2009 Tdi: the Jetta That Does not Stink

When you say diesel-powered cars, auto shoppers will“The new engine abandons VW's old mechanical
equate it with soot-spewing and stinking vehicles. Butfuel injection system in favor of a common-rail system
that was a thing of the past. If you can still rememberusing piezoelectric fuel injectors. This technology
Oldsmobile lineup in the 1980s, you will agree that dieselpermits higher injection pressures, which better
cars do stink.atomize the fuel and makes it easier to control
Volkswagen of America is on a mission to wipe thatpollution,” Krause added.
notion away. The company earlier unveiled a next stepTo note, diesel engines struggle specifically with oxides
in the company's U.S. diesel strategy at theof nitrogen (NOx) pollution, and the Tier II bin 5 standard
Washington, D.C. auto show, showing a Jetta TDI thatallows only 0.05 grams per mile. The German
utilizes an all-new 2.0-liter, common-rail diesel engineautomaker will use a NOx trap and two oxidation
that is designed to meet emissions requirements in allcatalysts to clean the Jetta TDI's emission.
50 states when it rolls out by 2008.The new engine is smoother, quieter, more powerful
While the Jetta carries the Bluetec badge, mirroringand more efficient than the old Jetta TDI, said
Volkswagen AG and Audi AG's alliance withVolkswagen. But the automaker said that it would not
DaimlerChrysler AG on diesel emissions technology,cost more. Fuel economy should be better, in the 45
the car will not use the AdBlue liquid urea additive tompg range, while the engine produces 140 horsepower
comply with federal standards. Why?and 235 pound-feet of torque, according to Krause.
That is because the engine is smaller than the 3.0-literJetta TDI production is set to begin in January of 2008,
V6 diesel engine that the company will install in thewith U.S. availability scheduled for May of next year, at
Touareg SUV in 2008, which will employ AdBlue, saida starting price of about $23,000 and a typically
Norbert Krause, the director of VOA's engineering andequipped car listing for $25,000, which is in line with the
environmental office.outgoing model, according to spokesman Keith Price.
According to the esteemed maker of the VolkswagenThe automaker has prepared a traveling road show
Rabbit radiator, Bluetec refers only to the vehicle'scalled the Dieselution Tour. Into a couple of
ability to meet federal Tier II bin 5 emissions standards.tractor-trailers, Volkswagen has packed interactive
That means the car will not only be available in statesdisplays exalting the virtues of diesels. On display are a
that are governed by national standards, but also in theTouareg TDI, a 1977 Rabbit diesel (the oldest
five states that follow California emissions rules. TheVolkswagen diesel in America) and the 2009 Jetta
four Northeastern states and California that haveTDI. The tour will make stops at environmental events,
separate, tighter requirements, account for 40 percentvarious universities, the Super Bowl, and more.
of VW's U.S. sales, Krause said.