VW touts price on new Passat

VW will be asking its dealers to focus on the affordability of the new VW Passat, which is a lost theme for the People's Car. A base Passat will come in at just under $23,000, with a turbo 2.0L version about a grand more. With a narrow-angle V6, it checks in at a tick under $30,000, which drops it at the lower end of a very competitive market segment. Technologies such as active steering return and straight-line path correction will probably appeal to some; as for me, I'd prefer Honda's approach of proper steering geometry and would vote to go put the gizmos somewhere else in the vehicle. Given the number of people that can't properly shuffle the wheel back to the centered position or keep the car in their own lane, though, this technology is probably suited to the American market.