TDI

U.S. car buyers are fond of compact crossovers, and they buy a lot of them. They range from high-volume entries by Toyota, Honda, Ford, and Chevrolet to more luxurious utility vehicles from the likes of Audi, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, and Range Rover. (Lincoln and Lexus will join that crowd next year.)...

If you've been considering diesel power for your next car, you can count yourself among a small proportion of Americans who have. Unlike Europe, where half of all vehicles sold are diesels and at least one diesel is on most consumers' shopping lists, the U.S. market still reels from repuations of...

Volkswagen will eliminate the last of its naturally-aspirated engines as models are refreshed or redesigned.

August was one of Volkswagen's best months ever, and TDI diesel vehicles made up a significant amount of that increased sales volume.

Diesel engines and typical American-style commuting conditions are already a great match. Longer daily-driving distances get diesels up to their peak operating temperature—and hopefully out to higher highway speeds, where they return their best fuel economy. In low-speed stop-and-go driving...

As gas-mileage standards tighten steadily through 2025, how do you have a big, powerful, luxurious sedan more efficient? The Tesla Model S shows one way--make it all-electric--but other makers are taking other routes. Audi, perhaps more than any other German luxury make, says the answer is diesel...

Volkswagen Group of America has confirmed that its latest generation of 2.0-liter clean diesel engines will debut in the U.S. in the second half of 2014. The engine, a version of which is already on sale in several European VW group models, will see service in the 2015 model-year Golf, Beetle...

The 'Ultra' tag will be familiar to fans of endurance motor racing, seen since 2010 on Audi's Le Mans-winning race cars. It hasn't yet featured on an Audi production car though, up until now--and as you'd expect, it's Audi's most fuel-efficient production car ever. The Audi A3 1.6 TDI Ultra uses a...

With substantial weight savings and all-new drivetrains, the seventh-generation 2015 Volkswagen Golf TDI -- coming to the U.S. next year as a 2.0-litre TDI model, and also a hot hatch Golf GTD -- suggests diesel fans may get the kind of fuel-efficiency figures normally reserved for hybrid cars. But...

Audi has revealed pricing for its full lineup of diesel models, joining the existing A8 L TDI and Q7 TDI SUV. Each new model uses the same 3.0-liter V-6 turbodiesel engine and 8-speed automatic transmission to deliver strong performance and surprisingly frugal economy figures. The engine produces...

As fuel efficiency standards tighten continuously between now and 2025, buyers will have more powertrain options to chose from. And many have suggested there's a battle coming among smaller gasoline engines, diesels, and hybrids. If so, we hope that buyers will do the research to look at the...

The Volkswagen Audi Group is a master at filling niches, and another one is heading our way from early 2014. For the customer who wants the VW Jetta's sedan bodystyle and 2.0-liter diesel engine--but prefers the Audi A3's more upmarket image--Audi presents the 2015 A3 TDI Sedan. Unveiled at the...

We don't know that 2013 will be seen as the tipping point for the acceptance of diesel-fueled passenger vehicles in the United States. But we're sure of one thing: that tipping point is now closer than ever before. While the list of diesel vehicles currently available in the United States market...

The latest seventh-generation Volkswagen Golf hatchback was formally launched last fall at the Paris Motor Show. It's now on sale in Germany, but the models to be sold in the U.S. will be unveiled for the first time in two weeks, at the New York Auto Show. They'll go on sale during the first half...

For a century, we've gotten almost all our gasoline and diesel fuel from petrochemicals. Now Silicon Valley startup Solazyme [NSDQ:SZYM] is testing diesel fuel derived from refining renewable oils--produced by specialized algae--in two Volkswagen turbodiesel models. Since July 2012, the VW Passat...

A few more details have leaked out on Audi's future diesel-hybrid supercar, which will transfer elements of its Le Mans-winning R18 diesel hybrid powertrain into a roadgoing car. Still in development and not even named, the unusual through-the-road hybrid would have a combined power output of at...

Despite the seemingly endless combinations of drivetrains, body styles, and features, there are still a few cars in the U.S. market that are unique in their makeup--and we're not talking about the Tesla Model S here. The 2013 Volkswagen Beetle Convertible is the only convertible available in the...

Audi has been promising more diesel models in its U.S. lineup for a while now, and it fulfils that promise at the 2012 Los Angeles Auto Show. Joining the existing Q7 TDI, which gets an update, Audi will introduce diesel versions of the A8, A7, A6 and Q5. The company claims each model will deliver...

With the new VW Beetle launched last year, you knew there would be a ragtop, right? We now have photos of the 2013 Volkswagen Beetle Convertible, which includes a unique model: the only diesel convertible available for sale in the U.S. This is only the third all-new open-air Beetle in history; the...

The new, seventh-generation Volkswagen Golf was unveiled early last month in Berlin, but more models were added to the lineup at last week's Paris Auto Show. And while complete details weren't forthcoming, VW Group executives offered some hints on what we'll see when the 2014 VW Golf debuts in the...