VW 2012 Passat Midsize Sedan

We drove two of the three versions of the 2012 Passat a few weeks ago, the TDI Clean Diesel, turbocharged 2.0 liter in-line 4-cylinder that delivers 140 horsepower and 236 lb.-ft. of torque and the 2.5 liter in-line 5-cylinder that has 170 horsepower and 177 lb-ft. of torque. All of the new Passat models are front-wheel drive with no all-wheel drive options. The midsize sedan market in America is front-wheel drive and VW is going to the heart of the market. Both the 5-cylinder and the TDI are available with either manual or automatic transmission. The third model, the V-6, comes only as an automatic.
The Passat is the only Clean Diesel offered in the segment and VW estimates that it will achieve 43-MPG highway and a range of nearly 800 miles. The very nicely contented vehicle tops out at about $33,000. At this price level, with that range, and all the options including heated front seats, a cool audio system, a VW interior, leather and wood trim, do I really want to entertain the idea of buying a $33,000 hybrid or a $40,000 electric?
VW emphasizes that its new Passat is built specifically for the American market. That probably accounts for the generous rear-seat legroom (if you transport leggy individuals, you will certainly appreciate the extra space.) It also accounts for what I experienced as a taming of the German handling. It was there all right—maneuverable, tight to the corners, fun to drive, but it felt just a tad less Autobahn to me. And VW has gone to bland on the color palette, tapping into America’s fear of color boldness--the most popular car color in America is white. I just don’t understand why it isn’t burnt orange.

VW's New Plant in Chattanooga

Despite all our problems, including an endless parade of deviant "foppervs" (my coin) like Anthony Weiner, we are still a great country.
Know how I know? I go see it quite a bit. Last week I was in Chattanooga, a place I’ve never been. Plunk in the middle of a former military facility where dynamite was once stored is a stunning new auto plant, built by Volkswagen.
If you look at the design and the flow of the plant, it is pure German engineering—stark, simple, efficient. Touring a modern auto plant, reveals how clean, automated and green manufacturing can be. In fact, Volkswagen views the Chattanooga plant as a benchmark against which other VW plants will be built.
Mostly Americans work there, local Chattanoogans, transplants from other manufacturers and some Germans. The plant, so far, has employed 1,800 people. As the line ramps up, more jobs will be filled. The employees go through testing and more testing and once hired, they attend the Volkswagen Academy, which teaches them to build cars according to VW standards. Right now they are building the 2012 Passat, the first vehicle to come off the Chattanooga line. There are about 60 cars a day coming off the line now but the goal is to produce up to 230 a day by the end of June and they are confident they will get there.
Coming from New York State, which is so anti-business you couldn’t build a toothpick factory, I never ceased to be amazed at what the Southern states have done to build their economies. Need to remediate wetlands? Sure, let’s get the environmental department together with the construction people with the Governor and not only remediate wetlands but add to them. No problem down south. In New York, we’d lose the business before we sat down and had a conversation about what’s possible. But don’t get me started on that.
More on the car in the next installment. But I will say that VW is on a roll. In May, they achieved their best market share since 1981—that was 30 years ago. They had their best May since 2002. They sold more than 30,000 vehicles for the first time since August of 2003.
Car companies go through up and down cycles. They just do. It’s part of the business. And VW is on an upswing.

Chattanooga

Shared dinner with Ralph Jakobs, head of research and development for Volkswagen. He is located here in Chattanooga home to the first U.S. Volkswagen plant, which we will tour tomorrow.

The new Passat, which we also drive from Chattanooga to Nashville tomorrow, is being built here. There's been a lot of anticipation around the car and my colleague journalists and I are looking forward to getting into the cars.

Jakobs shared some pretty interesting information tonight. About 85% of the parts in the new Passat are sourced in America. Some also come from Mexico where VW used to build the New Beetle and some from Germany. But 85% American parts? That's amazing when you think how difficult it is to buy anything made here anymore.

I asked how many parts were sourced in China. "One," said Jakobs, "the sunvisor." Really? Only one part sourced in China? Wow.

More later on the plant and the vehicle.