VW recently released details of its forthcoming North American-market diesel engine, known as Blue TDI, at the Viennese Auto Symposium. The common-rail turbodiesel boasts the latest and greatest in clean-diesel technologies, like a particulate filter and a maintenance-free NOX catalytic converter. Of particular note: the first-ever application of both high- and low-pressure exhaust gas recirculation systems on a diesel engine. VW says all the new-fangled diesel wizardry delivers a 90 percent reduction in acid rain-causing NOX emissions while delivering 140 hp and 320 nm of torque. Oh yeah, and meeting Euro 5 as well as U.S. 50-state, Bin 5 tier 2 emissions standards. Look for the Blue TDI as an option on US Jettas starting this summer.

A spreadsheet of analysts hanging with The Detroit News all agree with TTAC's Best and Brightest: Michigan is the least likely place on Earth of the three states VW's considering for its new U.S. plant. Hello? Bis morgan? Didn't anybody notice the fact that Volkswagen NA ALREADY LEFT DETROIT? Anyway, for some strange reason– something to do with labor costs and work rule flexibility– unionization seems to be hamstringing MI's chances of landing the gig. "That's the big risk of coming to Michigan or anywhere in the north," says Aaron Bragman, an analyst with Global Insight. "A lot of companies have wanted to avoid" the UAW. (For this he gets paid?) IRN's VP of auto forecasting says Alabama is the likely front-runner, followed by Tennessee. Erich Merkle fancies 'Bama's chances, citing the success of Mercedes-Benz production and the "German supply base that's already pretty well-established." Ultimately, the decision between the two right to work states will come down to the bribes incentive packages each state offers VW. 

The Z4 was the vehicle that began the "flame surfacing" controversy, splitting fans of the brand into lovers and haters. And now the new Z4 gets to be the car to end the crisis, apparently. It will feature BMW's new "cooled down flame surfacing." Spyshots of the car are all over the internet showing the sizes and proportions of the new car along with an interesting detail, a folding hardtop. I'm curious if BMW will offer the car with both a soft-top (for the romantic) and a hard-top (for the prosaic). I know they avoided this solution so far because it affects the roof design. However the 3-Series CC with its three-piece folding roof is a design success. It doesn't look as "big in the derriere" as some of the competitors. Now, back to my guess on the Z4 MkII. I've used some influences from the CS Concept (the only thing they showed lately that could give away their future designs) and tried to keep in mind that "simple is better." The little things ensure the car is still a case of "love it or hate it," which I think is how a Z4 (flame surfaced or not) should be. A car that everyone considers to be "fine" is just boring.  

[For more Avarvarii photochopistry, click here]

I'm paraphrasing, of course, but it's hard to believe that anyone believes that the United Auto Workers (UAW) is on the cusp of organizing Toyota's Lexington, Kentucky factory. Least of all UAW boss Big Ron Gettelfinger. Or The Detroit Free Press. And yet the paper reports Gettelfinger's comments without any hint that the man is full of you-know-what. "'We don't have the people to cover all the calls we get,' Gettelfinger said of activity among UAW organizers based here [Lexington, KY]." Nah, C'mon. Really? "'It is amazing the number of workers who want to join the union,' he said in an interview… 'They may be having activity you don't know about.'" And… they may not. In fact, the only credible– the only interesting part of this story are the comments underneath. "All a worker at the Toyota plants would have to look at is how 'successful' the UAW represented plants are," opines commentator gonefromthemess. "They are already making similar wages and benefits, they build a much more reliable product and they are poised to become the largest selling auto company. And besides, who in those plants wants to pay extortion money to UAW "reps" to get them what they already have? Good luck Get. It ain't happening." Thank Al Gore DARPA God for the Internet.

Regular readers will know of the kerfuffle following our decision to call-out the pudenda-nosed Subaru B9 Tribeca's front end for having a "flying vagina" design. In fact, we'd like to take credit for the Tribeca's redesign, which traded a passion for private parts for a Pacifica pastiche. But we in no way accept responsibility for Subaru's new ad campaign, which focuses on owners' big love for the brand. "Subaru owners are 'experience seekers' — they want to live bigger, more engaged lives," reveals John Colasanti, CEO of Subie's ad agency. "They choose Subaru as a conscious alternative to the mainstream. [ED: Is that a nod to the brand's lesbian following?] To them, the car is the enabler of that bigger life. [ED: Is that another nod to size queens? Does this have something to do with the naming of the Outback?] By focusing on the love they have for their car, Subaru is challenging non-owners: do you love your car?" Yes! Yes! YES! I'll have whatever she's having. To be fair (WTH, it's Friday), the new Subie ads are split into three tiers: The Heart, The Brain, and The Wallet. So this smutty stuff is all in my head. So to speak.

After spending a few days in Nissan's Cube, I was reminded of Orange County's Mar Vista housing tract. Built in the 1940s by designer Gregory Ain, the development deployed basic shapes (squares and rectangles) to give the suburban spread a high degree of architectural sophistication. Of course, people considered these "flat roof" houses a commie plot (so to speak); builders only erected 52 of the planned 100 homes. The Nissan Cube sells for $11k in Japan. In the same way as Mar Vista, the Cube offers a whole lot of chic for a little bit of green.  

Autoweek's (AW) Special Earth Day Double Issue starts with an opt-out– "'Environmentally friendly' means different thing to different people"– and goes downhill from there. Surprisingly, AW didn't hype GM's next Next Big Thing: the Earth-friendly (providing you overlook the CO2 emissions at the power plants) plug-in Chevy Volt. OK, obviously, they did lavish ink on GM's gas – electric hybrid. Only it was a relatively small article called, get this, "Charged Up." Scribe Greg Migliore held GM's feet to the fire re: the Volt's 2010 deadline. Just kidding. AW hands its main advertiser a "get out of PR jail free" card in the last line. "As Roland Matthe, E-Flex engineering group manager put it, 'It's not a done deal. This project is not normal in regard to risk in the automotive industry.'" So much craven journalism, so little time. Where was I? Roger Hart's "Resurrecting the dinosaurs" road-tripping with the Chevy Tahoe Hybrid to GM ethanol acquisition Coskata? No. "Another Kind of Town" road-tripping the GMC Hybrid to NYC? Nope. Right! "The Believer," a profile of Larry Burns, GM's Veep of R&D. We learn "I personally brought four hybrid proposals before the board in the 1999-2002 period, and all were rejected. It was because of the business case. We just didn't get the courage to lose money on Gen 1." So now you know. 

BusinessWeek's David Kiley didn't take kindly to Holman Jenkins' "pretty tedious editorial" against the gas – electric plug-in Chevrolet Volt. To smack down Jenkins piece in yesterday's Wall Street Journal, Kiley hails the Volt as "a new lens through which the U.S. and world will view" GM. He defends GM's late-to-the-game [theoretical] game changer "because [GM] rightly saw that gas-electric hybrids were an inelegant engineering solution for higher fuel economy." (No comment on GM's eventual hybrid opt-in). Kool-Aid quaffed, Kiley turns on Honda. He lambastes the Japanese automaker for producing "the awkward looking Insight to answer the Prius, as well as the Ridgeline pickup and the Element." Huh? Mr. Kiley needs to get a grip; there are plenty of ways to defend the Volt and/or kneecap his critics. But, like GM, he needs to raise his game, quick.

According to Reuters UK, Sony's senior producer for Gran Turismo has revealed that Japanese consumer electronics giant has changed the videogame's, uh, emphasis. Taku Imasaki says "Our goal is to become another medium for car companies [to run ads], like magazines and TVs." The admission comes hot on the heels of a "teaser installment" of "Gran Turismo 5 Prologue," for PS3 (the full version of the driving simulator is due next year). Embedding automakers' ads into the game is just the beginning. Imasaki-san says "Ideally we could become the MySpace or Facebook for auto enthusiasts." As Sony's PS3 is fully net compatible, the commercial opportunities are endless (e.g. "click here for a real world test drive."). There's no word [yet] on more "subtle" if fast becoming "traditional" in-game advertising– background billboards, sponsor decals, architectural features (gas stations?). It appears that some of the world's best cars are already powering down that slippery slope. 

Mazda announced today the new Mazda6 will go on sale this summer. As with the Accord, the U.S. version will be market-specific. In PR-speak Mazda's new whip was "designed and engineered for the needs, wants and desires of the North American customer." The American variant's base engine will be a new 2.5-liter four-banger with an available 3.7-liter V6. Both engines offer a six-speed manual. Automatics have either five gears or six depending on whether the engine has four cylinders or six. There will be three trim levels: Sport, Touring or Grand Touring. Prices for each are yet to be announced, but we're assured all three will come with "Zoom-Zoom" "in large doses." How quantifiable is that?

Sometimes a badge just isn't enough of a name for a car– especially now that automakers have fallen head-over-heels in love with alphanumerics. Hey kids! Let's all jump in the MKZ! So, how's you're G35x? Mine's the LS 600hL. Growing up, our family car was a 1978 Ford LTD Country Squire. I mean, how American is that? Not very. But at least it was aspirational. (Flex? Flex what?) As an homage to its size and apparent indestructibility, we called the beast "the battlewagon." A brown Ford wagon of my acquaintance was called "Mudblup" after the amorphous cartoon character in the Teddy Ruxpin (Worlds of Wonder) series. A white '96 Monte Carlo with was not-so-creatively (but entirely accurately) known as "Moby." And my '92 T-Bird has long been nicknamed "the Thunderchicken." Of course, a lot of people (i.e. women) simply came up with a cute name like "Sally" and called it good. While carmakers are still going down the spyplane and government agency route (G8), I reckon consumers have taken matters into their own hands. So, how about you? What do you (or your significant other) call your cars? [We welcome Mr. Leverett to the TTAC team and thank Jonny Lieberman for not having a cow over this QOTD usurpation.]

Our favorite climate change-denying British windbag is up to his old tricks. Recently, Jezza was out in Los Angeles where he was handed the keys to a Callaway Corvette C6. He and a friend took it to Orange County and the El Toro Airbase (where the NBC version of Top Gear is being shot) and then back up to the City of Angels. His verdict? "I absolutely bloody loved it." With 616 horsepower on tap, we're not surprised. But we're not writing this here blog because of hyper Vette. No, we're telling you about Clarkson's review because of this: "When it comes to motoring, the English language makes more sense in Albania than it does in Alabama. Almost every word in the Americans' automotive lexicon is different from ours, so when we talk about motorways, pavements, bonnets, boots, roofs, bumper bars, petrol, coupés, saloons, people carriers, cubic centimetres and corners, they have no idea what we're on about." Hey, he's taking the Mickey! That said, not only do we know what cubic centimeters are, he spelled it wrong. There's lots more piss and vinegar where that came from.

Car and Driver reports that the Audi S4 will ditch its normally-aspirated 4.2-liter V8 for a 3.0-liter V6 in the name of fuel economy (of all things). The uber A4's new six will feature some form of forced induction. "At the very least, we expect the new V-6 to be supercharged," C/D says. "Although what will allow the S4's version to generate 50 or so more horsepower is still a mystery." Twincharger? I just met her! Seriously folks, the brainy boys at C/D add that the new Audi mill "will generate something close to the 340 horsepower found in the outgoing S4's 4.2-liter V-8." Ya think? Apparently, the new S4 will get 23.3mpg, compared to a V8-powered S5's 19.4mpg. So the S4's reduced cylinder count not only improves S4 fuel economy (this does matter for CAFE) AND it makes the V8 RS4 and S5 that much more special. The bad news? The S4 will shed only "20-100 pounds" to make up for the cylinder envy. 

Peugeot will be making a production version of its double-bubble-roofed 308 RC Z Coupe concept, shown at last year's International Automobil Aufstellung in Frankfurt. Auto Motor und Sport says the 2+2 coupe will keep the styling shown in the concept, which is no bad thing. An earlier Auto Motor und Sport report says the concept sported a 1.6-liter turbo-four with 218hp and up to 300nm of torque with overboost. Whether that engine makes it to the road remains to be seen, but let's hope the production model doesn't gain much weight beyond the 2,600 pound concept. The 308 Coupe will go on sale in the spring of 2010, although not in the states (of course). Even so, we'll be keeping an eye out for photos from this year's IAA where the 308 Coupe will debut, 'cause we unrequited love is love nonetheless.

When TTAC received a terse tip from one Allen Hannawell asking if we'd seen something called Rampenfest, we were immediately suspicious. A quick check of our users, a Google search and an exchange of emails exposed Mr. Hannewell's corporate connections to BMW. Tsk, tsk. And yet… the "mockumentary" is funny as Hell. It chronicles the yokels of Oberpfaffelbachen as they attempt to launch a BMW 135 into America via a colossal ramp. The characters deadpan through the turmoil of a town turned upside-down; the Bavarian brogue duologue is hilarious. There's a lot of meta-comment about the nature of marketing, which proves that the folks who made the thing are clever and ironic, and not much else. (Hannawell's final email to TTAC says BMW will eventually admit that Rampenfest is an ad. Wow! Really?) After watching the whole thing– a significant temporal investment– I still don't understand how the film is supposed to make me want a 1-series. That was the point, wasn't it?