vw

BorgWarner Turbo Technology gives CNG-Powered cars a boost

BorgWarner will supply turbochargers for the Opel 1.6-liter compressed natural gas (CNG) engine and the VW 1.4-liter TSI EcoFuel engine.

CNG engines produce about 70 percent less nitrous oxide than diesel engines and about 25 percent less carbon dioxide than gasoline engines, but are slower to accelerate than the fossil fuel counterparts.

To lower weight and guarantee a fast response on the Opel Zafira ecoFlex Turbo, BorgWarner worked with Opel to optimize the water-cooled turbocharger. The engine delivers powerful performance, accelerating from 0 to 62 mph (100 km/hr) in 11.5 seconds.

BorgWarner also worked with Volkswagen … Read more

Small cars are big news at the LA Auto Show

Remember when the bottom dropped out of the economy and everyone was screaming for small, inexpensive, and fuel efficient cars? Well, they're here; and they're in Los Angeles.

Small cars ruled the roost at the 2009 LA Auto Show, with marquees such as the Ford Fiesta, the Mazda Mazda2, and the VW Up Lite attracting a lot of attention and stealing the spotlight from bigger more powerful cars.

Check out our gallery of small cars at the 2009 LA Auto Show for a closer look.

VW Up Lite: Small car, smaller carbon footprint

Volkswagen unveiled one of the few new concepts at the 2009 LA auto show, a tiny hybrid concept called the Up Lite concept (or Up! Lite, if you have a penchant for gratuitous punctuation). This small turbo-diesel hybrid possesses a small physical footprint--being much smaller than the VW Golf--and a super small carbon footprint, reaching an astronomical 70 US mpg fuel economy on the EU testing cycle.

To create the power train for the Up Lite, VW took its 1.6-liter TDI engine, chopped it in half, and slapped an electric engine on the back. Of course, we're sure … Read more

Car Tech Live Podcast 142: Honda hybrids, Infiniti EVs and punishing driving while texting

Honda talks about bigger hybrids, Cash for Clunkers might have been a huge boondoggle, Infiniti will get an electric car, should DWT be punished harder than DUI? And we take you for a ride in the frustratingly fun Scion xB.

Subscribe with iTunes (audio) Subscribe with iTunes (video) Subscribe with RSS (audio) Subscribe with RSS (video) EPISODE 142 SHOW NOTES

• Should DWT being punished more severely than DUI?

• CNET drives the new 2010 VW GTI

• CNET review of the 2010 Scion xB

• World distance record claimed for driving an electric car on a single charge

• Wacky driving robot being developed at MIT… Read more

Driverless car also parks itself

If you're a person who would gladly relinquish the task of parking your car to a computer, there may be a Volkswagen in your future.

Last weekend, Volkswagen Group of America and Stanford University's School of Engineering hosted a dedication ceremony on the Stanford campus for the new Volkswagen Automotive Innovation Laboratory (VAIL) that included the "first ever" autonomous parking demonstration by a driverless car.

The car, a VW Passat called Junior, was developed jointly by VW and Stanford and is the same one that finished second in the 2007 DARPA Urban Challenge. Driverless cars have … Read more

Which of these cars deserves to be called the 2010 Green Car of the Year?

Every year, for the past four years, Green Car Journal picks its Green Car of the Year at the LA Auto Show. Well, the LA Show will be here before you know it, so it's time to start thinking about this year's contestants, which have been narrowed down to five finalists.

The finalists include the Audi A3 TDI, the Honda Insight, the Mercury Milan Hybrid, the Toyota Prius, and the Volkswagen Golf TDI. That's two VW turbodiesels and a trio of hybrids; or four small hatchbacks and a small sedan. No matter how you look at it, … Read more

Porsche CEO steps down

Porsche CEO Wendelin Wiedeking and financial director Holger P. Haerter have resigned from their positions "with immediate effect."

Wiedeking will receive 50 million euros ($71 million) in compensation, while Haerter will receive 12.5 million euros.

The German luxury automaker announced the shake-up after a meeting of its supervisory board that went on late into Wednesday night.

"The ultimate goal is to lay the foundations for creating an integrated car manufacturing company from Porsche SE and Volkswagen AG," Porsche Automobil Holding said in Wednesday's statement.

The news comes as Porsche and Volkswagen have been locked in a public power struggle concerning competing visions … Read more

Buzz Out Loud 1013: 21st century episode for the 21st century listener

Just like the LG Watch, we are a 21st century product for the 21st century consumer. Which means we exist now for people who exist now. Sigh. Ryan Block of Gdgt joins us to talk about an algorithm to steal your Social Security number and how Gmail finally came outta beta! Yay! Bad times and good times all in one. Now if only we could get those implants for cell phones. In our neck people, in our neck!

Listen now: Download today's podcast Subscribe now: iTunes (audio) | iTunes (video) | RSS (audio) | RSS (video) EPISODE 1013

Gdgt http://www.gdgt.com/… Read more

New Jetta SportWagen includes impressive cabin tech

Volkswagen's new Jetta wagon delivers sporty performance in a practical package. But we're used to those characteristics from Volkswagen. Its secret sauce is the new cabin electronics package, which includes hard-drive-based navigation with advanced features such as traffic, along with iPod integration for the stereo system. Now if they could have just included Bluetooth phone support, it would be complete.

Read our review of the 2009 Volkswagen Jetta SportWagen 2.0T.