VW diesel dry spell looms

December26

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The very last 2006 Volkswagen Jetta diesels are on the way to U.S. dealers, and once they're gone don't expect to see any more for over a year. That's because VW won't have a new Jetta to comply with strict emissions standards introduced for 2007 until spring 2008. The "clean" diesel will be optional on the 2008 Jetta and Rabbit.

In anticipation of the diesel drought, VW built extra Jetta diesels this fall, hoping supply would last through next summer. Unfortunately, they're expected to sell off much quicker, according to Automotive News. "They will get sucked up," said Bob Grace, owner of Southpoint Volkswagen in Baton Rouge, La. He said he and other dealers are disappointed about entering the summer without and diesels. "It's huge to us," he said. "We are seeing a lot of new customers."

About 30 percent of all Jettas sold in America are diesels, representing nearly 30,000 units in the month of November. The only automaker with a non-truck diesel offering for 2007 is Mercedes-Benz, with the new E320. Leftlane first reported Volkswagen would be forced to halt diesel production for 2007 just over a year ago.




 


5 Comments

  1. Wow, 30 percent? That seems much higher than I would have expected.

    It's a shame to see, but it's also nice to see that people are warming up to diesel.

    Comment by Brendino, posted on December26 at 11:45 am
  2. After a one-year hiatus, diesel power will return to the VW lineup. Powering the concept is VW's 50-state compliant 2.0-liter turbo-diesel four-cylinder engine. This "clean" diesel will be optional on the 2008 Jetta and Rabbit. In the concept, this squeaky-clean diesel produces 140 horses and an impressive 240 pound-feet of torque. — Car and Driver

    Comment by Xymox, posted on December26 at 12:18 pm
  3. Vdub has needed a reason to scrap that POS yesterdecade-technology diesel they offer now for a lonnnnng time. Maybe they finally bring a modern one over from krautland. Can't be worse than the shitty Ottomotors they sell here now.
    .
    Is Audi going to get a diesel too, or are we just stuck with Vdub's boring-even-for-grandma designs.

    Comment by Ricardo Head, posted on December26 at 8:15 pm
  4. "Vdub has needed a reason to scrap that POS yesterdecade-technology diesel they offer now for a lonnnnng time. Maybe they finally bring a modern one over from krautland. Can't be worse than the shitty Ottomotors they sell here now."

    Are you familiar with pumpe-duse technology? That's the "POS" technology they are using now. It uses one individual injector per cylinder, producing 27,000 psi and capable of injecting 7 times per injection stroke.

    Do some research before you assume it is still the early 80's system. It's funny - VW meets the 50 ppm for European standards, but the US decided to subvert and drop their emissions even lower than Europe for 2007. Do you know what diesel standards were for last year in the us? Somethinking like 500 ppm. VW has been emitting 50 ppm while the standards were 500 ppm. That does not sound like POS technology to me.

    Comment by mike, posted on December27 at 8:13 am
  5. diesel rules i cant wait til 08 when bundles of new models flow in, 07 is a small price to pay for the future

    Comment by A4, posted on December27 at 4:11 pm

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