2006 Volkswagen Jetta Sedan 4dr 1.9l Tdi One Owner No Crashes 57664 Miles on 2040-cars

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Audi prepping a flex-fuel A3 for Latin America

Volkswagen's Audi division hasn't fared well from its parent company's diesel-emissions scandal, especially in the US and Europe. In South America, though, Audi is set to unveil its first vehicle of the flex-fuel variety, according to Nseavoice. Perhaps the German automaker can earn some good karma down in the Southern Hemisphere. The model is the 2016 Audi A3, which is made in Audi's Brazil factory. The engine is a 1.4-liter variety, and it will be able to run on either conventional gasoline or ethanol, or a blend of both. The decision makes sense because ethanol is plentiful in Brazil since the government has long pushed for it and there's plenty of sugar-cane feedstock to produce the stuff. Audi can use all of the positive news it can get, especially in the wake of VW's diesel-emissions scandal. As many as 11 million VW and Audi diesels may have been fitted with software that cheats emissions-testing systems. One result from the scandal's proverbial shrapnel is that the Audi A3 TDI diesel was stripped of its 2010 Green Car of the Year Award by Green Car Journal. The decision marks the first time in the award's history that a winner was stripped of the honor. VW has a long history offering flex-fuel vehicles in Brazil. In 2003, the German automaker was the first to debut a flex-fuel engine, and within two years, VW's Brazil factories were making 300,000 flex-fuel vehicles annually. Other companies have since jumped into Brazil's flex-fuel fray, including Nissan and Honda.

Andretti Autosport partners with Volkswagen for Global Rallycross season

Michael Andretti and Volkswagen have both been involved in Global Rallycross for a couple of years, but not together. Andretti Motorsports Marketing organized the final round of the 2012 GRC series in Las Vegas, and there were rumors then that Andretti was going to get in. Around the same time there were news reports that Volkswagen was preparing a 600-hp Polo Mk5 to race in the SuperCar class; the photo above is racer Anton Marklund in his privateer Marklund Motorsports Polo at the 2013 X-Games round in Los Angeles.
Now it's official: Andretti Autosport will campaign the 2014 GRC season with VWs. That's all that's been said for now, Andretti being busy at the moment launching four entries for IndyCar, two for Indy Lights and two for Pro Mazda. We have a feeling we'll be seeing the MkVII Golf involved, but the cars and the driver lineup will be presented at the Chicago Auto Show on February 6.

ACEEE strips away VW's green car scores

The American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) is confirming that the Volkswagen diesel-emissions scandal has put a black mark on its green ratings. As a result, the group is pulling VW diesel vehicles off of its "Green Scores" list because it was recently revealed that VW diesels might be emitting as much as 40 times the nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions during normal driving as the official test results show. The ACEEE added that other German makers of diesel vehicles' "Green Scores" are safe, for now. Diesels from VW and the company's Audi division didn't exacatly top the ACEEE's list of greenest vehicles for 2015. That honor went to electric vehicles like the Smart ForTwo ED, Chevrolet Spark EV and Fiat 500E. The Toyota Prius C hybrid snuck in at number 4, while the Nissan Leaf battery-electric took the fifth spot. That said, the VW diesels did perform pretty well, according to the group. "These scores are no longer reasonable estimations of the environmental impact of the Volkswagen diesels. Volkswagen's diesel cars have performed well on ACEEE's annual rankings since 2009, hovering just below our list of the top twelve "Greenest" vehicles with Green Scores in the high 40s," wrote Shruti Vaidyanathan, senior transportation researcher at the ACEEE. "However, a 40-fold increase in on-road NOx would mean that these vehicles did not deserve those high Green Scores." For those curious, the Ram 2500 pickup topped the ACEEE's "Meanest" vehicle of 2015, followed by the Chevrolet G2500 Express/GMC Savana. No diesels showed up on that list of environmentally-damaging vehicles. You can read the ACEEE's statement on VW below. Why we are suspending Volkswagen diesel Green Scores on greenercars.org by Shruti Vaidyanathan, Senior Transportation Researcher On September 18th, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) slapped the Volkswagen Group with a notice of violation (link is external) of the Clean Air Act for circumventing EPA emission standards for nitrogen oxides (NOx). Volkswagen has now acknowledged using so-called "defeat devices" on its diesel cars that turn on full emissions control technologies while in testing mode but allow the vehicles to emit nitrogen oxide levels up to 40 times the certified level during normal operation.