Car Blog

Volkswagen of America announced today that two of its models, the Volkswagen Jetta and GTI, have each received a 2008 AutoPacific Vehicle Satisfaction Award (VSA). AutoPacific’s VSA is an industry benchmark for objectively measuring how satisfied an owner is with their new vehicle.

“We are thrilled that two of our models were recognized by AutoPacific and our consumers,” said Mark Barnes, Chief Operating Officer, Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. “Owner-based awards such as the VSA help consumers make educated decisions in a tough economy. We believe in our cars and we’re glad to see that consumers believe in them as well.”

The Volkswagen Jetta ranked first overall in the Mid-Size Car category while the Volkswagen GTI secured the top ranking in the Image Compact Car category. The Volkswagen New Beetle also ranked in the top 10 of the Image Compact Car category. Three other Volkswagen models, the Passat, Rabbit, and Eos, all ranked in the top 10 of their respective vehicle categories.

The VSA is derived entirely from owner satisfaction which is measured across 46 specific areas related to a vehicle’s operation, comfort, safety, and overall purchase/lease experience. The 2008 ratings reflect input from buyers and lessees of new vehicles acquired between September and December 2007.

AutoPacific is a future-oriented automotive marketing and product-consulting firm. Every year AutoPacific publishes a wide variety of syndicated studies on the automotive industry. The firm also conducts extensive proprietary research and consulting for auto manufacturers, distributors, marketers and suppliers worldwide. Company headquarters and its state-of-the-art automotive research facility are in Tustin, California, with an affiliate office in the Detroit area. Additional information can be found on AutoPacific’s websites: http://www.autopacific.com/

Source: Volkswagen of America

Web site: http://www.vw.com/
http://www.autopacific.com/

Tomohiko Ikeda, president and CEO of Subaru of America, Inc. honored five dealers celebrating their 25th anniversary with the franchise at the Subaru National Business Conference in Salt Lake City, Utah.

“On behalf of Subaru of America, I’d like to congratulate our dealers who have celebrated twenty-five years with Subaru,” said Tim Colbeck, vice president of sales for Subaru of America, Inc. “The commitment our dealers make to the core values of the Subaru brand has resulted in the Company having some of the highest owner loyalty rates in the business.”

The following dealers were recognized for 25 years with Subaru:

• Southern Oregon Subaru, Medford, Ore.
• South Shore Subaru, South Lake Tahoe, Calif.
• Dan Perkins Subaru, Milford, Conn.
• Bowser Subaru, Pittsburgh, Pa.
• The Car Store, Norwich, Vt.

Now featured at Subaru dealers nationwide is the completely redesigned, bolder, more SUV-like 2009 Subaru Forester. The 2009 Subaru Forester comes with standard All-Wheel Drive, is pre-wired for XM(R) or SIRIUS(R) Satellite Radio and now has a longer wheelbase which yields improved interior roominess and ride quality.

Source: Subaru of America, Inc.

Web site: http://www.subaru.com/

Expansion to second country in Europe for Peugeot Services Mobiles brand

Peugeot owners in Germany can now utilize ATX Telematics services following the recent launch of commercial service. The introduction marks the second country in Europe that ATX supports for Peugeot. Operating under the Peugeot Services Mobiles (PSM) brand, ATX introduced services commercially in France last year.

For Peugeot’s German customers, any vehicle equipped with an RT4 navigation system with color display can enroll for services. As in France, PSM is available on the 207, 307, 308, 407, 607, 807, 1007 and Expert model vehicles.

New customers who purchase their car receive an initial complimentary three months of service. After the trial period, the service costs euro 14.90 per month. After 12 consecutive months of paid service, the customer is eligible to receive a free update of French and German maps for the vehicle’s navigation system.

Most the same services provided to Peugeot owners in France will be available to vehicle owners in Germany, including routing services optimized with real-time traffic reports and alternative routes/deviation points, directions to various points of interest, the ability to download these points of interest into the vehicle’s navigation system, and the capability to access a personal phone and address directory from the car.

Speed trap alerts, available to French customers, will be available to German customers only when driving in France, this type of service being prohibited in Germany.

All Mobility Assistance services can be accessed by pressing an in-vehicle button or through a customized, Peugeot Services Mobiles Web site developed by ATX.

“Peugeot Services Mobiles gives Peugeot customers in Germany access to a comprehensive range of customised mobility assistance services designed to save them time, as well as continually updated routing information via ATX’s off-board servers,” said Francois Petit, Peugeot Services Marketing Senior Manager, PSA Peugeot Citroen. “The benefit to drivers is a safer and more relaxed drive, without the need to manually interface with their in-vehicle navigation system while driving.”

ABOUT ATX: Based in Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas, and Dusseldorf, Germany, ATX Group is the world’s largest independent provider of customized telematics services to the automotive industry and is pioneering the introduction of connected services to manufacturers of personal navigation devices and other mobility platforms. ATX’s personalized, telematics and connected services are designed to provide enhanced safety, security, driving convenience to vehicle owners, and remote access/activation of vehicle functions. These services include location-specific emergency and roadside assistance, automatic collision notification/response, stolen vehicle recovery, remote diagnostics, real-time traffic/navigation assistance and internet information search/download. ATX also customizes telematics services to help automobile manufacturers and their affiliated dealerships to use telematics data to reduce costs, enhance vehicle servicing, and more closely manage customer relationships. ATX services are provided to vehicle owners through the brand names of its customers — Mercedes-Benz, BMW, PSA Peugeot Citroen, Maybach, and Rolls-Royce Motor Cars. For more information, visit www.atxg.com

Source: ATX Group

Web site: http://www.atxg.com/

- Ford to provide a fleet of 45 customized Escape Hybrids to the Los Angeles County Ocean Lifeguards.

- The full-hybrid SUVs will be used for rescue patrol along 72 miles of Southern California coastline.

- The front-wheel-drive Escape Hybrid is the most fuel-efficient SUV on the planet, returning 34 mpg in city driving and 30 mpg on the highway.

- Intelligent four-wheel-drive models are also available, with fuel economy of 29 mpg city and 27 highway.

Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F) is teaming up with the Los Angeles County Lifeguards, a division of the Los Angeles County Fire Department, to help save lives while protecting the environment. Today, Ford presented the squad with the first 10 of a fleet of 45 eco-friendly Escape Hybrids with Intelligent four-wheel-drive, specially equipped for use on rescue patrol along 72 miles of Southern California coastline.

“We are the largest lifeguard organization in the world, and we have always blazed the trail for the profession,” said Mike Frazer, chief, Lifeguard Services, Los Angeles County Fire Department. “We wanted to be the first public safety agency in the country to go green.”

“This continues the Escape Hybrid’s impressive string of endorsements,” said Hal Dewsnap, California regional sales manager for Ford Motor Company. “In addition to being clean and fuel-efficient, the Escape Hybrid is highly functional and durable, proven in hundreds of thousands of miles in taxi service in New York and San Francisco. Now, we are adding lifeguard duty to the list.”

There is no better vehicle for that assignment than the world’s most fuel- efficient SUV. The front-wheel-drive Ford Escape Hybrid returns 34 mpg in city driving and 30 mpg on the highway. Intelligent four-wheel-drive models, like the ones used by the lifeguards, return 29 mpg city and 27 highway.

“The Escape Hybrid is one of the cleanest vehicles available today,” added Freeman Thomas, Ford Design Director whose studio developed the design of the Lifeguard vehicles. “It meets California’s strict Partial Zero Emissions Vehicle (PZEV) standard. To put it in a California summer context, it releases fewer smog-forming emissions into the atmosphere during a three-hour drive (about 180 miles) than grilling one hamburger in your back yard.”

Frazer says he knew that the Escape Hybrid was an ideal choice from an environmental standpoint, but he admits to having some initial reservations about whether an SUV would function as well on the beach as the compact pickup trucks the lifeguards were used to driving.

“The switch from a pickup to an SUV was something new to us, but when Ford brought the Escape Hybrid down to the beach, we were amazed at how well it performed,” he said, adding that he was particularly surprised by the vehicle’s ability to navigate through the sand without getting stuck.

With the Escape Hybrid, Frazer says he was also able to make more precise turns, enjoy extra headroom (he’s 6’5″) and gain greater visibility, which is a huge safety plus on the beach.

“We need to be able to see as much as possible because there’s so much activity on the beach, especially in the summertime,” he said. “When we’re responding to a rescue, we want to get there quickly and safely.”

Shortly after that initial field test, a team of designers from Ford’s Irvine studio visited the beach to do a little “guerrilla research,” says Ford designer Jeff Nield.

“These people save lives, so this was not just an exercise in styling,” said Nield. “We wanted to design features for them that are functional and could potentially save them valuable time in an emergency situation.”

Careful inspection of the previous trucks the lifeguards were using revealed various makeshift storage areas for critical equipment.

“What happened in the past is that different lifeguards would set vehicles up differently, so if you worked at one beach and then got called in a crisis to another location, you would have to search to find the emergency tools you needed because the storage area was not standardized,” he said.

The Ford designers decided to remove 60 percent of the rear seat on the driver’s side and replace it with a rescue equipment storage unit – an aluminum box with specially designated spaces for important emergency equipment, such as defibrillators, trauma boxes and oxygen tanks.

The remaining 40 percent of the seat was left intact in case the lifeguards had to transport someone, such as a lost child.

According to Ford Design Project Manager, Greg Hutting, the lifeguards’ multiple radios also presented the design team with a challenge.

“In the previous vehicle, they had three or four different radios pushed wherever they had room,” he said. “We pulled out the center console and replaced it with a radio rack that keeps all of their equipment lined up and organized.”

Ford designers also outfitted the Escape Hybrids with a custom-fit roof rack for the lifeguards’ paddle board and spine board, and easy-to-clean rubber floor mats and cargo liners.

When it came to the exterior, Nield says it was important to make the vehicle look “fresh but not trendy.” The vehicles were painted a vibrant yellow – iconic for lifeguards – and then detailed with authoritative graphics and finished off with dark wheels.

“We really pushed to make the vehicle look as rugged as possible,” said Nield.

Frazer says he couldn’t be more pleased. “The vehicles look amazing, they perform great and they are hybrids, so they are good for the environment,” he said. “It’s a win, win, win situation for us.”

It’s also a win for Ford Motor Company.

“The lifeguards are going to be pushing these vehicles to the limit, and they need the best vehicle to get the job done,” added Nield. “They had choices, and they chose the Ford Escape Hybrid.”

Source: Ford Motor Company

Web site: http://www.ford.com/

National Biodiesel Board Says Don’t Give Up on Energy Independence

As Memorial Day marks the unofficial start of the summer driving season, many would-be travelers are choosing to stick closer to home versus experiencing the pain of skyrocketing fuel prices at the pump. But as bad as fuel prices may seem now, they could be worse if it weren’t for domestically produced, renewable biofuels such as biodiesel.

New data from the International Energy Agency show that global biofuels production has cut consumption of crude oil by 1 million barrels a day, offering savings of $120 million dollars a day. In addition, Merrill Lynch commodity strategist Francisco Blanch says that oil and gasoline prices would be about 15 percent higher now if biofuel producers were not increasing their output. The biodiesel industry is playing a key role in helping to address many of our nation’s economic, environmental and energy security woes.

According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the major factors contributing to the rising cost of regular petroleum diesel fuel include: rising cost and restricted supply of crude oil; tight refining capacity due to growing domestic and international diesel fuel demand; increasing transportation costs; higher costs associated with the required U.S. transition to Ultra Low Sulfur Diesel fuel; and higher federal excise taxes on diesel fuel compared to gasoline.

Biodiesel is uniquely positioned to offset all of these costs in the following ways:

• As a drop-in replacement for diesel fuel, biodiesel blends can extend our diesel fuel supply. If we replaced 5 percent of our on-road petroleum diesel fuel with biodiesel, this would replace about 1.85 billion gallons of diesel fuel a year, or the entire amount of diesel fuel currently refined from crude oil imported from Iraq.
• Biodiesel provides additional U.S. refining capacity. The U.S. biodiesel industry is currently equipped with more than 2 billion gallons of installed production capacity from 171 plants across 40 states. This wide geographic spread of biodiesel production facilities helps to bolster our national energy security, as well as soften the blow of negative events impacting the existing oil refining industry, such as the Gulf of Mexico hurricanes that caused diesel prices to soar in 2005.
• Biodiesel is produced throughout the U.S. and can be used locally, helping to lower transportation costs. With nearly 3,400 biodiesel retailers and distributors located in all 50 states and in close proximity to biodiesel producers, consumers can benefit from lower transportation costs to move the fuel from the producer to the retail pump.
• Biodiesel Improves the performance of Ultra Low Sulfur Diesel fuel (ULSD) without the need for costly lubricity additives. The removal of sulfur from ULSD fuel to meet federal mandates results in much lower lubricity values for the ULSD fuel, potentially causing excess wear and tear on engines. However, the use of biodiesel even in blends as low as B2 (2% biodiesel blended with 98% petroleum diesel) completely restores that lost lubricity and improves engine life and performance.
• The Federal Excise Tax Credit for Biodiesel helps make biodiesel blends more cost competitive. This tax credit provides a $1 per gallon incentive to biodiesel blenders, helping to bring the cost of biodiesel to consumers more closely in line with the cost of diesel fuel.

In 2007, U.S. biodiesel production hit the 500 million gallon mark, displacing 20 million barrels of petroleum imports, while also creating 21,803 new jobs nationwide and adding $4.1 billion dollars to the U.S. Gross Domestic Product (GDP). In addition, biodiesel reduces lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions by up to 78%, while producing 3.5 units of energy for every 1 unit of energy it takes to make the fuel.

Joe Jobe, CEO of the National Biodiesel Board comments that, “While oil companies are making record profits and not making long-term investments to help stabilize prices, the biofuels sectors are making substantial investments in new renewable energy refinery capacity, and research into new non-edible feedstock supply for the future. Biofuels offer the only immediate renewable alternative to petroleum. It’s more important than ever for the U.S. to continue to work toward energy independence by encouraging the use of domestically produced, renewable fuels such as biodiesel.”

So despite the fact that fuel prices in general are on a continued rise in the near term, biodiesel is an instrumental part of mitigating that pain at the pump over the long term. As you fuel up your diesel vehicles for your travels this summer, consider filling up with biodiesel – and feel good knowing you are doing your part to enhance our nation’s energy security, strengthen the U.S. economy and clean up our environment. For a listing of biodiesel retailers near you, visit http://www.biodiesel.org/buyingbiodiesel/retailfuelingsites/ .

For more information about using biodiesel, including manufacturers’ warranty positions, visit www.biodiesel.org. Additional information from the Energy Information Administration can be found at (http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/oog/info/gdu/gasdiesel.asp). This material sponsored by the USDA Biodiesel Education Program.

Source: National Biodiesel Board

Web site: http://www.biodiesel.org/

A recreational van with an accompanying dune buggy makes its debut today as part of Hess Corporation’s collectible Miniature Truck series. Paying tribute to a popular holiday Hess Toy Truck from the past, the 2008 Mini Toy Truck packs craftsmanship and value into this pair of miniature vehicles.

The 2008 Hess Miniature Recreation Van is on sale at participating Hess and Hess Express retail stores for $6.99 plus tax — batteries are included.

Staying true to the company’s commitment to quality, safety and durability, the 2008 Hess Miniature Recreation Van features real headlights, taillights, running and interior lights. To add to its recreational fun, a rear hatch of the van opens to reveal a pull-down ramp and a miniature dune buggy with knobby tires, roll bar and a pull-back friction motor.

“This year’s Mini Truck is really two vehicles in one, with the attention to detail and value that our collectors have come to expect,” said Rick Lawlor, Vice President, Retail Marketing, Hess Corporation. “It’s another way we can deliver a great brand experience for our customers.”

The Hess Toy Truck, launched in 1964, is one of the longest running toy brands on the market. In 1998, Hess introduced the Collectible Miniature Series featuring small-scale, fully detailed versions of the popular holiday toy trucks. This year’s edition is a replica of the 1998 Hess Toy Truck.

As in past years, the truck will be sold exclusively at participating Hess retail stations and stores while supplies last. For a complete list of Hess Toy Trucks through the years, please visit: www.hesstoytruck.com.

Hess is one of the leading independent gasoline-convenience retailers on the East Coast with retail outlets located in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Florida.

Hess Corporation (NYSE:HES) , with headquarters in New York, is a global integrated energy company engaged in the exploration, production, purchase, transportation and sale of crude oil and natural gas, as well as the production and sale of refined petroleum, natural gas and electricity products. More information is available at www.hess.com.

Source: Hess Corporation

Web site: http://www.hesstoytruck.com/
http://www.hess.com/