, those prices also figure in British taxes and such like.

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VW’s Phaeton, a car with a lot going for it, but also one that was more of a question for a lot of prospective buyers, will return to these shores. That is, it will be back if you believe Volkswagen CEO Stefan Jacoby when he confirmed that the Phaeton will eventually return to the U.S.

The Phaeton was a much-loved idea for VW fans, but turned into lightning strike without any thunder. It almost seemed like many prospective buyers couldn’t wrap their minds around a luxury VW that went for more than an Audi 6-series. Which is an ironic turn of events, considering VW is the corporate parent of Audi,

But Volkswagen is going back to the Phaeton well one more time, according to the Detroit News. They interviewed CEO Jacoby, who confirmed that the Phaeton would come back to these shores, although he didn’t specify when.

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In the ongoing saga of who will buy out which car company, it looks like VW is going all in and plans to fully acquire corporate sibling and long time corporate rival Porsche. And by ” fully acquire” I mean that Volkswagen is planning to take full ownership of Porsche.

This is all according to Der Spiegel, the respected German news magazine, who said that VW is amending earlier plans to acquire only 50 percent of the German sports car maker and now want it all.

Der Spiegel says the sale will be done in two phases: Phase one is for VW to get 49.9 percent of Porsche, which was VeeWee’s initial plan from a few months back, and then phase two is for VW to buy the remaining shares outright. For Porsche’s end of the deal, they’ll get approximately 8 billion Euros to help counter their massive debts. In the end the Porsche family will end up being a 50 percent owner in a joint VW-Porsche company. By the time all of this is over, VW will make Porsche the tenth brand in the VW family.

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Last year I totally got onboard the diesel train after driving a new Jetta TDI. Now I appreciate the value of diesel power a whole lot more after recently driving several hybrids in as many weeks. I’ve come to the conclusion that hybrids are as much fun to drive as a shopping cart with a broken wheel. And they require a totally different mindset from what I already have burned into my left hemisphere.

When gas prices were out of control last summer, diesel powered vehicles offered a little relief because more miles per gallon were possible with a gallon of diesel vs. regular petrol, plus they were an attractive alternative to the over-hyped, over-priced hybrids. The Jetta TDI I tested was quiet, drove like a real car, didn’t spew soot all over the rear bumper, and most importantly - didn’t smell like a carton of rotten eggs.

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By Twain Mein

Diesel: what’s old is new, only better
I’ve been unintentionally green for a few weeks now; my beloved 2000 Audi A6 is in the shop getting major surgery including a transmission rebuild, new power steering rack, and catalytic converters. So I’ve been cycling and train-riding to work for the past few weeks. Unfortunately, the train station is quite a ways from work, so I’ve been riding a minimum of 9 miles, and sometimes 40 miles a day (if I forego the train). You can imagine there are times I’m pretty tired.

Luckily, my backside got a welcome break with the chance to test the 2009 Volkswagen Jetta. But the “green” didn’t take a break with this frugal VW. It’s a fantastic car that offers plenty of room front and rear, fold down seats to easily fit the bike into the trunk, excellent handling, and a thoroughly entertaining diesel engine. Entertaining? Diesel? Yep-this sucker features a turbocharger that kicks in for some prodigious torque. While the 2.0 liter 4 cylinder has only 140 horsepower, it packs a whopping 236 foot pounds of torque. While it lags a bit off the line, at highway speeds, the torque makes passing a joy. It is an ideal highway cruiser. Even more impressive, despite my notorious lead-footedness (I infamously logged just 22mpg in the ‘08 Honda Fit), I averaged a stunning 37.5 mpg!

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Yup, diesel sales are on the increase again, and it’s not hard to figure out why. Times is tight, as Desmond Dekker said, and people are looking to save wherever they can. Add that to growing green concerns amongst the populace, and that’ll be another selling point for oil burners. “But performance” some people might ask, “Really?”

Indeed, performance is also a viable reason for considering diesels these days. A while back, just for the heck of it, I looked into building up a VW Golf TDi as an eco-friendly rally car. The Golf is a good platform for that in general, but I was concerned about what could be done with the engine.

Turns out, you could do a surprising amount of fun stuff.

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By Kurt Gensheimer

Blings:

• Powerful, Fuel Efficient, Clean and Quiet V6 diesel
• Off-road prowess
• Exceptional value
• Safer than a nuclear fallout shelter

Dings:

• No 3rd row seating (but this could actually be a bling depending on one’s affinity for hauling bodies)
• Umm…that’s it, folks!

Ruling: If you want an SUV that can do everything but schlep more than five passengers, stop your search here.

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By Francis Cebedo

Blings:

• The 2.0 model is an incredible value
• Styling is simply stunning
• The power and economy combination of the 2.0 is excellent
• Interior materials and craftsmanship is first rate
• Optional alloy wheel design complements the car very well
• Leather seats are superb
• This car is really comparable to cars that cost $10k more
• You get a lot of looks and inquiries at the parking lot

Dings:

• Only two rear seats in the rear for a car this size sacrifices space efficiency
• Moonroof does not slide back
• Rear door has a very sharp edge and can get caught upon upon opening
• Owner’s manual is lacking details
• Bluetooth and iPod compatibility needs to be standard on a car of this caliber
• The 2.0 Sport model is the better car but the option upgrades are limited
• You get a lot of looks and inquiries at the parking lot :^)
• There is a big blind spot with the rear quarter panel so backing up is a chore
• This car deserves to have the TDI engine option available

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Here’s some news that’s not all that surprising, Volkswagen’s Routan minivan, essentially a rebadged Chrysler minivan, is on the chopping block. You could pretty much see this coming from a mile away, almost before the Routan was rolled out. Rather than design and build their own minivan (a class of car that VW invented with the Type II way back when) VW decided that a better route was to take Dodge’s Caravan, change the trim here & there, add a VW badge and give it an Euro-sounding name. The Routan was built alongside its Chrysler Corp. counterparts at Chrysler’s Windsor, Ontario, plant until last December, when VW asked Chrysler to stop production. Apparently, not a single Routan has rolled off the assembly line since, and there are no immediate plans to resume production according to sources.

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