Volkswagen Passat TDI Travels 1,626 Miles on a Single Tank of Fuel

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).
The couple began their journey on May 3, 2012 in Houston, Texas and finished on May 5, 2012 in Sterling, Virginia.
VW says that in order to make the drive as realistic as possible, they added 120 pounds of luggage and drove only during daylight hours to simulate normal traffic conditions. They each took turn on the wheel and didn't drive more than 14 hours a day.
The Passat TDI's 2.0-liter turbo diesel produces 140 horsepower and 236 pound-feet of torque and with a manual transmission returns an EPA estimated fuel economy rating of 43 mpg (5.5lt/100km) on the highway.
Over the course of three days, John and Helen Taylor achieved an average fuel economy of 84.1 mpg (2.8 lt/100km), which VW says comes to 4.65 cents per mile.
The Taylors aren't your normal driving couple, however, as the pair has participated in many events all over the world having collected more than 90 world fuel economy and vehicle-related records from their drives.
“We’re excited to have broken the record for the longest distance driven on one-tank of fuel,” said John Taylor. “The Passat TDI was the perfect car for the trip. It offers plenty of interior and cargo space, yet is frugal enough to help us achieve this record.”

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Volkswagen People's Car Concept

Following the release of a few photos of the concepts designed under the Volkswagen brand's ongoing 'People’s Car Project' initiative in China, the German company brought to life one of these studies with the help of CGI (Computer-Generated Imagery). The prototype that Volkswagen chose to exhibit in the video is the Hover Car, which is a concept for a two-seater, circular shaped vehicle that uses electromagnetic levitation to float just above the regular road network.
Jump past the break to see the VW Hover Car concept in action.

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Volkswagen to Develop Two Crossover Models Based on the Polo and the Up

Two more crossover models could soon join the ranks of the compact Tiguan and the mid-size Touareg in Volkswagen's lineup, according to a report from German business publication, Handelsblatt. Citing unnamed company sources, the newspaper wrote that a subcompact crossover built on the underpinnings of the Polo, which would potentially go up against the Nissan Juke and Opel Mokka, as well as an even smaller model based on the Up! city car, are "certain".
A Volkswagen spokesperson would not confirm the models on the report, but said, ''SUVs are very interesting. Our modular production system allows us further spinoffs. We haven't made a decision yet.''
Autonews Europe said that in concern of the subcompact SUV, VW had originally planned to base this model on the Suzuki SX4 and that it was to be called the Rockton, but the divorce proceedings between Volkswagen and Suzuki "killed off the project".
As for the smaller crossover, Volkswagen has already shown a couple of crossover-ish concepts of the Up! including the Buggy Up! study at last year's Frankfurt Show and the Winter Up! and X Up! at the 2012 Geneva Motor Show.
Albrecht Reimold, the boss of VW Skovakia, which manufactures the Up!, told the German business daily that the city car's lineup would be expanded with new variants in the future, without revealing any specific details. "It's certainly an area we must look at," he said.
The newspaper added that an Up! based SUV would sell for "well under than €20,000" (US$26,100) in Germany. In VW's home market, the Tiguan starts from €24,175 (US$31,500).

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

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 


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VW Reportedly Developing a Smaller CC Model

A four-door sedan is a four-door sedan regardless of the height and styling of the roof but automakers had to find some way to market their sportier looking saloons so they coined the somewhat ambiguous term "four-door coupe". Among the many cars to sprout from this sub-segment are Audi's A5 and A7 Sportback models, BMW’s 6-Series Gran Coupe and of course, the founding Mercedes-Benz CLS.
In all cases, form takes priority over function as these saloons are merely more stylish and more often than not, less spacious and practical versions of the regular four-door models they are based on.
VW was the first mainstream manufacturer to introduce a four-door coupe with the Passat CC, which after its recent facelift, goes by the name of CC. Now the German carmaker plans to add a second, smaller model to its line-up of sporty sedans.
According to a report from Autoweek, the Wolfsburg carmaker has already given the green light to a Jetta-based (not the current, the next generation ) CC. It bears the internal designation SC (for “Sports Coupe”) and will ride on the VW Group's modular MQB platform.
“Our research suggests there is an increasing market for a sportier and more stylish version of the Jetta in the mold of the CC, only smaller and more affordable”, said a VW source familiar with the project.
The SC name might indeed be the new model’s official name. VW’s new car won’t be the only compact four-door sedan in the market: premium “sister” Audi has already previewed the sedan version of the brand-new A3 and Mercedes-Benz is currently testing the CLC, which is the CLS's little brother that could be unveiled in concept form as early as the upcoming Beijing Motor Show in April.

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