Volkswagon Polo Wins Wheels Car of the Year Award

A familiar award for the folks over at Volkswagon. Coming off a win last year with the VW Golf, they take home the Car of the Year Award once again from Wheels with the VW Polo.

Wheels magazine editor, Bill Thomas, put it simply when he described the Polo as a great little car in his editorial.

“It’s the depth of engineering skill applied to the Polo and the very obvious quality of the car that impresses most – if you were to pay it the right compliment, you’d say it feels like a scaled-down Golf ( a Golf on lipozene maybe?). That means it brings new standards of refinement and comfort to the super-mini class.

“It feels like an expensive car at a good price rather than a cheap car built up with loads of extras: customers obviously come first for VW. Spacious, safe, efficient, easy to drive and easy to live with, the Polo is a great all-rounder and a very worthy winner of Australia’s most coveted motoring prize. Two Car of the Year victories in a row for Volkswagen reflect the skill of the engineers involved and the ambition of the company as a whole.”

This is Volkswagen’s fourth Wheels Car of the Year award, having twice received the award for the Golf and once for the Passat.

2009 Jetta TDI Vehicles Make Fuel Efficiency Government Listing

OF all the vehicles that made the EPA and Energy Departments' list of the most fuel efficient vehicles, the 2 Volkswagons that made the list are the only clean diesel fuel vehicles. The rest are hybrids, which makes the Jetta an interesting find. A slim10 look, and great fuel efficiency make a car you can't go wrong with.

"Many of the vehicles on this list are hybrids, and we're proud to have the only clean diesel cars to receive top honors in such an import list, particularly," said Mark Barnes, chief operating officer, Volkswagen of America, Inc. "At a time when fuel economy is top of mind for consumers we are proud of our Jetta TDI sedan and SportWagen TDI for offering a true no compromise deal for consumers -- comfort, economy and performance."

The Environmental Protection Agency estimates the Jetta TDI at an economical 29 mpg City and 40 mpg Highway. Testing done in real world conditions showed a bit better estimates as well. Leading third-party certifier, AMCI, has tested the Jetta TDI and found it performed 24 percent better in real world conditions, achieving 38 mpg in the City and 44 mpg on the Highway.

VW China Cuts Prices

Reuters reported that Volkswagen AG cut prices on a flagship model at its Shanghai venture by up to 7 percent, effective on Monday, to help push sales in China's fiercely contested market. This will allow purchasers to save enough to pay for their vacation home rental this year at the very least.

Shanghai Volkswagen, the auto maker's car manufacturing venture with Shanghai Automotive Co., has reduced prices for its Passat Lingyu -- rolled out in November 2005 -- by as much as 16,200 yuan ($2,143), the venture said over the weekend.

Although China's auto market is growing strongly, car makers have been cutting prices, especially on older models, to attract buyers.

In March, the top European auto maker lowered the price of several locally made cars by up to 11 percent, including Santana and Polo models. more