NHTSA investigation into 100,000 VW and Audi diesels intensifies

According to The Detroit News, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is turning up the heat on its investigation into faulty Volkswagen fuel pumps. The administration has announced that it is currently looking into 97,272 diesel Volkswagen and Audi vehicles after receiving a total of 160 complaints about the issue. NHTSA says that in roughly half of those complaints, the bad pumps resulted in an engine stall on the highway or in traffic that prevented the engine from being restarted. Even so, no major accidents have been attributed to the faulty pumps, though one minor fender-bender has been reported as a result of the issue.

The investigation covers 2010 Golf hatchbacks, 2009-2010 Jetta sedans and certain 2010 Audi A3 models as well.

Volkswagen says that the fuel pump issues that it has encountered have resulted from diesel fuel that has been contaminated with gasoline. The company says that even a small amount of gas mixed in with diesel fuel can cause the pumps to shut down. Unfortunately for thusly affected owners, fuel system damage due to using the wrong fuel won’t be covered under warranty.

Meanwhile, Volkswagen has informed NHTSA about 120 separate fuel slip-ups, some of which came courtesy of dealers and service personnel using the wrong fuel.

Source:Autoblog

2011 Volkswagen Jetta Launch

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

2011 Volkswagen Touareg Interior

Interior wrapped with brown color that looks very comfortable and elegant. Passenger capacity of approximately 6 to 7 people. For the control panel there is section on the left.

Dashboard equipped entertainment facilities. There are also facilities monitoring system, machine work and the flow of power on VW Touareg. Transmission panel made with a touch of elegance and captivating.

 

Optimized V6 7.5-liter TDI breaking barriers
Consider the V6 TDI, the most efficient fuel Touareg Engine: In relation to power, the development of advanced Success V6 TDI with 176 kW / 240 hp (European version) and the victim Bluemotion technology to the world of the Touareg, which is 550 Newton-meter strong turbodiesel low consumer innovative 7.4 l/100 km (equivalent to 195 g / km CO2), which is 1.9 liters less than the previous. CO2 emissions reduced by 49 g / km.

Just replace the V8 TDI V10 TDI
Consider the V8 TDI, a new turbodiesel with 250 kW / 340 PS. (!) Given the power and maximum torque of 800 Newton-meters great, the combined consumption of 9.1 l/100 km (equivalent to 239 g / km CO2) is very good – 2.8 liters lower than the V10 TDI, now retired. SUV Car 2011 Volkswagen Touareg Using Hybrid Engine Technology V6 TDI & TSI.

Report: Skoda planning VW Up-based minicar?

According to Inside Line, Skoda is jumping into the minicar game with a little help from parent company Volkswagen. The Czech automaker is set to introduce a new model based on the same platform as the VW Up, with production gearing up toward the fall of 2011.

The vehicle doesn’t have a name as of yet, but according to the report, the pint-sized machine is slated to be built at Volkswagen’s Bratislava manufacturing facility. When it rolls off the production line, it will come packing an efficient 65-horsepower 1.0-liter gasoline engine, though a 75-horsepower 1.2-liter diesel mill will also be available at the time of launch.

Later down the line, there’s word that Skoda will bring an all-electric version to the party as well. The baby Skoda is being designed to lock horns with the Toyota iQ and Peugeot 107, and Inside Line is reporting that it will likely carry a price tag of around $9,300 when it debuts.

USA car hire

[Source: Inside Line]

Bizarre recall mandates 2010 Volkswagen New Beetle models be replaced with… older cars?!

Government safety regulations are put in place to, you know, actually keep us safer. But sometimes, it seems the loopholes are big enough to drive a truck through. Okay, maybe not a truck, but definitely aVolkswagen New Beetle.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has determined that the certain examples of the aging Volkswagen Bug (both the coupe and convertible) manufactured in September 2010 failed to meet new Federal crash test requirements that went into effect that month. Reasonable enough, we suppose, as the regulations are there for a reason.

The fix? To replace the non-compliant vehicles with ones manufactured before September 1, 2010. In other words, the replacement cars still won’t meet the new safety regulations, but didn’t have to at the time of their manufacture because the rules had yet to come into force. Seriously.

The end result may not make occupants of the 27 affected units any safer, but at least they’ll be on the right side of the red tape. Follow the jump for the full recall notice.

Source:Autoblog

Volkswagen Golf MkVII could come by end of 2012

The MkVI (sixth-generation) Volkswagen Golf has been around since 2009, and according to a report fromReuters, the next all-new Golf may be approaching sooner than we thought. According to a spokesperson forVolkswagen, the automaker will have the MkVII Golf ready for public consumption by either the end of 2012 or beginning of 2013.

Golf generational changes typically occur in much larger intervals, but this rapid introduction for the MkVII is a result of the Volkswagen Group’s new cost-savings model architecture called MQB. Different makes and models that share the same underpinnings will be built in a similar manner to save large percentages of money.