The new Volkswagen Jetta Diesel is projected to get up to 60 MPG, and will be a 50 state legal car. Look for it in the summer of 08.
I’m waiting, with cash in hand. They increased the torque, HP and mileage all at the same time with the new engine and transmission system.
VW is discovering the #1 issue to achieving the best fuel efficiency out of a diesel engine: keeping it in the optimum RPM range. To this end, the new Jetta has a six-speed tranny, and they have two different trannies that really differ only in the clutch system. The “automatic” tranny is really a auto variant of the powershift transmission you’d see in an ag tractor, which I’ve been advocating for years in a car.
VW’s engineers “get it.”
Detroit’s engineers still have their heads firmly lodged past their sphincters.