Volkswagen is world renowned for its design, safety features and innovative technology. And as proof of this, the largest German automaker has unveiled its cleanest diesel ever at the recent North American International Auto Show. The Jetta TDI which will be made available in the US market by spring of 2008 meets the emission standards set in all 50 states including the strictest ?TIER 2/BIN 5? or ?LEV II/LEV? requirement that limits nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions to 0.50g/mile.

And take note, the diesel Jetta meets the lowest emissions standards without the use of urea injection. Instead it makes use of a nitrogen oxide storage catalyst that reduces NOx emissions by up to 90%. This vehicle is also equipped with an engine management system that alters operating modes to treat the NOx that has been stored in the Volkswagen catalytic converter . A particulate filter is added in the exhaust system to further reduce emissions.

The Jetta TDI is just one of the products of the BLUETEC offensive that is jointly initiated by Audi, Mercedes-Benz, and Volkswagen. The main objective of this partnership is to establish the BLUETEC concept as a uniform label for clean and highly fuel effcicient diesel powered cars and SUVs with 50 compliant engines. BLUETEC symbolized diesel power plants that comply with the strictest emissions regulations of the US market. The technologies indiviaully developed by each manufacturer are designed to reduce specifically NOx which is an exhaust element that is more common in vehicles that make use of diesel engines.

Volkswagen will unveil its clean diesel concept compact SUV, the Tiguan at the Los Angeles Auto Show in November. It will be made available in the US in the middle of 2008. The German automaker has a 30-year history when it comes to providing the US market with efficient and durable diesel vehicles—which accounts for almost 20% of Volkswagen?s sale in the US.

Blast from the Past

In other Volkswagen news, the automaker?s subsidiary in America has announced recently a national search for two significant vehicles from its diesel-powered past as part of its 30th anniversary celebration. The Volkswagen of America, Inc. has been selling diesel-powered passenger cars in the US for over thirty years now.

The announcement was made at the 2007 Washington Auto Show. Volkswagen of America said that there are two categories—the oldest running Volkswagen diesel vehicle and the Volkswagen diesel with the highest accumulated mileage.

According to Keith Price, public relations manager, Volkswagen of America, Inc., “Volkswagen has a long history of selling diesel-powered vehicles in the United States. These durable vehicles are capable of providing years and years of reliable service. We anticipate an enormous response from our owners.?

The search for the oldest Volkswagen diesel vehicle in the US is open to all registered, running vehicles. The requirements for the category ?Volkswagen diesel with highest accumulated mileage?: The mileage must be documented and verifiable with an accurate odometer reading, and supporting historical service records and/or logbook. And the most important Volkswagen vehicles that are to join in the said search must be equipped with the original engines.

Contest begins on March 1. Interested owners may submit their information online at Volkswagen web site (www.vw.com). Applicants may fill up a form with contact and vehicle data plus upload the digital pictures of their diesel Volkswagen. Out from the participating owners a pool of finalists will be chosen. They will be requested to visit their authorized local Volkswagen dealer to have their vehicles and documentation validated.

Interested owners have a total of four months to file their applications. The two lucky owners will be given the chance to use a 2007 Volkswagen Touareg V10 TDI for six months. The said contest is the automaker?s way of thanking the buying public for continuously patronizing diesel-powered Volkswagen vehicles for over thirty years. The company has sold over 813, 476 diesel powered Volkswagens in the US alone.

About Volkswagen of America

Volkswagen of America Inc. was founded in 1955 and made it?s headquarter in Auburn Hills, Michigan. It is a subsidiary of Volkswagen AG, headquartered in Wolfsburg, Germany. Volkswagen is also one of the world?s largest producers of passenger cars and Europe?s largest automaker. Some of its famous products include Rabbit, New Beetle Convertible, GTI, Jetta, GLI, Passat, Passat wagon, Eos, and Toureg which are offered through 600 independent US dealers.

Amidst the less enthusiastic sales of the Volkswagen brand in the U.S. this year, the German automaker has decided a reshuffle in its top management. Volkswagen has already lost $827 million in North America last year.

Stefan Jacoby, 49, who has earlier headed global marketing and sales for the VW group, will become president and CEO of Volkswagen of America starting September 1. “The objective is to achieve further significant expansion in the position of Volkswagen and Audi on the U.S. market through attractive and competitive products,” VW said in a statement Thursday, last week.

Jacoby is a former CEO of Mitsubishi Motors Europe. As future CEO of VW of America, he will succeed Frank Witter, 48, who is moving to Volkswagen Credit, where he will become co-president, sharing the post with Kevin Kelly, 60.

The news comes after the media has reported that the German automaker and world’s fourth-largest carmaker is currently mulling over building a new North American factory if the dollar stays weak. Chief Executive Martin Winterkorn reportedly confirmed plans in an interview Saturday with German magazine Focus, saying, ?If the dollar stays at its current level, one has to consider a factory in North America very seriously.”

Winterkorn also added that Volkswagen ? maker of quality Volkswagen catalytic converter, had not done very well in the United States up to now, and said that the company was hoping that planned new offices away from Detroit, the centre of U.S. auto manufacturing, would bring it closer to U.S. consumers.

Volkswagen currently has only one factory in North America, in Puebla, Mexico. The plant manufactures the Volkswagen Jetta and New Beetle cars as well as buses and trucks.

Volkswagen would produce more than 6 million cars this year, up from 5.7 million in 2006, Winterkorn said. A goal of 10 percent higher productivity was attainable this year, he added.

The euro is near an all-time high against the U.S. dollar and Japanese yen, making it difficult for European-made cars to compete with those produced in the United States and Japan and causing concern among some euro-zone politicians.

About Volkswagen of America

Founded in 1955, Volkswagen of America, Inc. is headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan. It is a subsidiary of Volkswagen AG, headquartered in Wolfsburg, Germany. Volkswagen is one of the world?s largest producers of passenger cars and Europe?s largest automaker. Volkswagen sells the Rabbit, New Beetle, New Beetle convertible, GTI, Jetta, GLI, Passat, Passat wagon, Eos, and Touareg through approximately 600 independent U.S. dealers. Visit Volkswagen of America online at vw.com.

Volkswagen has introduced its cleanest ever TDI engine. Initial test drives conducted by VW has already showed promising results when the TDI engine was able to reduce nitrogen oxide. For Volkswagen?s Jetta a new 2.0 liter commo9n rail diesel engine with nitrogen oxide reservoir catalytic converter was employed which conforms to the Californian emission standard ?Tier 2/Bin 5??considered to be the most strict in the world. The first production of the TDI with nitrogen post treatment system will be made in 2008 in the US.

The main objective of the TDI engine is to reduce nitrogen oxide emission. Volkswagen?s team of engineers in Wolfsburg is working on the development of the engine and the use of new emission post-treatment technology. They have already achieved 90% less nitrogen oxide emissions.

The said drastic reduction was needed in order to comply with the Tier 2/Bin 5 standard which applies to California and four other states in the north-east of America namely: Massachusetts, New York, Vermont and Maine. —This norm limits Nox emissions to 70mg per mile. And in order to comply with this standard VW has decided to develop a completely new emission treatment technology.

Volkswagen was able to develop two new systems connected to the oxidation catalytic converter and the particle filter in the exhaust system. The new Nox reservoir catalytic converter technology is currently tested for car models below the Passat class. Nitrogen oxide is absorbed like sponge which leads to a high level of efficiency. And in terms of the particle filter, the system is regularly cleaned without the driver noticing it. How? The engine management system changes operation modes for a few seconds.

For Volkswagen?s larger and heavier models, they will feature the Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) catalytic converter. The central component of the SCR is an aqueous solution such as AdBlue which is transported in an additional tank made from stainless steel or plastic. The aqueous solution is also made up of 32.5% Urea which is continuously injected into the exhaust system in front of the SCR catalytic converter using a metering valve. The quantity of the aqueous solution is made according to the gas emission stream.

The urea solution that is mixed with the aqueous solution is finely atomized by a grille and is converted in hot exhaust gas into ammonia before it reaches the catalytic converter. The ammonia then reacts with the nitrogen oxide in the catalytic converter and separates in into water and nitrogen.

The ammonia produce is not like the ordinary ammonia in the sense that it is non-toxic, odorless and biodegradable. Volkswagen also intends to install the additional tank so that the car may be driven without the need for maintenance between services. According to US regulations the complete system should be functional for at least 150,000 miles.

It took the Clean Air Act to help make passenger cars cleaner. Under the Nixon Administration, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was formed in a bid to help reduce pollution and set standards on vehicle emissions with various legislation passed or amended to bring that about. To that end, beginning in 1975 car manufacturers began to install catalytic converters in a bid to reduce pollution, one of the most important parts related to your vehicle’s exhaust system.

Every car engine produces gases which if left untreated can be harmful to the environment. Other than a pure electric vehicle, no passenger car is one hundred percent free of emissions, but some come pretty darn close. Even with all of the modern exhaust systems and engines in place, every car pollutes to some extent.

How Your Catalytic Converter Works

Your vehicle’s catalytic converter can be found on its exhaust line inserted between the exhaust manifold and the muffler. Pellets inside the converter work to alter damaging gases into innocuous gases before they leave the tailpipe for open air. Quality standards are lowered if a catalytic converter is damaged or broken, requiring replacement as soon as possible. States with strict emissions testing will fail any car without a functioning catalytic converter in place.

There are four revealing signs which signal when a catalytic converter will soon give out. They are:

Rusted or damaged converter body or end tubes. Bits of substrate (matter) found in other sections of the exhaust system. No rattle detected in a pellitized converter (If the converter doesn’t rattle, the pellets may have melted and blended together or perhaps fallen out). A rattle detected in a monolithic converter (A rattle in this kind of converter indicates the substrate has separated.)

Change Your Broken Or Damaged Catalytic Converter

If you see hear or see evidence of any of these signs, then you should change your catalytic converter immediately.