New 2011 VW Touareg Debuting in Detroit

The Car Connection is reporting that Volkswagen will debut a redesigned Touareg SUV at the Detroit auto show in January. The Touareg serves as the basis of both the Porsche Cayenne and Audi Q7 SUVs. All three are being redesigned at the same time, so we’d expect the other two to debut at subsequent auto shows.

The redesign is sorely needed as the VW and Porsche specifically show their age against competition from BMW and Mercedes. The capable off-roader will debut with hybrid and diesel powertrains, as well. We just hope they get rid of the two-step folding rear seats.

VW and MIT Introduce In-Car Robot

Does that headline have too many acronyms? Trust us, it’s worth the initial confusion.

Volkswagen has partnered with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to introduce AIDA, the Affective Intelligent Driving Agent.

AIDA is a robotic device mounted onto the dashboard that uses a number of different information sources to help you plan travel routes, skip traffic jams, discover entertainment locations you’ve never previously heard of and even help you avoid running out of gas. It also happens to look like something out of a sci-fi movie.

AIDA is more than just a GPS on steroids, though. It also “learns” how you drive by monitoring features and systems like the gas pedal, brake pedal, windshield wipers, seat position, fuel gauge and tire pressure. It knows the city you live in, your home and work locations, and it learns your driving priorities.

For instance, you could be trying to make a 7 p.m. movie but a traffic jam threatens your on-time arrival. AIDA would then step in and direct you around the traffic using the quickest possible route. On the way home, it might recommend that you stop for gas based on how far away you live. Or it might suggest a restaurant to grab a bite at because it knows you’ve been in a movie for two hours and might be hungry.

AIDA sounds a little too much like HAL of “2001: A Space Odyssey,” but as long as AIDA doesn’t refuse to “open the pod bay door,” so to speak, this system could be very cool.

AIDA: It’s More Than an Opera (Up to Speed)

VW Teases All-New Sedan

Volkswagen has been relatively mum about its upcoming midsize sedan. Today, they’ve released the above sketch and said the car will go on sale in late 2011. We’re unsure on where this car will sit in the company’s lineup; it probably won’t replace a current offering like the Jetta but count the Passat's days numbered. The fact that it will be built in Chattanooga, Tenn., also makes us think it will be a North America-only offering since buyers on this side of the Atlantic tend to want different things from their sedans, namely more interior room.

Mileage Challenge 5.5: Final Thoughts

Beyond the numbers that we so diligently broke down yesterday, driving four different cars for six hours can be telling in many more ways than just fuel economy. Our editors share their thoughts on the cars and pick which car they’d log another six-hour trip in.

Mileage Challenge 5.4: The Results

Our latest mileage challenge had editors logging more than 300 miles each in three hybrids and a diesel: the 2010 Honda Insight, 2010 Mercury Milan Hybrid, 2010 Toyota Prius and 2009 Volkswagen Jetta TDI. We tallied up all the numbers and corrected for a brief photography stint between Legs 2 and 3. (Angling cars around for the camera — complete with rapid stops, starts and idling — has a way of dinging your mileage, and it’s not representative of real-world driving.)

The results were striking.

Mileage Challenge 5.3: Dizzying Displays

Most people think all of the advanced technology in today’s hybrid cars is under the hood. While automakers continue to enhance new engines, batteries and drivetrains, they’re also working on ways to wrangle the one factor they can’t control — the driver.

To gain maximum efficiency in a hybrid, a driver must be taught to drive properly so fill-ups are few and far between. In the crop of cars we tested on our mileage drive, there were a dazzling array of displays to teach people to drive as green as possible.

Mileage Challenge 5.2: Avenues and Interstates

Our latest mileage challenge took three hybrids — the Honda Insight, Mercury Milan Hybrid and Toyota Prius — and one diesel, the Volkswagen Jetta TDI, from Chicago to Fond du Lac, Wis., and back. The total distance came to just over 300 miles: The first 38 miles were in urban gridlock, the next 230 miles or so consisted of relatively open highway driving and the final 35 miles took place in afternoon interstate traffic.

As in our other mileage challenges, the ground rules remained largely the same: Four editors filled the tires to their recommended pressure, kept windows and sunroofs closed, drove as we normally would and switched cars at each leg to control for driving habits. But this being a challenge with hybrids there were some added things to look out for that could sway the results.

Mileage Challenge 5.1: Hybrid vs. Diesel

Despite gas prices averaging below $2.50 a gallon nationwide, hybrids and alternative-fuel vehicles are as popular as ever. The redesigned Toyota Prius is one of the country’s best-sellers, and Volkswagen’s TDI diesel was in short supply after it debuted at dealers earlier this year. With interest in these types of vehicles still high, we held another mileage challenge with the most popular of these cars and included both hybrids and VW’s most efficient diesel.

2010 Volkswagen Golf to Start at $17,490

Volkswagen is changing the name of its Rabbit to the name it uses around the world, the Golf. It will also get a price bump, up from $16,300 for the Rabbit to $17,490 for the Golf base model.

The base model comes with a 175-horsepower, 2.5-liter gas engine and two doors. An upgrade to four doors will cost you $19,190.

Big news for the new Golf is the inclusion of a turbo-diesel engine. The two-door TDI begins at $21,990, and the four-door TDI starts $22,590. This diesel engine is the same one powering the Jetta TDI.

Meanwhile, the Golf GTI will have an starting price tag of $23,290.

Recall Alert: 16,000 Volkswagen, Audi Vehicles

Volkswagen has issued a recall for 16,000 Volkswagen and Audi vehicles manufactured between September 2008 and August 2009, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The recall includes the 2009-10 Audi A3, 2009 Audi TT, 2009 Audi TT roadster which we reported on last week as well as the 2009 Volkswagen Eos, 2009-10 Volkswagen GTI, 2009-10 Volkswagen Jetta and 2009-10 Volkswagen Jetta Sportwagen.

The recall is due to insufficiently crimped connector wires in the wiring harness of a temperature sensor, which is in the direct-shift gearbox. This could cause the temperature sensor to incorrectly detect a high oil temperature in the gearbox, which could cause the gear to suddenly shift to neutral. It will also illuminate the depress-brake-pedal light, which warns the driver to apply the brakes. This could lead to a dangerous situation on the road, even possibly a crash.

Volkswagen will notify owners, inspect the direct-shift gearbox, and replace or repair the temperature sensor for free. Owners can contact Volkswagen at 800-822-8987 or the NHTSA vehicle safety hotline at 888-327-4236.