2010 VW Touareg TDI Newport RI

One of the more interesting aspects of this job is gaining access to key executives in large companies who make decisions about the future of large industries. Few industries are larger than the automotive industry. During the Geneva Auto Show and the drive event that followed in Tuscany, I was particularly interested to learn that:

1. Volkswagen has more than 11% market share worldwide but only 3% market share in the U.S.
2. 25% of the automobiles that VW sold in the U.S. market in 2009 were clean diesel models.

I still think of VW as a young brand, so it makes sense to me that they’re planning on making strides in the U.S. market by launching greener vehicles. Young people, and people who feel young, want greener cars as much as they want “a fun drive,” which is exactly what Stefan Jacoby, President and CEO of Volkswagen America, said he wants American drivers to think of when they see the silver VW on the hood of their vehicles. He said it in an interview and he said it again at the dinner table.

Clean Diesel Confusion?

Two points to clear up: First, the “clean” in “clean diesel” does not refer to the fuel itself. When you pull up to the station you put regular diesel in the tank. Clean diesel refers to the vehicle’s emissions. The new TDI/clean diesel version of the Touareg boasts a 40% reduction in emissions compared to the previous version that ran on gasoline. Second, this ain’t your Grandma’s old diesel that went from 0-60mph in eight minutes flat. These TDI vehicles are powerful.

The 2010 Volkswagen Touareg TDI – Best Green SUV on the market

I haven’t been this excited about an SUV since my folks got a Chevy Blazer back in the early ‘90s. I loved that Blazer because my family’s dog and my BMX bicycles fit easily in the back compared to my Mom’s previous vehicle, a sedan. It was the one and only SUV they ever owned because Mom thought the Blazer “handled like a truck.” I never got to drive the Blazer, but it looked awesome to me. I can now assure you and Mom that the new VW Touareg TDI handles sharply thanks to a series of technological advances.

Design in the automobile world has come to mean two things: performance and aesthetics. Seems obvious enough, but good design is where performance and aesthetics meet. Walking the Geneva auto show for a few days, I affirmed that it wasn’t due to my environmental optimism but rather objective observation that a third metric is sneaking into the auto-design criteria: efficiency. Porsche’s new 918 prototype hybrid sports car was a major hit amongst the American auto journalists, who also informed me that Porsche has never made a prototype that didn’t go into production (though a few cited one debatable exception). When green cars get this exciting, it’s a big win for the environment.

Under the hood there are a number of innovative technical design issues...