Diesel Touareg delayed due to smoke problem

Volkswagen has postponed the launch of its V10 diesel Touareg until September, when low-sulfur fuel will be readily available, says Adrian Hallmark, executive vice president of Volkswagen of America. Hallmark told trade publication Automotive News that without the improved fuel, the truck spews clouds of white smoke while running. Accordingly, 640 of the vehicles have been put into storage. They were originally scheduled to be sold in June. "I got into one of the early ones and thank God I did," Hallmark says. "I was stopped a light in the middle of a town with low wind conditions and everyone was looking at the car. I looked in the rear view mirror and all I saw was white. "The smoke filled the street," he says. "The smoke is so bad it looks like a carbon fire." He said the smoke is not particularly dangerous, but would obviously be unacceptable to buyers of the $60,000 SUV.