Volkswagen Announces the 70mpg Up! Lite Concept Car

Volkswagen recently announced the world premiere of the groundbreaking Up! Lite concept car at the 2009 Los Angeles Auto Show. With its combination of a Volkswagen TDI® Clean Diesel engine, an advanced electric motor, and a seven-speed Direct Shift Gearbox® (DSG®), the Up! Lite is an innovative hybrid capable of up to 70 mpg on the highway, with room for four adults. The Up! Lite, together with the New Beetle Final Editions, Volkswagen's full collection of TDI® Clean Diesel models, and other industry-leading vehicles and automotive technologies, will be on display through December 13, 2009, in the South Hall of the Los Angeles Convention Center.

"Volkswagen aims to be at the forefront of every level of automotive design – from the creation of an idea all the way to consumer experiences with the final product," said Stefan Jacoby, President, Volkswagen of America, Inc. "The Up! Lite stands at the pinnacle of that devotion, as a clear representation of what we believe is the standard by which all other hybrid vehicles will be judged. It integrates decades of research and heritage that can be found in both today's Volkswagens, along with those that will be available to consumers in the near future, via the Volkswagen New Small Family of vehicles."

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The Volkswagen Jetta TDI Sets a World Record for MPG

The world's most fuel efficient couple, John and Helen Taylor, have broken the current world record for lowest fuel consumption across the 48 contiguous United States averaging 58.82 miles to the gallon. They ended their 20 day trip in West Virginia on Thursday, Sept. 25, 2008. To help them break the world record, they drove the all-new, 50-state-compliant clean diesel Volkswagen Jetta TDI, fueled by Shell Ultra Low Sulfur diesel fuel under real world driving conditions, simply applying easy to use fuel saving tips and the latest efficient engine technology available for good clean diesel fun.

"We are very excited and grateful to have broken the current Guinness World Record for lowest fuel consumption across the 48 contiguous United States," said Helen Taylor. "We would like to thank Volkswagen for providing us their new clean diesel Jetta that helped us get another World Record and to Shell for supplying the diesel fuel."

The previous Guinness World Record for the lowest fuel consumption on a nationwide drive was 51.58 miles per gallon and the Taylors broke it by setting a new record of 58.82 miles per gallon, a whopping 14 percent improvement. In 20 days, driving across 48 states the Taylors drove 9,419 miles, exceeding 60 mpg on several legs of the record-setting run, spending only 6.9 cents per mile (total was $653).

"The terrain was very diverse, the weather less than ideal, and the traffic heavy at rush hour and the VW Jetta TDI handled it all beautifully, showing its fuel efficiency and its fun-to-drive dynamic capability, just two of this vehicle's many attributes," said John Taylor. "The car efficiently helped us to drive to a fuel economy world record."