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VW uses NorCal Forest to make e-Golf carbon neutral

On the one hand, it's just a forest. There are beautiful redwood trees and clean air, cool, quiet creeks and hidden wildlife. You know, a forest. The kind that have existed for millions of years. On the other, it's a carefully managed collection of natural resources that lets companies pay money to make their products more beneficial to the environment. Welcome to the Garcia River Forest. For our purposes, the Garcia River Forest is interesting because of its connection to Volkswagen. Its young redwoods are helping Volkswagen create something almost unheard of in the automotive industry: a (mostly) carbon-neutral car. The 10,000-foot overview of how this works is as follows: when you buy the electric car, part of your money goes to support three carbon offset projects. These projects (the one in the Garcia River Forest, the Big River And Salmon Creek Forests in California, and the McKinney Landfill in Texas) have put a price on the value of not letting more carbon get into our atmosphere. The calculations come in the form of credits per metric ton of CO2 and VW has paid enough money to cover the emissions it generates during the production and distribution of the e-Golf as well as the charging for around 36,000 miles of driving. VW worked with 3Degrees, a provider of carbon offset services, to calculate the amount of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions that each e-Golf will be responsible for, from the factory to the driveway. The Garcia River Forest location is managed by The Conservation Fund (TCF). VW originally announced the carbon-neutral program back when it revealed US details for the e-Golf, in August 2013. Stuart Gardner, project manager at VW of America for the Golf family, told AutoblogGreen that the idea for the carbon offset came from the way VW understands plug-in vehicle buyers. "At Volkswagen, we strive to be leaders in e-mobility and developing alternative powertrains and we realize that, when someone buys an electric vehicle - the e-Golf, for example - they are doing more than just buying an electric vehicle," he said. "They are buying a lifestyle and they want to engage in this lifestyle." VW is not releasing the specific amount of the purchase price of each e-Golf that is directed to the Garcia River Forest (or any other carbon offset projects).

VW takes world sales crown from Toyota for first half of 2015

Despite uncertainty in major markets like Russia and China, Volkswagen is wearing the global sales crown for the first half of the year to overtake Toyota. Through the first six months of 2015, VW sold 5.04 million vehicles, which only narrowly beat its Japanese rival's 5.02 million, Reuters reports. The half-year trophy also placed the German brand one step closer to the goal of being the world's largest automaker. VW can't just cruise through the second half of 2015 to continue wearing the crown, though. The company is a major player in China, and that might start to be a disadvantage soon. Auto demand there is expected to be weak for the rest of the year, which could mean dire effects for companies around the world. According to Reuters, the Western European market shows few signs of a sudden surge, either. To turn things around, VW is working on a massive realignment to be more responsive by organizing its 12 brands under four separate holding companies. One factor in VW's favor is that Toyota is facing its own sales struggles across the globe. In the last fiscal year, the Japanese automaker had growing profits but actual volume was down. At the time, the company predicted a drop to 8.9 million vehicles for the current fiscal period. According to Reuters, Toyota has had problems growing in emerging markets and dealing with higher taxes on small vehicles in Japan. For all of 2014, Toyota held the sales trophy with 10.23 million sales, and VW was in second place with 10.14 million. General Motors came in third with 9.92 million. The year was the first time that VW or Toyota had ever surpassed 10 million vehicles over the stretch of a calendar. Related Video:

VW App-Connect gets celeb-studded campaign

Volkswagen is hoping that some celebrity faces help get the word out about App-Connect in the German brand's latest models with the MIB II infotainment system. The humorous, new commercial titled Party (above) stars Adam Scott, Michael Pena, and Christopher Mintz-Plasse, and the three of them are using voice commands and the touchscreen to show off the tech while planning a party. Another 30-second commercial titled Sorry with the three guys is coming along soon, as well, to advertise it even more. App-Connect is part of VW's adoption of Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, and MirrorLink. By supporting all three standards, pretty much every smartphone user can plug into the vehicle's infotainment system. The tech is already available on the 2016 Tiguan and Golf R but is rolling out to all of the German brand's vehicles this model year, except for the Touareg and Eos. VOLKSWAGEN DEMONSTRATES ADVANCED CONNECTIVITY IN NEW CELEBRITY-DRIVEN MARKETING CAMPAIGN Sep 17, 2015 First brand to offer all three major smartphone integration platforms; available on virtually every model and nearly every trim Highlights App-Connect, a new technology which makes compatible smartphone integration seamless through Apple CarPlay®, Google Android Auto™, and MirrorLink® Multimedia Campaign stars Hollywood celebrities Michael Pena, Adam Scott and Christopher Mintz-Plasse Herndon, Va. – Volkswagen of America, Inc. today announced the release of a new advertising campaign that highlights the brand's all-new infotainment system, MIB II, and its advanced smartphone integration technology, App-Connect. As part of Volkswagen's available Car-Net® suite of connectivity offerings, App-Connect allows for seamless integration of compatible smartphones across Apple CarPlay®, Google Android Auto™ and MirrorLink®; making it the first automaker to do so. The campaign kicks off with two 30-second television commercials, titled "Party" and "Sorry" starring Adam Scott, Michael Pena and Christopher Mintz-Plasse. In each spot, the celebrities navigate App-Connect by utilizing voice commands, the vehicle's touchscreen, and steering wheel controls.