The Wolfsburg edition of the Volkswagen Passat is now available at dealers, Volkswagen of America announced March 20.

VW would be selling only 6000 of the special edition Passat.

The Passat features a 2.0L, 200 hp turbo-charged engine with a standard six-speed automatic Tiptronic transmission.

The wolfsburg edition hosts a plethora of safety features, which includes six standard airbags, plus an optional two rear side airbags. It also has a four-wheel Antilock Braking System (ABS) with four-wheel disc brakes.

Luxury amenities include a 17-inch alloy wheels, a four-spoke leather wrapped multi-function steering wheel, letaher wrapped gearshift knob and boot, 12-way full power adjustable driver’s seat, six-disc in dash CD changer with MP3 capability, heated front seats, power sunroof, fog lights, heated windshiled washer nozzles and Sirius satellite radio.

Volkswagen of America is planning on reintroducing the Phaeton to the United States market, according to VW of America spokesperson Andreas Meurer in an interview with Bloomberg.

Adrian Hallmark, VW’s Executive Vice President, said that they expect US operations to break even in 2009. He also said that 2007 sales would be flat and they are focusing on new models for 2008 and 2009.

The Phaeton was pulled out from the US market due to poor sales in late 2005. It is also still unclear when the Phaeton will return to the US market. MEurer said that it would be reintroduced when the new version goes on sale worldwide.

It is not known whether the facelifted 2008 Phaeton or the next-generation model planned some time in 2009 is the one Meuerer is referring to.

Volkswagen upped its 2008 profit forecast to more than $6.72 billion as it raises productivity and cutting jobs in some of its German plants.

VW also increased its 2008 earnings target slightly, forecasting that the pretax profir would exceed the 5.1 billion euro mark target. It also reaffirmed that the operating profit for 2008 would surpass 4.38 billion euros.

The German automaker is committing itself to further restructure the company. It is planning to reduce its workforce by 5000 jobs, bringing it down to about 80000.

Get ready to tour the Geneva Motor Show, the environmentally-friendly way.

Volkswagen will be providing 102 Polo BlueMotions to the show. These will be used as visitor shuttles.

The BlueMotion uses only 3.9 liters of fuel for 100 kilometers, with CO2 emiisions pegged at 102 g/km.

According to VW CEO Martin Winterkorn, “Our BlueMotion philosophy neatly balances fuel economy with driving fun.”

Volkswagen is already offering 78 models with 13 getting by 3.9 to 4.9 liters.

“With numbers like these Volkswagen is setting the pace in terms of fuel economy,” he added.

Volkswagen will be debuting its newest vehicle in the car show, a Passat BlueMotion, which can go 839 miles on one full tank.

AUBURN HILLS, Mich.—Volkswagen of America, Inc. today announced that applications are now being accepted at www.vw.com for the oldest and highest mileage diesel-powered Volkswagens. Interested owners have until May 31 to get their application turned in; entering “Diesel Search” in the search box on the home page will take applicants to the application form.

The oldest U.S. market diesel Volkswagen search is open to registered vehicles, still running on the road with their original engines. Volkswagen anticipates this will be a Rabbit, as 12,393 were sold in 1977.

The highest accumulated mileage diesel Volkswagen search is also open to registered vehicles, still running on the road with their original engines. The odometer reading must be substantiated with service records and/or logbook data.

Since announcing this search, we’ve already heard from several diesel owners in the 300,000 to 400,000-mile range, said Keith Price, public relations manager, Volkswagen of America, Inc.,

The winner of each search will be provided with the use of a diesel-powered 2007 Volkswagen Touareg V10 TDI for six months.

Founded in 1955, Volkswagen of America, Inc. is headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan. It is a subsidiary of Volkswagen AG, headquartered in Wolfsburg, Germany. Volkswagen is one of the world’s largest producers of passenger cars and Europe’s largest automaker. Volkswagen sells the Rabbit, New Beetle, New Beetle convertible, GTI, Jetta, GLI, Passat, Passat wagon, Eos, and Touareg through approximately 600 independent U.S. dealers. Visit Volkswagen of America online at vw.com.

European carmaker Volkswagen has revealed the wagon version of its popular Golf hatchback - the 2008 Golf Variant.

It is expected to be sold in America as the next Jetta wagon. The Golf variant will be shown in the Geneva Motor Show.

The wagon is a foot longer than the Golf/Rabbit hatch, and has 690 liters of storage room, plus five passengers. It will be offered with a 1.4-liter 140 horsepower TFSI engine; or a 105 or 140 disel powerplant.

The US version and its specifics will be shown to the public in April, at the New York Auto Show.

Volkswagen has recalled almost 800000 vehicles because of faulty brake lights, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

The 790000 vehicles includes Jettas, New Beetles, Golfs, GTIs and R32s.

Specific years and models are 1999-2005 Jetta sedans, 2001-2005 Jetta wagons, 1998-2007 New Beetle, 2003-2007 New Beetle Convertibles, 1999-2006 Golfs and GTIs and the 2004 R32, all in the United States.

The faulty brake lights and brake light switches could fail to come on or remain stuck on.

The recall is an expansion announced last year by Volkswagen, which recalled 362000 Jettas and New Beetles due to the same problem.

VW said that dealers will be immediately prepared to accept service appointments and repair it at no charge. The notification process, however, won’t start until April.

NHTSA did not say whether any injuries have been reported due to the defective brake lights.