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2015 Volkswagen Golf: Green Car of the Year?

As you may recall, VW's compact Golf was voted 2015 North American Car of the Year by a jury of 57 veteran automotive journalists (including this one) and named Car of the Year by Motor Trend and Yahoo Autos and Best Car to Buy 2015 by Green Car Reports. "The range of green options in the 2015 Volkswagen Golf range is hard to beat," says Green Car Reports editor John Voelcker. "With more fuel-efficient gasoline engines, a new TDI diesel option that comes close to real-world hybrid mileage levels, and the all-electric VW e-Golf, the 2015 Golf gives buyers a good-better-best menu of options for driving green." The car was also a finalist for Green Car Journal's "Green Car of the Year," but ultimately lost to the BMW i3 EV. When I saw GCJ editor Ron Cogan at last November's Los Angeles Auto Show, he asked me to guess which finalist would win. Based on its efficiency and versatility, I guessed the Golf. He smiled but the next day, he named the i3 the winner. Okay, the technically impressive, carbon-fiber-bodied i3 is a formidable green machine wearing a prestige German label at a semi-affordable ($43,000) price. But it comes in just one (somewhat odd-looking) body style with a choice of all-electric or range-extending electric powertrains, and its EPA-official ranges are 81 miles for the former and just 150 for the latter, costlier version, which totes a tiny (647cc) 34-hp two-cylinder BMW motorbike engine in its tail. By contrast, the 2015 Golf comes in 3- and 5-door hatchback and even more practical Sportwagen body styles and offers a wide range of eager yet fuel-thrifty turbocharged gas and clean-diesel engines, most with a choice of manual or automatic transmission. An all-electric e-Golf, one of the best EVs we've yet driven, is also available in some areas, and that will be followed, VW says, by a hybrid, a plug-in hybrid and even a CNG-powered model. No question this all-new seventh-generation 2015 VW Golf is easily the best ever. A bit larger, roomier, aerodynamically slicker and more fuel efficient than the Gen VI Golf it replaces, it's built on an all-new modular platform and boasts an amazing range of models, powertrains and features.

Leonardo DiCaprio buys rights to VW emissions scandal story

The smoke – proverbial or otherwise – has yet to clear from the Volkswagen diesel emissions scandal. But already they're negotiating over the book and even the movie rights to tell the story of the biggest debacle in the company's post-war history. The news revolves around Jack Ewing (no relation), European economics correspondent for the International New York Times. Ewing is preparing to write a book about the VW scandal. He's already sold the publishing rights to the as-yet untitled project to publishing house WW Norton & Company for a reported six-figure sum. Now movie producers are stepping in to buy the film rights to turn that book into a movie once it's finished. Paramount Pictures and Leonardo DiCaprio's production Appian Way have reportedly already acquired the movie rights. It remains unclear at this point, however, whether DiCaprio might act in the film as well as help produce it. His studio Appian Way produced several films in which Leo has starred in recent years, including The Aviator, Shutter Island, and The Wolf of Wall Street – but has also produced many movies without him. Of course, this isn't the first time DiCaprio has appeared on these pages. A longtime proponent of clean transportation, he was among the first Hollywood celebrities to drive a Prius, inspired the creation of the Fisker Karma, and partnered with Venturi to launch a Formula E electric racing team. It'd take some magic transformation to make DiCaprio look like Martin Winterkorn, or really any of the senior executives at Volkswagen. But whatever his involvement, we think The Wolf of Wolfsburg has a nice ring to it. Then again, so does Rolling Coal. News Source: ReutersImage Credit: Victoria Will/Invision/AP Celebrities Green TV/Movies Volkswagen Videos vw diesel scandal

Volkswagen Group, BMW Z4 top Total Value Awards by Strategic Vision

It was just nine months ago that Strategic Vision announced its 2011 Total Value Awards, but you don't have to wait until next year for the 2012 awards. The Volkswagen Group keeps its lead as the number one brand, with seven products taking top category spots: Golf, Jetta Wagon, CC, Eos and Audi A3 Wagon, Q5 and Q7. Strategic Vision says "true innovation" - "rich and impactful, intuitive, motivational, in-depth and is able to trigger description by the user in great specificity" - is the open secret of the brands with the strongest showings. Results are culled from 77,153 owners covering more than 350 new cars bought between September of 2011 and 2012 ranked in the Total Value Index (TVI).
Other notable winners are Hyundai-Kia following VW in the brand category and having the Hyundai Elantra and Kia Sorento among category winners, the BMW Z4 taking the premium roadster category and the highest overall score of any vehicle, the Chevrolet Volt continuing to gather silverware in the Special Category, nabbing the second-highest score of all and representative of "nearly perfect innovation," and Chrysler and Dodge being most improved.
Check out the press release below for your day's dose of jargon and all the winners.