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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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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Frankfurt’s a’comin, so let’s look at some hot numbers set to debut there from Volkswagen. In this case, VW is set to debut BlueMotion diesel version of its Polo, Golf and Passat models. The Golf and the Passat are already here, and word is that the Polo will soon be here. And given the growing interesting in diesels from consumers, green drivers AND car companies, these are three rides worth paying attention to.

It’s easy to see why this is happening. In the first place, Frankfurt is the home show for VW, and diesels are über-popular amongst the continentals. So consider this something aimed more at the home market than America. But then again, the whole world pays attention to Frankfurt, and with two out of three of these guys already in the U.S., and a third coming, it’s pretty plain to see why we should be paying attention.

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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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Cool, cool and most definitely cool. This is cool news for car fans that are also environmentally aware. Recently Volkswagen rolled out a new drivetrain, dubbed BlueMotion, which was a leaner & cleaner diesel. Not only was it 50 state legal (we’re looking at you Cali), but they also dropped it into a devastatingly neat mid-engined drop top “show car”, the BlueSport Roadster, that was sort of like a cheap, green version of Porsche’s Boxster. Now comes word that BlueMotion will also find its way into more VW models.

The BlueSport Roadster concept, from the last Detroit Auto Show, featured a 2.0 liter turbocharged diesel engine that got 35/62 mpg in the European Combined Cycle ratings. Now, reports from the U.K.’s Evo magazine are that VW is working on a production version of the BlueSport concept for 2011. Before that model hits the market, the BlueSport name may be applied to a performance-minded diesel version of the European Scirocco and possibly an oil-burning GTI as well.

Yes please! There’s no reason a car can’t be better for the planet AND fun to drive at the same time. As a matter of fact, I’d like to think that doing that is pretty damn imperative. Doing something because “you have to” is never that much fun, now is it? ‘Eat your broccoli, it’s good for you,’ never really would cut it for me when I was a kid, and it doesn’t really make it for other people when they hear, ‘You should drive XXX car, because it’s good for the environment.’ Make a car that’s fun AND good for the environment, and everybody wins.

Source: AutoBlogGreen