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VW Jetta TDI Value Edition drops price of diesel ownership to $21,295*

Getting a new diesel-powered car just got a bit easier. Volkswagen has announced a new Jetta TDI Value Edition for 2014 that trims over $2,000 off the starting price of a Jetta TDI, making the most affordable diesel-powered car in America even more so. Prices start at $21,295 (*plus $820 for destination) for a Value Edition with a six-speed manual transmission, while a six-speed dual-clutch automatic adds $1,100 to the price. For that money, owners will get 140 horsepower, 236 pound-feet of torque and 42 miles per gallon on the freeway.
Despite the lower price and being down on content versus the previous base Jetta TDI, the Value Edition does come quite well equipped, with standard heated cloth seats, a six-speaker stereo with a Media Device Interface, satellite radio, and one-touch, up-down power windows on all four doors. Customers will be giving up some notable stuff though, including tilt/telescopic steering, Bluetooth streaming audio, power seats and a multi-function steering wheel.
Still, if you're aching to get your hands on a new TDI, this is now the most affordable way to do it. We suspect having the lower MSRP will help the German manufacturer make even further diesel-powered inroads here in the States, a land where they cleared their decks of over 100,000 TDI models in 2013.

Volkswagen Golf GTD Variant burns the oil long and fast

Volkswagen offers no shortage of variations on the Golf theme in America, from the base hatchback and the electric e-Golf to the sporty GTI and performance-oriented Golf R. But as many as are available Stateside, there are even more that never make it here. Like the one you see above. It's called the Volkswagen Golf GTD Variant. It's based on what we'd know as the new Golf SportWagen, which is just arriving in the US now, but this one packs the performance upgrades from the Golf GTD. Isn't that a typo? Don't we mean GTI? No, we don't: we mean GTD. Because in Europe, you can get what is essentially a GTI with a diesel, complete with all (or at least most) of the gear you'd find in the petrol hot hatch, only with a 2.0-liter turbodiesel inline-four packing 181 horsepower and 280 pound-feet of torque. That may not sound like all that much as far as performance models go, but it's more than we'll be able to get from either the gasoline or diesel versions of the Golf SportWagen back in the States. And that makes us a little jealous, especially with room for the kids, the dog and all their gear in the back. World premiere of the new Golf GTD Variant - The perfect all-round package: sporty, economical, comfortable and spacious - Launch set for Geneva Motor Show Since 1982 Volkswagen's GTD logo has stood for Gran Turismo Diesel, with its promise of sporty yet economical motoring. Now for the first time, the GTD initials grace the Golf Variant, which like the Golf GTD, boasts the 184 PS (135 kW) TDI engine. The new Golf GTD Variant is set for its world premiere at the Geneva Motor Show, and is available to order as of now at a price of 31,975 euros. The Golf GTD Variant* is excellently placed to establish itself as an iconic long-distance cruiser. The 184 PS TDI engine takes the Golf GTD Variant to 100 km/h in just 7.9 seconds with the 2-litre unit delivering a maximum torque of 380 Nm – and yet this sporty Variant car boasts impressive fuel consumption figures of only 4.4 litres per 100 km. The car's sporty character is reflected in its exterior design: along with special GTD bumpers and the honeycomb radiator grille, the Golf GTD Variant also features smoked rear lights and flared sills. The look is completed by 17-inch Curitiba alloys, black roof rails and dual chrome tailpipes.

VW promises 7-seat CUV for America in 2016

On the eve of the Detroit Auto Show, Volkswagen chief executive Martin Winterkorn has confirmed the imminent arrival of a new crossover. The model, previewed at the same show last year by the CrossBlue concept pictured here, will be unique to the North American market when it arrives here in 2016. The new three-row, seven-seat crossover is part of an ambitious expansion plan on the part of Volkswagen and Audi in North America, where the two brands aim to sell a million vehicles by 2018.
That's a mighty big increase over the 600,000 vehicles which the Volkswagen Group sold here last year, but it's moving in the right direction: That number is already a 100-percent increase of what it sold here just five years ago. At that rate, VW should have little trouble meeting its goals, particularly with the arrival of the new crossover and the introduction of Golf production at its assembly plant in Puebla, Mexico. Read the full statement below for more.