Autoblog

The new, fifty-state legal Jetta BlueTDI is finally done and it's coming soon. At the International Vienna Motor Symposium in Austria, Volkswagen announced that it's completed development on what they are calling the BlueTDI system for their US diesels. Like Mercedes (BlueTec) and BMW (BluePerformance), VW is adopting the Blue moniker for their cleanest, most efficient systems. The Jetta BlueTDI will be the first Tier2 Bin5 compliant diesels that doesn't have to use a urea injection system to meet the new NOx emissions standard. VW started with the updated 2.0L TDI that was launched in the European Tiguan last fall. Individual cylinder pressure sensors were added that allow the engine management system to optimize the fuel injection pulses to keep combustion temperatures down. That helped VW eliminate 60-percent of the NOx emissions before you even get to the exhaust stream. The exhaust gas flowing from the 2.0L engine are low enough that VW was able to use a lean NOx trap to convert the remaining NOx to nitrogen and water. However, the larger 3.0L V-6 TDI that is coming in the Touareg and Audi Q7 at the end of the year will have to use urea injection. In addition to the NOx trap, there is a particulate filter to eliminate the soot often associated with diesel engines. The new Jetta will be able to get up to 60mpg when cruising on the highway, a boost of 12-percent over the last US-market Jetta TDI from 2006. The Jetta BlueTDI should be the first of the new round of diesels to come to market when it arrives later this summer. The first batch of cars should actually start arriving at US dealers in June, where they will be available for test drives through the summer before going on sale in September.

[Source: Volkswagen]

For those of you impatiently waiting for the VW Jetta Sportwagen, there's something new over at VW.com to keep you busy a few more days. Along with photos of the car inside and out, there are stats, options and a base price that's closer to the true price than the rough estimate we had before. Entry-level price for the anxiously-awaited wagon is $24,500. The site says you get an 8-speaker stereo with aux-in, ABS and traction control for that number.

We assume that's with the 5-speed and 170 hp, 2.5 liter gasoline engine that gets 21 city, 29 highway. Which ain't too bad, actually, but not nearly as good as the mid-50s highway mileage the site brags about for the optional TDI. Sadly, there's no mention of how much you'll pay for ticking the TDI box on the option sheet. Or for the 6-speed Tiptronic or the panoramic sunroof or those sweet-looking leather seats. VW also let slip on the site that the Tiguan will be available this spring. Thanks, Julio, for the tip!

[Source: VW.com]

Hybrid-electric cars are seen by many as the most effective way of saving the environment, while diesels are often shunned as being dirty, smog-producing motors designed for trucks. This anti-diesel view couldn't be further from the truth. Modern diesel engines in many cases offer superior mileage to their hybrid counterparts and, with the latest exhaust particulate filters, are just as clean, too.

Paul Eisenstein from Popular Mechanics (didn't he found The Car Connection?) managed to get an exclusive test-drive of one of Volkswagen's 2008 Jetta Diesel prototypes. The car is running VW's brand-spanking new clean diesel technology in the form of a 2.0L four cylinder common-rail diesel engine that will meet the Tier 2 Bin 5 emissions standards for all 50 US states. Check out the video after the jump. The VW guy talking is a bit preachy, but the new Jetta Diesel is an important product for the coming diesel revolution. Since the U.S. market is used to seeing diesel-powered Volkswagens running about, we doubt it will make as big a splash in the marketplace as Honda's Diesel Accord or GM's half-ton pickups with the new 4.5L V8 Diesel Duramax, but it's great to see this hybrid humbling little car back on sale after its short hiatus.

[Source: Popular Mechanics]