Volkswagen Blog :: July

July 27, 2007

A 1969 VW Beetle Will Race in Baja 1000… Cool

A racing team composed of 10 members from Felton, Scotts Valley, Boulder Creek, San Jose and Washington, D.C. called the Desert Dingo Racing are now preparing themselves and they racing machine to compete in the Tecate SCORE Baja 1000 off-road race that will take place at the Mexican peninsula of Baja California this coming November. The Desert Dingo Racing will enter their 1969 Volkswagen Beetle model and aims to win the race.

Charlie Reynolds, driver with Class 11 experience and a mechanic for the Desert Dingo Racing said: "I like the challenge. It’s more about figuring out problems and overcoming hurdles than it is about driving fast. You’re more interested in not getting stuck and defying the odds of making a little car go a thousand miles it’s not supposed to go"

The team will rebuild the 1969 VW Beetle with the help of Eric Solorzano, former Class 11 winner of the Baja 1000.

Check out the members of the Desert Dingo Racing team below along with their cool nicknames:

Mike "Skid" Aquino - Owner, driver
Cary McHughCary "sCary" McHugh - Owner, driver, fabricator
Jim "rj" GrahamJim "rj" Graham - Owner, PR, pretty boy driver
Scott Anderson, driver, mechanic
Shawn Kovachi-LongShawn Kovach-Long - driver, mechanic
Roxanne " Dingo Den Mother " Graham - Team Manager
Charlie Reynolds - driver, mechanic
Carrie Molho - mechanic
Alexandra Nicholson - PR, interpreting
Bob Russell - chase vehicle
As for the 1969 VW Beetle, the car comes with an 1.6-liter 4-cylinder air cooled engine that pumps out and estimated out put of 76 hp. The engine is coupled with a 4-speed manual transmission. The team said the enhancements for the car will announced soon.

Anyway, as a Volkswagen fanatic, I think we should support this team. ayt?

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July 18, 2007

Volkswagen Jetta to carry clean diesel

Filed under: Volkswagen News

The Volkswagen Jetta might be a few years old, but under the hood is something brand new. Next year’s Jetta will be equipped with a 2.0-liter, sixteen-valve Clean Diesel.

The last Jetta TDI sold in the U.S was the 2006 model, which had a 1.9-liter four-cylinder with 100 hp that was rated at 30 mpg city, 38 highway. That’s not bad but that diesel’s technology is almost a decade old.

Starting early 2008, the Jetta will again be available with a diesel - a 2.0-liter unit that pumps out 140 horsepower and 235 lb-ft of torque – but with all new technology this time. Though it’s the same displacement as the 2.0T FSI, the engines don’t have any the same major components.

Piezo injectors are used in the new engine’s fuel injection system. It operates at up to 1800 bar - that’s a dithering 26,000 psi. The ultrahigh pressures spur the diesel atomization and combusts completely, maximizing power yet minimizing pollution, smoke, and noise. Through variable turbine geometry turbocharger that helps minimize turbo lag, air is force-fed into the cylinders.

Best of all, the Clean Diesel is 50-state legal, meeting the ultra-strict BIN5 ULEV2 standards. It makes use of a selective catalytic reduction system that is maintenance-free for 120,000 miles; furthermore, no urea injection is needed. Despite the big bump in horsepower, the new engine produces a shocking 60 percent emission less than the old 1.9-liter.

A single housing with an oxidation catalyst (to manage hydrocarbons and carbon monoxide) and a particulate trap (to lessen smoke and particulate emissions) is mounted close to the engine. A Lean NOx trap that stores oxides of nitrogen, burning them off at regular intervals while driving, is located further down the exhaust stream.

That complex exhaust after treatment soaks up most of the fuel economy benefit by about ten percent. Engineers have seen fuel economy as high as 40 mpg in city driving and 60 mpg on the highway. Though EPA numbers haven’t been released yet, Volkswagen expects the ratings on the new, more difficult 2008 EPA test, to be almost the same as the 1.9-liter’s rating.

The Jetta Clean Diesel will be available standard with a 6-speed manual transmission.

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July 3, 2007

The 6th generation of the Volkswagen Golf

Filed under: Volkswagen News

The photos of the latest 6th generation of the Volkswagen Golf have been circulating on the net after Motor Trend released the spy shots of the latest model from the German auto maker. Now, we have a little idea on what the Golf will look like next year when they soon release the car model.

Now, what does the new spy shots shows? Well, there are certain changes on the Volkswagen Golf. The new car show a new retuned back with exposed rear hatch. It also adds a complete set of tail lamps and restyled boots as well. There are also rumors that say that the new Golf will have a big mouth bass look to emphasize the four-bar front grille together with the updated headlamps with complete LED indicators. The photo did not give much attention to its front so the official release of VW will confirm its new design.

The new version will be available after ten years while the Americans will be receiving the new version of the Volkswagen car on the upcoming 2012. And when it arrives to the North America, expect that some of their existing assembly plant will carry over a new batch of hybrid cars and BlueMotion diesel.

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