To strengthen and further solidify Volkswagen of America’s launching of its special project aptly named, “Safety Saturday”, the esteemed automobile company has teamed up with Program Professionals. The latter institution is known to be a leading non-profit organization that dedicates its time on health promotion, injury prevention, and safety programming.

Steve Keyes, Director of Communications for Volkswagen of America, Inc., has this to say in reference to the alliance: “The collaboration between Volkswagen and Program Professionals seemed a natural fit, as we both advocate a uniform message on cars and car safety. It’s the philosophy of prevent and preserve that we want to educate consumers on.”

Volkswagen has always been involved in promoting security for all people on the road. In fact, this new “Safety Saturday” campaign can be seen as a spinoff kind of extension for Volkswagen’s already existing major program, which is the “Volkswagen Safety Program”. The said renowned program is a nationwide cause to educate drivers, passengers, and pedestrians on the value and importance of vehicle security. This program was actually born as
Volkswagen’s innate response to the increasing statistics of fatal crashes happening in the country. According to research, roughly 40,000 lives are being taken every year due to vehicular accidents, this despite the increasing technological developments and enhanced engineering in the automotive industry. Volkswagen then aims to disseminate safety information on how such state-of-the-art technologies can be used to the people’s advantage.

No brand can be more appropriate to advocate vehicular safety as the Volkswagen group. All its vehicles are thoroughly designed for security, with standard features such as 6-airbags, 4-channel ABS, disc brakes on all tires, anti-skid systems, and laser welded seams, just to name a few. It certainly helps as well that Volkswagen, being a German brand, is subject to the Euro NCAP crash rating examination, one of the toughest crash rate program in the industry.

This is in fact not the first time that Volkswagen and Program Professionals are partnering together for a consumer safety campaign. The two distinguished organizations have previously collaborated on the “Sit Safe” program, which is a nationwide movement to oversee car child-seats in all communities of the United States. Moreover, they have also partnered on various vehicular educational programs, one of which is the “Child Seat Safety Inspector Training” courses to more than 220 Volkswagen dealerships nationwide.

And now, the “Safety Saturday” is Volkswagen and Program Professional’s latest venture in further promoting their commitment for vehicular security. This new campaign of the “Volkswagen Safety Program” aims to encourage all car owners to pay a visit to any participating dealerships and avail of a free vehicle safety check-up and a round of child seat safety inspection. This is a very valuable opportunity as such assessment would be undertaken by a certified Child Seat Inspector. Included in the check-ups and appraisals are the vehicle’s tire pressure, windshield condition, blinker, and brake lights. What’s more, every vehicle owner that would wisely avail of this helpful car safety assessment would be eligible to register for a free Volkswagen Passat, a model popular for its exceptional security features and five-star side crash test rates.

“Safety Saturday” would start its safety campaign on September 22, 2007.

For more information on Volkswagen’s various programs and initiatives during safety month and their Safety Saturdays, please visit www.SafetySaturday.com.

Volkswagen of America, Inc., in its solid commitment for greener motoring, has duly announced this August 30 that it has forged a partnership with known environmentalist, Carbonfund.org. With this affiliation, Volkswagen’s primary aim is to offset one year of Carbon emissions from each new Volkswagen vehicle sold in the United States for the period of September 1, 2007 through January 2, 2008.

As a means to make light on this alliance, Adrian Hallmark, Executive Vice President of Volkswagen of America, has this to attest: “We developed this partnership to help bring our customers to the forefront of environmental initiatives. Vehicles are an important and necessary part of our society, but there are actions we can all take to help ensure a cleaner environment for future generations.”

Hallmark further continued, “”We hope that Volkswagen’s investment will serve as a catalyst to involve our owners and create awareness beyond our defined contribution.”

Volkswagen chose the non-profit organization Carbonfund.org due to its famous dedication in finding feasible ways and solutions to climate change. And in reference to their combined efforts and deliberations, Volkswagen’s goal of offsetting carbon emissions was finally decided to be through a land reforestation project in the Northern Louisiana region, more specifically the Lower Mississippi Alluvial Valley (LMAV). The said valley, initially a wetland ecosystem that had been largely converted to farmland over the years, is estimated to be reforested by Volkswagen with over 250,000 native trees, equivalent to a carbon reduction of roughly about 372,000 tons of Carbon Dioxide. Indeed, this is a very massive and revolutionary aid to the ailing environment, as this program hits about five birds in one stone. Not only does this program delivers its main goal of reducing the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, it also reclaims the barren pastureland, restores native trees to its natural habitat, provides additional source of food for the local wildlife, and increases water safety.

For newbies on environmental solutions, a reforestation program is a form of Carbon Dioxide trapping within another structure besides the atmosphere. Unlike in the air environment, trees actually benefit from Carbon Dioxide as such compounds are stored in the trees’ bulky mass and surrounding soil. Incidentally, the climate and soils of the LMA valley have one of the highest carbon absorption rates in the United States, with a staggering 450 tons of absorbed carbon dioxide per acre as compared to the measly average of 170 tons per acre for other international land projects.

In reference to Carbonfund.org’s participation in this most welcome project, the organization’s Executive Director Eric Carlson is pleased to announce: “Carbonfund.org is a non-profit organization supporting renewable energy, energy efficiency and reforestation projects globally that reduce carbon dioxide emissions and the threat of climate change. We are proud of this new partnership with Volkswagen of America, which is the first time a car company and its community of owners have mobilized on this scale to offset carbon emissions and reduce their climate footprint.”

Indeed, Volkswagen is dead serious in helping the environment fight its lethal pollutants. As a result, besides the esteemed carbon offsetting campaign, Volkswagen has again partnered with Carbonfund.org in other ecological-friendly vehicle programs. For their next projects, Volkswagen and Carbonfund.org are already in the planning stage to offset carbon emissions at a car test drive program at the Teva Mountain Games, as well as for an upcoming Clean Diesel marketing tour. The said tour is specifically aimed at educating the buying public about the various benefits of utilizing Clean Diesel and Volkswagen’s alternative fuel strategy.

The new Formula 3 engine of Volkswagen is already more than prepared to face the limelight, as it celebrates its racing debut during the DTM weekend of August 31 to September 2 at the Nürburgring. As a comebacking engine supplier in the renowned race, Volkswagen has fastidiously equipped three vehicles in this round of the Formula 3 Euro Series. Handpicked racers are Maximilian Götz from Germany and Jonathan Summerton from the United States, as they represent the Italian Team RC motorsport in the contest series. On the other hand, Marco Holzer from Germany competes for AM Holzer Rennsport, with a secret weapon of a new two-liter engine delivering about 210hp of the Wolfsburg-based manufacturer.

Volkswagen Motorsport Director Kris Nissen is quite thrilled to see their new engine in actual competing action: “The new Formula 3 engine from Volkswagen has completed many hours of rig testing and reeled off plenty of test kilometres on the track. Now it’s time to test it in direct competition.”

“The first races are intended to help us assess where we stand and to give us new information we can use in the unit’s evolution for the coming season,” Nissen further continued.

Volkswagen’s new and improved Formula 3 powerful system is solely based on a two-liter engine that delivers 150 hp in the production version. Incidentally, this structure is also available for other particular models of the Volkswagen fleet. With its excessive content of light-metal materials, compact build, and tough design, the said four-cylinder powerplant possesses a series of favorable attributes and rudiments that are naturally suited in Formula racing.

Jonathan Summerton, the 19-year-old Florida native who celebrated a victory in the Formula 3 Euro Series last year and represented the United States in the A1 GP winter series, is actually the one who handled this new engine in a large part of the track tests. Voicing out opinions similar to Nissen: “Power and performance of the Volkswagen engine are already at a high level. I’m eager to see where we stand compared with the competition.”

Prior to the official start of the race weekend at the Nürburgring, an official test day will be on Thursday’s agenda, specifically with three hours of additional track time. 21-year-old Maximilian Götz, a Formula 3 veteran but a new member of the Team RC Motorsport, has this to comment on the said test day: “The possibility to test suits us well because it allows us to work out the optimal set-up for our car without being pressured by time.”

On the other hand, 19-year-old Marco Holzer faces the other side of the road as he competes with his previous team, which is directed by father Ronald. When asked about the new Volkswagen engine in their team, Holzer surmises: “The collaboration with Volkswagen is a major step forward for us.”

Volkswagen is indeed making a comeback as engine supplier for the Formula 3 race. The brand actually aims to continue on its successful, although interrupted, history in the previous Formula 3. Between 1979 and 1991, as many as seven drivers celebrated the title win in the German Formula 3 Championship with Volkswagen leading the engine design. In addition, there were also a series of international titles and several exploits in the famous Formula 3 Grand Prix of Monaco and Macao.

The Volkswagen group has hit yet another milestone in their almost eighty years of service in the automotive industry. For this delivery period of January to July 2007, a new record has been set due to the 3.61 million of Volkswagen vehicles sold all over the world.

Compared to last year’s reported sales, revenues for 2007 garnered an increase of 8.1 percent. And in July 2007 alone, 522,000 vehicles were sold, resulting in a 10.2 percent boost relative to the same month of the previous year. This serves as another record altogether as this is the highest sales output ever for that particular month.

Professor Martin Winterkorn, Volkswagen AG management’s chairman of the board, is very pleased with the results: “This is very impressive success which will further strengthen our presence on the world market. With our innovative brands and a broad and attractive model range which appeals to all target groups, we are on the right road towards selling over six million vehicles for the first time this year.”

Looking into Volkswagen’s various worldwide branches, the Asia-Pacific region has delivered 591,000 vehicles as of date. Such sales record is already 22.5 percent greater than in the first seven months of 2006. China alone has produced an outstanding rate increase of 26.4 percent due its sale figures amounting to 509,000 vehicles.

Going over into Volkswagen’s production in Europe for the period of January to July of 2007, records would declare that most of its divisions resulted to positive sales. In point of fact, the overall revenues in that section of the world resulted to a 3.7 percent increase due to 2.17 million of delivered vehicles. The one region that did not perform as well as the others is Volkswagen’s biggest individual market, Germany, what with its 3.3 percent sales reduction due to this period’s decreased deliveries amounting to 607,000 vehicles only. However, sales from West Europe more than made up for Germany’s deficit, with an exceptional 1.89 million vehicles sold, relatively a 1.4 percent increase in that specific region. On the other hand, Central and Eastern Europe also provided their share of good news, with a combined delivery record of 279,000 vehicles and equivalent to a 22.4 percent sales increase.

The American continent would not be left behind as well, what with their own positive revenues. South America experienced deliveries amounting to 403,000 vehicles, equivalent to a staggering increase of 28.7 percent. Majority of said South American sales originated from the Brazil division, which procured 310,000 vehicles, thus enjoying a 30.1 percent increase in its record. North America was not able to beat the record of the South Americans, but the Northern division nevertheless resulted to a sales rate increase as compared to the previous year’s record. The North American region sold a total of 306,000 vehicles equivalent to a 2.1 percent increase, 191,000 of which came from the United State.

With all things considered, the Volkswagen brand is still the best-selling brand in the Volkswagen fleet, delivering 2.11 million vehicles to consumers all over the globe for the period of January to July of 2007. Such record is actually a 7.9 percent increase as compared to the records released during the same period last year. The Audi brand acquired a sales rate increase of 9.7 percent due to 590,000 vehicles sold. Likewise, the Skoda brand also proved its strong market following when the group gave out 362,000 deliveries, equal to a 13.3 percent increase. Seat sold 261,000 vehicles, but this is actually a 2.0 percent decrease relative to their record of last year.

On the other hand, the Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles also contributed in Volkswagen’s bandwagon of exceptional production, with 274,000 vehicles sold, equal to a substantial rate increase of 10.2 percent. Bugatti more than doubled its sales with 47 vehicles sold. Lamborghini reported 1,400 deliveries, amounting to a 24.0 sales increase. However, the best performing brand for this group is really the Bentley brand as it delivered a total of 6,500 of its vehicles, equivalent to a 23.0 percent in sales production.

Proton and Volkswagen came together for the third time in Germany recently, after talks in Thailand and the United States. The ongoing alliance talks between troubled automaker Proton and German auto firm Volkswagen is expected to be finalized by the end of the year. Khazanah’s managing director Azman Mokhtar has set the end of this year as the “overall deadline” to clinch a deal.

Khazanah Nasional is the state investment arm controlling shareholder in Proton, with a 42.74 percent stake. State pension fund (EPF) and national oil firm Petronas own 12.07 percent and 8.84 percent respectively.

The status of Proton as Malaysia’s biggest-selling automaker was defeated by the competitor Perodua last year. Perodua mainly produces small sized cars. Its cars became very popular among Malaysians, such as the recently introduced Perodua Myvi, which sold 80,327 units in 2006 that shows success in their business ventures.

Recently Proton was reported to attain larger-than-expected net losses of 591.36 million ringgit (172.4 million dollars) for the year to March 2007 that is why the company needs foreign technical expertise to stem a sharp decline in market share and to cut losses.

“The good news is we are still talking. Things are happening. Discussions are on-going (and) hopefully we will resolve it soon,” Nor Mohamed Yakcop quoted. The second finance minister also said that completing the negotiations by the end of the year is a reasonable target.

Proton’s principal activities are the production, assembly, trade and provision of engineering and other services in respect of motor vehicles and related products. The business’ operations are carried out in Malaysia and other countries. Other activities include property development and management, leasing of equipment and asset, trade of steel and related products, motor vehicles financing, investment holding, importation and distribution of motor vehicles, related spare parts and accessories.

Volkswagen AG, a Wolfsburg company, said its sales in the January-July period increased 8.1 percent compared to last year with 3.61 million cars sold. The July sales alone were up 10.2 percent with 522,000 cars sold, putting it on track to sell more than 6 million vehicles by the end of the year.

Europe’s biggest automaker in terms of sales made notable increases in the business. Sales in Europe were up 3.7 percent on the year, with Western Europe accounting for 1.89 million sales, or up 1.4 percent from last year. In Asia and the Pacific, Volkswagen Group delivered 591,000 vehicles sales which were 22.5 percent more than in the first seven months of last year. In China alone, the sales reached to 509,000 which were up 26 percent from last year. In North America, January-July sales were up 2.1 percent with 306,000 cars sold, while in South America, sales increased to 29 percent with 403,000 cars sold.

Volkswagen’s brands include VW, Audi, Skoda and SEAT, among others. Audi achieved a clear plus of 9.7 percent with 590,000 vehicles sold. Skoda reported a strong increase of 13.3 percent to 362,000 deliveries.

According to Professor Dr Martin Winterkorn, chairman of the board of management at Volkswagen AG, “There is a very impressive success which will further strengthen our presence on the world market. With our innovative brands and a broad and attractive model range which appeals to all target groups, we are on the right road towards selling over six million vehicles for the first time this year”.

An art exhibition is presented by VSA arts and Volkswagen of America, Inc. that illustrates the motivational force behind the artists’ personal vision on what moves them to create. The presentation is entitled “Driven” which involves15 emerging artists with disabilities that debuts at the Smithsonian Institution’s S. Dillon Ripley Center from Sept. 15 to Dec. 31.

The partnership of Volkswagen of America, Inc. and VSA Arts is a successful way of inspiring and building a bright outlook of people despite their other limitations. Volkswagen of America, Inc. is established in 1955, headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan. It is a subsidiary of Volkswagen AG which is located in Wolfsburg, Germany.

VSA Arts, an international nonprofit organization was founded in 1974 by Ambassador Jean Kennedy Smith. Its purpose is to create a society where people with disabilities learn through, participate in, and enjoy the arts.

The work chosen for the exhibition was selected by a distinguished jury, including William A. Newman, artist and professor at the Corcoran Gallery of Art, John Perreault, art critic for Artopia, and Lisa Wainwright, dean of graduate studies at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. The largest awards program is open for emerging artists with disabilities ages 16-25.

According to Soula Antoniou, president of VSA arts, this is the sixth year VSA arts has partnered with Volkswagen to identify talented young artists. Volkswagen of America, Inc.’s support helps these emerging artists pursue careers in the arts.

“Volkswagen is proud to partner with VSA arts and reveal the outstanding talents of these young artists,” said David Geanacopoulos, Volkswagen of America, Inc.’s director of industry-government relations. “This exhibition highlights the enormous possibilities that exist for their bright futures and what they might pursue.”

A total of $60,000 will be awarded to the finalists. Jacolby Satterwhite, 21, a current student at the Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore, Md., and originally from Columbia, S.C., won the $20,000 grand prize for an oil on canvas titled, “Remission & Resilience.” The jury awarded Laurel Ebenal of Ellensburg, Wash., 1st prize of $10,000 for her digital photograph, “Faun”. The 2nd prize of $6,000 was given to E. Brooke Lanier, 23, of Rochester, Minn. for an archival inkjet print on photo rag paper entitled “Staring”.

After the averted weekend strike of employees over wages, the Mexican unit of German automaker Volkswagen AG agreed to a pay rise with its 11,000 unionised workers.

Volkswagen’s plant in Mexico is the world’s only producer of Volkswagen’s New Beetle model. Jose Luis Rodriguez, union leader, said that workers won a 5.5 per cent increase in pay and benefits, lower than their 8.3 per cent demand but above an initial company offer of 2.5 per cent. “We were able to increase (the company’s) first salary proposal,” Rodriguez told a news conference after late-night talks in the Labor Ministry in the Mexican capital.

According to Automotive News, the average wage for hourly workers at the plant is $28.25 per day, plus another $9.71 benefit for transportation and food vouchers. The plant, which employs 10,264 hourly workers, produces Jetta A5s, Jetta A4s, New Beetles and Golf/Bora/Jetta station wagons for Mexico and world markets. The Volkswagen plant in the central Mexican state of Puebla, 75 miles (120 km) east of Mexico City, exports mainly to the United States and Europe. It is Volkswagen’s only plant in North America.

This year, the plant has a target output of 400,000 vehicles compared to production of 347,020 in 2006, when the company went through a six-day pay strike.

Volkswagen Caravelle is an ideal vehicle for business executives, prominent persons and even large families. The popular seven-seat vehicle is the ultimate MPV or executive limousine. Every person inside will be comfortable enough because of the cozy space while still leaving an area for the baggage.

Volkswagen offers a choice of SE and Executive specifications with a selection of three powerful engines, from 2.5-litre TDI PD, with 130 PS to 174 PS power outputs, or a 235 PS, V6 petrol engine. The installed floor-mounted rail system allows its rear seats and multi-function table to be moved or be removed entirely, while the middle row of seats can swivel to face the back row to create a sociable and comfortable lounge environment. The Caravelle price is from £28,395 and is currently available on a low-rate personal contract plan from £319 a month (typical 4.8 per cent APR).

A complimentary ‘drive away’ seven day motor insurance is also offered to all customers purchasing the Caravelle by Van Insurance which is underwritten and administered by Zurich Insurance Company.

Every Caravelle is designed with high quality standards and packed with active safety features, such as Anti-lock Braking System (ABS) and Traction Control System (TCS). There are also passive safety features, including driver and passenger airbags and side and front curtain airbags that work to minimize injury in the occurrence of an accident.

Volkswagen’s offer is available until 30th of September 2007 to all retail customers purchasing a Volkswagen Caravelle through Volkswagen Commercial Vehicle Finance.

Frankfurt Motor Show is an auto show used by car manufacturers when launching for new models. The Frankfurt Motor Show is one of the largest and most important international auto shows in Europe. It happens annually and alternates between passenger vehicles in one year and commercial vehicles for the next. Because of this, the Frankfurt auto show swaps positions with the biannual Paris International Motor Show as Europe’s most important auto show.

This coming Frankfurt Motor Show, Volkswagen will be showing six of their high-mileage, low-emissions BlueMotionmodels. For now, they have just released some details on the new Golf BlueMotion. Cutting right to the chase, the new Golf will be rated 52.3mpg (US) with CO2 emissions dropping to just 119g/km. Those figures match up to to the standard Golf TDI’s 46.1mpg and 135g/km of CO2. The Golf BlueMotion has a range of 745 miles and will start at $28,151 when it debuts in Germany later this year. A gradual European rollout is considered. United Kingdom will get the latest member of the VW BlueMotion lineup in early 2008.

Volkswagen accomplished the new Golf by modifying the engine management calibrations to reduce the idle speed, adding a particulate filter, and changing the gear ratios to lower the engine speed in third, fourth and fifth gears. The grille has been closed off, the underbody of the car has also been cleaned up and the whole body was lowered to reduce drag. Low rolling resistance and high pressure tires finish off the new configuration. The BlueMotion’s base price of 20,615 euro is just a 315 euro premium over a comparable Golf TDI and German drivers will be able to pick one up before the end of the year. In the hunt for every gram of CO2 Volkswagen is also relying on light-running tires, size 195 / 65 R 15, optimized for low rolling resistance; they are driven at higher air pressure, increased by 0.3 bar. Combining all the modifications and enhancements will produce the top speed of the Golf rising from 187 km/h to an electronically limited 190 km/h. The BlueMotion models will be more economical because all are thoroughly trimmed that would give flow-optimized underbody as well as having nearly enclosed radiator grille. To ensure that the TDI engine still gets the sufficient amount of cooling air, the Golf BlueMotion has an effective dual fan. Because of the aerodynamic design measures, including lowering of the chassis, the cW value of 0.32, which in itself is a good value, was further improved to 0.30.

A software involvement in engine management decreases the idling speed of this diesel combined with a particulate filter and simultaneously improves its emission behavior. Engine speed levels are also lower while driving since there is a longer gear ratios in third, fourth and fifth gears. These actions alone reduce consumption by about 0.2 liter.

The Golf BlueMotion customer can choose between the Trendline and Comfortline, depending on the equipment options. Aside from basic equipment, special Blue Motion specification and aerodynamic modifications are also made. Since adjustments are prepared for equipment options, it is more economical than previous TDI versions with 105 PS and soot particulate filter. The standard equipment includes the Multifunctional Display Plus (MFA Plus) with gear recommendation arrow and a sports chassis.