The 2008 Volkswagen Jetta will be one of those manufactured wonder vehicles by the German automaker Volkswagen. This is yet another quality yet safe upgraded model that is set to hit the auto market early next year.

This time around, the new Jetta will come with a Clean Diesel 2.0-liter engine that can pump out 140-horsepower and 235-lb-ft of torque. The 2008 Volkswagen Jetta, however, will be equipped with an improved fuel injection system. The injectors are will be able to produce ultra-high pressures which will atomize and combust the diesel. A maximized power and minimum pollution, smoke, and noise will be the product of this upgraded system of the 2008 Jetta.

The technology of the Clean Diesel is predicted to meet the strict BIN5 ULEV2 standards. Jetta’s new engine system will utilize a selective catalytic reduction system that is maintenance-free. Jetta, however, may be too good to be true because the technology may carry a much bigger tag.

The German automaker Volkswagen stands still in its task of promoting vehicles that are both safe for the user and the environment. As the company’s social responsibility, Volkswagen is in an unending process of developing models that are fuel efficient, but this means more money to burn. Since Euro is extremely high, Volkswagen has been facing higher fixed costs compared to its competitors. With this predicament at hand, Volkswagen decided to manufacture cars for Northern America in China.

With the high cost of production of Volkswagen, its vehicles become pricey. In the US, good-looking and environment-friendly cars are not the only factors to consider in buying a car – the price also plays a major role. With China’s cheap labor, Volkswagen might just get away with this problem. The only thing that Volkswagen has to make sure is that vehicles manufactured in China will be able to meet US safety and emissions standards. At present, Volkswagen vehicles sold in the US were not yet made in China.

A car with a fuel efficient engine from a Czech Republic automaker can be the trigger for Volkswagen’s sales to sky-rocket up the ceiling, according to Shanghai Volkswagen Company.

Shanghai Volkswagen Automobile Company, which is a result of the fusion of Chinese and European automakers, sees Skoda to boost its sales and share in the Chinese market in the near future. According to the company, they are expecting Skoda, which is wholly owned by Volkswagen AG, to get about 2.5 to 3 percent of the passenger car market in China before the turn of the decade.

Skoda did not click back in its homeland thus automobile industry’s analysts and experts consider this move by the partnership of Chinese and German automobile manufacturers to be a big leap of faith. Moreover, the Shanghai Volkswagen Automobile Company is sure to be taking a risk in selling Skoda-made cars into the China, which is the second largest automobile market, without knowledge if the people of the republic will embrace this virtually unknown brand.

The fate of Skoda vehicles, however, is still blurry. Shanghai Volkswagen did not disclose as to how many units are expected to be sold by 2010, but the company aims to sell over 30,000 units of the Skoda Octavia in China before 2007 ends. This goal units will help increase total sales to 400,000 units from 352,000 last year. Just last month, the compact sedan Skoda Octavia had its debut in China and has been receiving good reviews from China-based auto publications. Aside from Skoda, other models like Fabia and Superb will be introduced in China in the near future.

“The introduction of Skoda is the start of our multi-brand strategy and will expand our lineup to satisfy growing customer demand,” said Yale Zhang, the director of Greater China Vehicle Forecasts.

The process of developing a car does not stop when the model has been distributed to the market. Upgrades should also be done because once development stays stagnant, the car improvement goes down the drain. For the German automaker Volkswagen, developing and integrating environment-friendly features into its vehicles has been a continues process.

True to form, Volkswagen has managed to upgrade its Polo BlueMotion line and made it even more friendly to the environment. The Volkswagen Polo BlueMotion now has a lower emissions level of 99 g/km after the fuel consumption has been cut from one tenth of a liter to 3.8 liters. Not only that, this improved Polo BlueMotion can drive up to 100 kilometers with only that smaller amount of fuel. Since its debut in the Summer of 2006, Volkswagen Polo BlueMotion actually holds the lowest fuel consumption quality in the Polo models, but the company decided to take it a notch higher this year in lieu of the company’s campaign of safer cars.

Famous for the bug-like cars, Volkswagen focused on engine configuration for BlueMotion. By improving the engine of a car, expect a lower emission of noxious gases that are big factors for the worsening global warming. BlueMotion models are really good finds, after being geared with TDI engine, which is known for being powerful and frugal, and TSI engine which is known to reduce fuel consumption and emissions. Aside from BlueMotion’s efficient engine, the models are manufactured with low-friction tires and tall gear ratios.

The BlueMotion models also include Passat BlueMotion and Passal Estate BlueMotion.

The second edition of the Volkswagen sports utility vehicle (SUV) Touareg is set to capture the whims of both the customers and enthusiasts alike in an automotive car show in North Idaho.

The integration of both sophistication and power in the upgraded model of the Volkswagen Touareg will be realized when this SUV set its tires on the affluent resort feel of Coeur d’Alene, which is surrounded with mountain terrain. The elegant SUV boasts of a tougher look with its shield-shaped radiator grille that is usually the design of the German company. Headlight housings were also redesigned with the option of bi-xenon headlights with cornering light. Moreover, new door mirrors and an optimized rook spoiler were part of the upgraded Touareg.

“There’s great driving and there’s great off-roading, and it’s a part of the country that not a lot of people have discovered,” said Steve Keyes, public relations general manager for Volkswagen.

Northern America’s automotive writers will be testing the Volkswagen Touareg 2 this week. Together with the company’s representatives, writers will have the chance to test drive the luxury SUV 30 mile down the interstate to Pinehurst, then trek the winding logging roads to the top of a 4,000-foot mountain overlooking the town. This off-road terrain will allow the new
Touareg to showcase its capabilities as an SUV. Allowing the Volkswagen Touareg 2 to show-off its road adjusting stamina is made possible by the North Idaho College. The automotive shop of the college will be used by Volkswagen to inspect every SUV before test drives.

The additional models for Volkswagen in 2007, like the VW Magotan, are seen as the possible factors to increase the sales of the company in China this year.

The Volkswagen Magotan sedan, which is the Volkswagen Passat local counterpart, was one of the several models that was released this year. Since 1973, the Volkswagen Magotan sedan or also known as the VW Passat, has taken many forms since its establishment. This VW family-built sedan first came out as a compact or small family car and eventually evolved into the mid-size or large family cars. The VW Magotan was just recently released last July 11 in China. To add, the local dealers of Volkswagen will also launch two models in both 2008 and 2009.

This year, the German-established automaker aims to increase vehicle sales in China by about 12%. Sales are expected to sky-rocket to more than 800,000 cars compared to the 711, 298 cars sold in 2006. From January to June, Volkswagen’s sales in China went up to as much as 25% with the release of the Skoda Octavia and a patterned Audi A4 to fit locally-built range. In addition, the original equipment manufacturer was able to sell 431, 369 cars in the country during the six-month period.

“The market is still growing at a very aggressive pace,” said Volkswagen China Group’s executive vice president Soh Weimin. “Ten years ago only a fortune teller could tell you how good the car market would be in the following year, but now the market is pretty stable.”

A new addition to the Volkswagen Rabbit family maybe a diesel variant, which will be sold to the US alongside the German automaker’s upcoming release of the diesel Jetta.

North American Volkswagen officials have hinted that plans are being considered to drop the diesel mill into its subcompact Rabbit, partly because of the previous success of diesel-powered Jettas. Diesel Jettas were last sold in the US in 2006 and managed to account for 40 percent of total Jetta production that year. With the availability of low-sulfur diesel fuel and new technologies designed to greatly reduce emissions, Volkswagen is hoping it will be able to capitalize on buyers who are looking for options other than hybrids.

The Volkswagen Group delivered 3.09 million vehicles to customers throughout the world in the first six months of 2007 translating to an increase of 7.8% over the same period last year, which is an all-time sales record for the company for the first half of a year.

The Group’s deliveries from January through June 2007 in Europe reportedly rose by 3.7% to 1.86 million vehicles, 1.62 million of which went to Western Europe (1.3% increase). This is more than what the company needs to gain to make up for its 3.7% decline in Germany, the largest single market, where 515,000 vehicles were delivered. The 238,000 vehicles sold in Central and Eastern Europe garnered an increase of 22.8%.

Volkswagen brand, the largest-volume member of the Group, delivered 1.8 million vehicles in the first half of this year to customers throughout the world, 7.4% more than in the same period last year. Audi likewise registered a substantial growth of 9.8% in sales and 509,000 deliveries. Skoda made a powerful gain of 13.2% with 311,000 cars. Seat delivered 222,000 vehicles, registering a slight decline of 1.8%. Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles significantly increased sales by 8.4% to 233,000. While Bentley made a strong gain of 18.8% to more than 5,600 cars sold. With 1,200 sales, Lamborghini grew by 29.7%, and Bugatti by 131.3% to 37 cars.

Volkswagen of America is now arming itself for sponsoring the most anticipated Volkswagen event, the Waterfest 13. This Car Show and Motorsport event is North America’s largest annual car event. More than 20,000 Volkswagen enthusiasts including 2,500 registered participants were expected to complete the occasion which will be held at Englishtown, New Jersey’s Raceway Park on July 21 and 22.

This array of events and numerous Volkswagen productions will begin at noon on Saturday, July 21, and will continue until 5 pm on Sunday. Several competitions will be held to reward participants for the amplitude of the audio system, their ability to perform tire burnouts, their car’s speed on the quarter-mile track and additional activities.

As a part of this annual event, Volkswagen will be on hand to indulge its enthusiasts with giveaways, demonstrations and special guests. All those who attend will be given a chance to ride a either a GLI, GTI, or Jetta TDI and others to take on a test joyride, and visit the “V-dub Garage”. The Garage features custom-printed shirts and dog tags, while the “I Know VW” Quiz Show is an expected hit. This quiz show was said to be a Jeopardy-style competition for self-proclaimed Volkswagen experts. The winning Volkswagen expert will be honored with a roof rack and a lifestyle attachment of their choice, courtesy of Volkswagen Parts and Accessories.

“Volkswagen is extremely lucky to have such loyal followers, ” said Keith Price, public relations manager, Volkswagen of America Inc. in an interview. “Our customers and fans are what make this brand so special. We’re thrilled to be a part of Waterfest this year. ”

Volkswagen merchandise will be available at Waterfest, including t-shirts, “Fast juniors” and commemorative key chains, which are available exclusively at Volkswagen-sponsored events. Also, product specialists will be present to answer questions about all Volkswagen models.

Volkswagen unveiled its newly-revamped Jetta in its Pueblo Plant in Mexico. The new model was created by FAW-Volkswagen in China, and its addition to the Mexico lineup is part of a major hike in production capacity of the Volkswagen Plant in Pueblo. This was made possible by an investment of $40 million, which means that the facility will be able to churn out 450,000 cars a year.

The Mexican Jetta has long been manufactured by Volkswagen, and now is the time to update it. Thus, Volkswagen tapped its FAW-Volkswagen joint venture in China, which had already come up with an attractive plans for the Jetta update, and is producing the same car in Mexico.

The Mexico-bred Jetta will be exported to certain Central and Eastern European markets, in addition to its sales in its home market. It will be powered by either a 2.0-liter gas or a 1.9-liter diesel engine.

Volkswagen manufactures the New Beetle and both the current and previous-generation Jettas in Mexico. In order to distinguish between the latter two, the previous generation is called Jetta, while the current one is called Bora. Bora is known as Jetta in North America.

In a separate report, Volkswagen has confirmed to the German media that it might consider setting up another North American plant if the dollar remains as weak as it currently is in relation to the Euro. Volkswagen’s plant in Michigan has been sold previously to Chrysler in 1983.