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Public Relations Hits Keep Coming for Volkswagen

Automaker gives back nearly a dozen awards due to diesel scandal.

by on Oct.20, 2015

Michael Horn, head of VW of America, in better times for the automaker when it was winning awards. Now the company is returning them.

The fallout for Volkswagen is spreading behind its diesel-powered vehicles as a major automotive publication announced today it will not consider any VW or Audi vehicles for one of its major awards.

Ward’s Communications said it won’t be allowing any of the maker engines to be part of its annual 10 best engines competition. The automaker just gave back its car of the year award last week and it’s likely this is just beginning for the automaker.

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“We discussed it at length,” Wardsauto.com senior editor Tom Murphy told the Detroit Free Press. “What VW admitted to is very troubling, and it still hasn’t come clean with all the details. There are too many unknowns.” (more…)

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VW Backing Away From Diesel as Other Makers Filling Void

GM bringing two new diesels to market by 2017.

by on Oct.19, 2015

GM is still planning a second-generation diesel engine for its Chevy Cruze in time for the 2017 model.

Volkswagen has taken a turn away from its grand diesel plan in the U.S. saying that it will cut back on its plans to develop engines for the market here in light of recent events; however, just as it’s planning to get out, one of its largest competitors is ramping up its diesel efforts.

The German maker said recently that it will focus on its electric vehicle program as a way to meet toughening emissions standards in the U.S. and less so on its diesels, which offered a triple threat of durability, improved emissions and fuel savings.

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What will become of the diesel market in the U.S.? Fear not, General Motors has it covered. Mark Reuss, GM’s executive vice president of Global Product Development, Purchasing and Supply Chain, said recently the upcoming Chevrolet Cruze Diesel and the diesel program for Cadillac are still a go. (more…)

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VW Expecting More Diesel Growth

Reliability “perceptions” still a problem, says VWoA’s Jacoby.

by on Jan.13, 2010

Volkswagen is betting its expanding diesel line-up will help it reach its goal of 800,000 sales, in the U.S., by 2018.

While industry leaders continue to hedge and debate the potential for diesels in the U.S. market, it’s full-speed ahead for Volkswagen of America.

The German maker’s diesel-powered products continue to gain ground, encouraging VW to add the powertrain as an option on even more of its models, going forward, said Stephan Jacoby, CEO of Volkswagen of America.

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“With any new vehicle that arrives with a diesel option,” said the executive, during a speech at the annual Automotive News World Congress, “we estimate 20 to 30% of the mix will be diesel.”

(more…)

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First Drive: 2010 Volkswagen Golf

Setting a tough benchmark - but commanding a high price.

by on Oct.13, 2009

All-new, sixth-generation versions of the Volkswagen Golf and the VW GTI are just reaching U.S. showrooms.

All-new, sixth-generation versions of the Volkswagen Golf and the VW GTI are just reaching showrooms in the U.S.

American motorists have long had a love/hate relationship with Volkswagen, but which way will they swing when the 2010 Volkswagen Golf rolls into showrooms?

The German carmaker was the first offshore brand to make a serious foray into the American market, its little Beetle becoming an icon of the Hippie era.  But despite the initial success of the Bug’s successor, the Rabbit, VW sales soon crashed, as Baby Boomers shifted loyalties to a new generation of higher quality Asian imports.

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In the late 1990s, Volkswagen staged a significant comeback, but despite the arrival of the completely redesigned “New” Beetle, that success was relatively short-lived, in large part due to owner frustrations over seemingly endemic quality problems.

(more…)

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