WWII convinced Dad of the prowess of German engineering. As a naval aviator he was awed by the Luftwaffe’s aviation marvels, and after the war he simply had to have a Volkswagen—the people’s car. So, he bought a black 1958 VW Beetle that became a fixture in our household. All of us kids learned to drive by putting our “bug” through the paces around the back pasture. For college, Dad bought me a blue 1968 VW Beetle that I outfitted with grass mats and a leather steering wheel cover … but no peace sticker. The VW had great gas mileage at time when no one really cared—except a college student pinching pennies.
Maybe Americans need another “people’s car.” Guess who has it? Volkswagen does. Fast forward to June 18, 2008, as Volkswagen of North America announced the August roll-out of its new 50-state compliant, clean-diesel Jetta with independently verified 44 miles per gallon fuel efficiency burning ultra low sulfur diesel fuel available right now at your local gas station—all this for the list price of $21,990.00. The VW press release nails the sentiment of most American drivers: “The people want better fuel economy with no compromises.”
As the “people” are searching for answers to their personal energy crises, Volkswagen has come up with the solution to mine; and … it’s no Nancy Pelosi-inspired, pie-in-the-sky, wind/solar/flex/geothermal, flower-powered future car. It’s not a twinkle in the eye of a whacked out environmentalist, or the hope of some basement inventor who says the automakers have conspired to keep his 200 mpg gizmo off the market, or the VW L1, or Obama’s buddies in the ethanol business. My solution is something that exists in the here and now. It’s a real life, ready-right-now alternative—the clean diesel.